Apple MacBook Air M2 256GB suffers with slow SSD speed, but it isn’t a problem

Apple’s latest MacBook Air M2 recently went on sale in select markets, including India. Before setting out to buy it, you have done your homework. You know how the new MacBook Air will be useful to you basis its specifications. But there is one thing that Apple did not mention until now. Apple confirmed that the entry model of the MacBook Air M2 is way slower than higher versions.

Well, that is not exactly what Apple said because that would be sabotaging the MacBook Air M2’s repute as one of the fastest and most powerful machines. Apple confirmed to The Verge that the base MacBook Air M2 uses the same storage configuration as the MacBook Pro M2. While that does not tell you anything, several reviewers found out that the SSD in MacBook Pro M2 is significantly slower than that of the MacBook Pro M1. That means the MacBook Air M2 is equally slower.

How slow is the MacBook Air M2 256GB?

The Verge reported the 256GB storage model of the MacBook Air M2 did not do well in Blackmagic’s Disk Speed Test. Its SSD’s write speeds were 15 to 30 percent lower than those of the 512GB model of the MacBook Air M2. The read speeds, on the other hand, were a staggeringly 40 to 50 percent lower. There is a reason why the speeds are significantly slower. The MacBook Air M2 256GB uses a single NAND chip, while the 512GB model, as well as the M1 models, have two. That change allows for nearly twice as fast speeds.

In the report, folks at The Verge also pointed out that the base model of the MacBook Air M2 is only a wee bit faster than the 2019 Intel MacBook Pro in terms of the write speeds. But if you talk about the read speeds, they are worse. The kind of data transfer speeds the MacBook Air M2’s base model offers is something you will find on entry-level Windows PCs. Since read speeds are more important, the MacBook Air M2 is likely to give you a sluggish experience if you throw at it multiple apps and tasks.

How does it impact?

While we have not got a chance the review the MacBook Air M2 yet, The Verge’s Dan Seifert, in his review, highlighted that slower speeds can impact file transfers as well as the machine’s overall performance. That is because Macs use SSD space as temporary memory when the in-built RAM is exhausted. But what does it mean to you as a MacBook Air M2 user?

You will not notice any major differences between the 256GB and the 512GB storage models of the MacBook Air M2. Using apps such as Chrome, Safari, Messages, Photos, and Music is also going to be mostly identical on both versions. However, memory-intensive tasks might give you some hiccups. But then that is not the kind of audience Apple’s MacBook Air M2 is marketed to.

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