MacBook Air M2: Slow SSD for the base model, just like the Pro

The new MacBook Air with M2 SoC will be available for purchase from tomorrow but in the last few minutes the embargo on reviews has expired, so the first information on the laptop entry level from Apple.

Waiting to be able to talk about it in first person, there is a very important detail that it is necessary to confirm immediately, since it is something that can directly influence the purchase choice anyone who wants to get their hands on the new MacBook Air starting tomorrow. We obviously speak of the SSD issuewhich emerged on the occasion of the arrival on the market of the MacBook Pro 13 M2 and which we had the opportunity to discuss extensively on our pages.

For those who missed the story, we remind you that the MacBook Pro 13 M2 is equipped with a much slower SSD memory than the one present on the MacBook Pro 13 M1, with the same memory cut from 256 GB. The slowdown is particularly noticeable as the speed of the new model is practically halved compared to that of the predecessor (it goes from 2,900 / 2,200 MB / s in reading / writing to about 1,400 / 1,400 MB / s), an element that directly impacts the performance of the machine as soon as it has to access the swap memoryquite common scenario especially in the variant with 8 GB of unified memory.

According to reports from 9to5Mac, it seems that the situation is exactly the same even on the base model of the MacBook Air M2, so the 8/256 GB version may have lower performance than the MacBook Air M1 with the same configuration. As with the MacBook Pro, the problem is Apple’s choice to adopt a single 256GB chip for the internal memory of the new basic MacBook, while in the past two 128GB chips were used which therefore made it possible to reach double operating speeds thanks to their use at the same time.

This means that again It is certainly not advisable to turn to the less expensive version of the new MacBook Air M2, since scenarios can occur where the internal memory becomes a real bottleneck able to nullify the performance of the new chip, thus preferring the version with at least 512 GB internal memory. Of course, this brings the entry price very close to that of more performing machines, but this will be a speech for another occasion.