The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros powered by the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips feature faster SSD write speeds compared to their predecessors, according to tests and reviews of the new laptops.
This week, select reviewers and media outlets had the chance to review the new MacBook Pros ahead of their availability starting Tuesday, January 24. As part of their reviews, Macworld and Tom’s Guide tested the SSD read and write speeds of the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips in Apple’s latest laptops.
When Macworld tested with the Blackmagic disk speed app, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro in a 2TB storage configuration achieved a read speed of 5,372 MBps and a write speed of 6,491 MBps. The previous-generation 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro chip and 1TB of storage scored a slightly higher 5,797 MBps read speed than the 16-inch M2 Pro; however, it scored a lower write speed of 5,321 MBps.
Blackmagic disk speed results according to tests by Tom’s Guide
Test results published by Tom’s Guide also show that the new M2 Pro has faster write speeds than the M1 Pro, but slightly slower read speeds. Testing the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Max, the laptop scored similarly to the 16-inch M2 Pro, achieving a read speed of 5,319 MBps and a write speed of 6,402 MBps.
Although the new MacBook Pros have slightly slower read speeds according to these tests, users are unlikely to notice a difference in everyday performance unless they work with significantly large files. Storage speed and performance is also affected by other factors, such as the storage capacity.
Last year, it emerged that Apple significantly cut SSD speeds for the M2 base model MacBook Air by including one less SSD chip in the laptop. With 256GB of storage capacity, the MacBook Air features a single NAND chip, leading to up to 50% slower read speeds and up to 30% slower write speeds. Previous base models of the MacBook Air featured two NAND chips instead of one. Apple said in a statement that the MacBook Air has “even faster” real-world performance and a “higher density NAND” chip.
Reviews of the latest M2 Pro and M2 Max chips in the updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros praised the fast performance of the new chips, even longer battery life, and updated ports, such as HDMI 2.1 support. Thanks to the efficiency of the new chips, the updated 16-inch MacBook Pro features the longest battery life ever in a Mac, with up to 22 hours.Related Roundup: 14 & 16″ MacBook ProBuyer’s Guide: 14″ & 16″ MacBook Pro (Buy Now)Related Forum: MacBook Pro
This article, “M2 Pro and M2 Max MacBook Pros Feature Faster SSD Write Speeds, Tests Show” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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