The US$1,299 base model of Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 chip and 256GB of storage has “significantly slower SSD read/write speeds compared to the equivalent previous-generation model,” according to MacRumors.
The article notes that YouTube channels such as Max Tech and Created Tech tested the 256GB model with Blackmagic’s Disk Speed Test app and found that the SSD’s read and write speeds are both around 1,450 MB/s, which is around 50% slower reading and around 30% slower writing compared to the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 chip and 256GB of storage.
About the M2 MacBook Pro
In announcing the new pro laptop, here’s how Apple described it:
- With a faster 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, working with RAW images in apps like Affinity Photo is nearly 40% faster than the previous generation, and up to 3.4x faster for users who are upgrading from a model without Apple silicon.
- Playing graphics-intensive games like Baldur’s Gate 3 is also nearly 40% faster than the previous 13-inch MacBook Pro, and up to 3.3x faster for customers upgrading from a model without Apple silicon.11
- With an active cooling system, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is designed to sustain its pro performance.
- Thanks to M2, the 13-inch MacBook Pro also supports up to 24GB of unified memory — along with 50 percent more memory bandwidth — making multitasking and working with large assets super fluid.
- With support for ProRes encode and decode in the media engine of M2, users can play back up to 11 streams of 4K and up to two streams of 8K ProRes video. And they can convert their video projects to ProRes nearly 3x faster than before.
- The 13-inch MacBook Pro delivers phenomenal battery life with up to 20 hours of video playback.
Pricing
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 starts at $1,299 and $1,199 for education. Additional technical specifications are available at apple.com/macbook-pro-13.
