Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Looks like Apple’s M2 MacBook Pro has a major SSD problem

By
Add as a preferred source on Google

There’s a new reason why Apple’s latest MacBook Pro with the new M2 chip might not be as fast and as next-generation as you think. According to tests from multiple YouTube videos spotted by MacRumors, the entry-level models of the latest Apple flagship laptop have slower SSD speeds when compared to last year’s M1 models.

There are two YouTube videos that have exposed the drop in SSD performance between MacBook Pro generations. One comes from Max Tech and another from Created Tech. Both videos suggest that the entry-level M2 MacBook Pro model with a 256GB SSD is twice as slow as the M1 MacBook Pro when testing is done with the Blackmagic Disk Testing tool. The problem seems only linked to entry-level models, as when a separate YouTuber benchmarked a higher-end M2 MacBook Pro against the M1 MacBook Pro, the SSD speeds were the same.

Apple 13-inch Macbook Pro with M2 chip.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

So, what do the specifics behind the numbers show? Well, in Created Tech’s tests, the M1-powered MacBook Pro netted a 2,048 MB/s write speed and 2,924.6 MB/s read speed. That’s up against the slower 1,551.3 MB/s write speed on the MacBook Pro with an M2 chip, and the 1,477.1 MB/s read speed.

Recommended Videos

When compared to Max Tech’s test, the results are somewhat similar. That YouTuber netted a 2,215 MB/s write speed, and 2,900 MB/s read speed on the M1 MacBook Pro. Then, on the MacBook Pro with an M2 chip, the results came in at 1,446 MB/s read and 1,463 MB/s write.

It is unknown what could be causing this drop in SSD performance. YouTuber Created Tech suggests that it could be because Apple is using a single NAND chip on the 2022 MacBook Pro M2 models. Previous models had two NAND chips, for faster speeds. Opening up the bottom casing of the new M2 MacBook Pro is what lead to this speculation, and it remains unclear if the base model Apple M2-powered MacBook Air will also suffer from this same problem.

While these speeds aren’t all that bad, MacRumors points out that the slower speeds could also impact the overall system performance for higher-demanding tasks. This applies to situations where a MacBook might use SSD space as virtual memory.

Arif Bacchus
Arif Bacchus
Former Computing Writer
Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…
Topics
A Windows 11 bug may be quietly eating hundreds of gigabytes of your storage
Windows 11’s storage-eating bug now has a fix from Microsoft
Windows 11 suffering from RAM crisis

If your Windows 11 PC suddenly looks low on storage, your downloads folder or game library may not be the problem. According to Windows Latest, a bug tied to a Windows system file can silently consume tens or even hundreds of gigabytes on the system drive.

The file in question is called CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal, and it sits inside Windows’ Capability Access Manager folder. Windows Latest says the issue may appear as unusually high “System files” usage in Windows 11’s storage breakdown, even though the Settings app does not clearly identify the exact file responsible. In some reported cases, users saw it grow to 200GB, and even more.

Read more
Your next Teams meeting could have an AI teammate that answers questions for you
Teams is getting smarter, cleaner, and quieter about it. The AI features are opt-in, the chat cleanup is automatic.
Computer, Electronics, Laptop

Microsoft Teams is getting a meaningful update that overhauls almost every part of how you use the app, from AI-assisted meetings to a cleaner chat layout. Most of the changes are already in testing, and several are scheduled to roll out before the end of the summer.

Starting with the most interesting addition: an upgraded AI Facilitator that can listen to your meeting, spot when someone seems confused, and generate a response (via Windows Report). 

Read more
A hacker’s arrest just revealed how Microsoft can track your Windows device
Microsoft knew what websites his Windows PC visited.
Windows 11 on a laptop

A teenager allegedly used a VPN to cover his tracks while hacking a US jewelry retailer, but Microsoft knew anyway.

Court documents unsealed in the US case against Peter Stokes, a 19-year-old dual US-Estonian citizen accused of being a member of the notorious Scattered Spider hacking group, reveal that Microsoft provided the FBI with records tied to a tracking mechanism called the Global Device Identifier, or GDID. 

Read more