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With the launch of the first generation of products based on SoC M2 – MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro 13 -, Apple has started a little virtuous practice that has led it to save a few dollars on the cost of assembly materials, i.e. the use of slower SSDs on base configurations of its new computers.
As we saw at the time, the slowdown is not due to the decision to equip MacBooks with lower quality memories, but to the fact of use a small amount and therefore going to affect the read and write performance compared to previous models. For example, the 256 GB version of the MacBook Air 2020 made use of 2 NAND 128 GB capable of offering excellent speeds thanks to the possibility of exploiting them in parallel, something that was lost with the MacBook Air 2022 due to the presence of 1 x 256GB chip only.
HISTORY REPEATS
It seems that Apple has chosen to keep this (ugly) custom also on the new Mac mini and even on the much more expensive MacBook Pro 14 and 16all of which feature fewer NANDs in their base configurations than offered on their direct predecessors.
In the case of Mac mini we find 1 single 256GB memory – like MacBook Air – which was also shown in the teardown performed by the channel Brandon Geekabit. According to a test reported by wccftechthe new Mac mini achieves significantly lower read/write results than the previous Mac mini with M1 – up to 30/50% less depending on the scenario -, since its speeds are on the order of 1,500MB/s.
This means that the 8/256GB configuration is strongly discouraged, as it is subject to much more noticeable slowdowns than its predecessor. In fact, remember that the 8 GB of system memory are shared with the graphics sector, so it is very easy for macOS to access swap memory to support correct operation of the OS and in this case the reduced speed of the SSD memory could significantly impact performance, which is why it is better to move towards a configuration that has at least 512 GB of storage space. Below is the Mac mini teardown.
The same goes for MacBook Pros as well new generation, albeit in this case the base memory cut is 512 GB and not 256GB. On the 2021 models, these 512 GB were obtained through the use of 4 x 128 GB NAND, while on the early 2023 variants we switched to a configuration consisting of 2 x 256GB drives.
In this case the drop is less evident and has less impact on the user experience of the operating system (also because it starts from 16 GB of shared memory), but it is still present and certainly it is not pleasant to find a reduction in performance on such expensive machines.
As can be seen from the images of the tests performed by 9to5Macthe 2021 model offered very solid performance even on the base version, reaching 4,900 MB/s read and 3,950 MB/s write, while the 2023 version stops at 2970 MB/s and 3,150 MB/s respectively (rounded).
HOW DO MODELS WITH MORE CAPACITY MEMORIES BEHAVE?
The reported problem, as also highlighted last year, it only affects the basic variants of all new machinessince the models equipped with higher amounts of memory have a correct subdivision into 2 or 4 NAND (2 Mac mini and 4 on MacBook Pro) which allows to obtain results in line with those of the previous generation.
In any case, we do not find a clear improvement in terms of data access, while things are improving on the writing front, as highlighted in the article we published yesterday. For example, MacBook Pro 14″ 2TB gets in reading (test on BlackMagic from tomsguide.com)
- with M1 Pro: 5,321MB/s
- with M2 Pro: 5,293MB/s
- with M2 Max: 5,319MB/s
While, as regards the writingthe values obtained are:
- with M1 Pro: 5,377MB/s
- with M2 Pro: 6,168MB/s
- with M2 Max: 6,402MB/s
This further confirms the fact that, in the end, the memories equipped on the latest MacBook Pros are actually better in at least one aspectprovided they are configured to deliver their full potential.
A PRACTICE WE HOPE WILL BE LEFT BEHIND
The M2 generation is once again presented as not particularly exciting – we had exposed our point of view a few days ago – and it seems that the machines equipped with this family of SoCs have had to deal with the need for Apple to make ends meetalthough the final cost has also increased for the user.
Let’s hope that this is just an uneditable parenthesis in a much more positive long-term scenario and that already with the M3 generation these practices are left behind which they tend to unduly disadvantage users who choose to turn to the basic configurations.
It must be said that Apple does not specify on its official website the reading and writing speeds of the memories present on its Macs, a fact which on the one hand does not allow the user to choose with knowledge of the facts which model is actually more suitable for his use, but which on the other hand allows the company not to have to make uncomfortable comparisons between the different variants of the same Mac.
Under this point of view one would expect more transparency from Applealthough his can not be considered misleading advertising, since the data is not really declared. Despite this, it would still be correct to point out the presence of slower memories on the basic versions.
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