Like first benchmark results from 9to5Mac and Zone of Tech show, the base model of the new MacBook Pro (approx. 2,419 euros on Amazon) with Apple M2 Pro to a significantly slower 512 GB SSD. In the 9to5Mac benchmark, it achieves 3.15 GB/s when reading and 2.97 GB/s when writing, the MacBook Pro from Zone of Tech even only achieves 2.92 GB/s and 2.70 GB/s respectively.
The direct predecessor model, on the other hand, was still able to read data at a speed of 4.9 GB/s and write at 3.95 GB/s. The reason for this drop in performance is the same as with the new Mac mini: Apple now uses NAND flash chips, each with a capacity of 256 GB, instead of 128 GB as in the previous year. As a result, the basic model only has two memory chips instead of four, which significantly reduces the bandwidth.
If you want a faster SSD, you have to pay the surcharge of 230 euros to upgrade to 1 TB of memory and thus to four memory chips. This austerity explains why Apple’s product page Apple no longer gives any information about the speed of the built-in memory, even in the technical data Apple does not give any indication of this performance discrepancy. The new MacBook Pro is offered with up to 8 TB of storage, but Apple is paying handsomely for this configuration with an upgrade price of 2,760 euros. Our detailed review of the MacBook Pro will soon show whether Apple has made savings in other areas apart from the SSD.
I have been writing for various publications in the technology sector since 2009, before joining Notebookcheck’s news department in 2018. Since then I have combined my many years of experience in the field of notebooks and smartphones with my lifelong passion for technology to inform our readers about new developments on the market. My design background as art director of an advertising agency also allows me deep insights into the peculiarities of this industry.
Tag: macbook issue, macbook pro, macbook release, macbook macos