The M2 Pro and M2 Max chips aren’t the only upgrades in Apple’s new MacBook Pro laptops. The new machines are also coming with faster, supercharged SSDs with higher write speeds.
The 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro with 2TB of storage scored read speeds of 5,372 MB/s and write speeds of 6,491 MB/s in tests conducted by reviewers using the Blackmagic disk benchmark program. A 14-inch M1 Pro unit with 1TB of storage did net a higher read speed, at 5,797 MB/s, but its write speed was considerably lower at 5,321 MB/s.
Benchmark data from testing by Macworld and Tom’s Guide both report the new machines offer higher write speeds, compared to the previous generation, though with slightly slower read speeds. Those read speeds are still decently fast — almost as fast, if not faster, than a PCIe Gen 4 m.2 SSD for desktop computers — so it’s probably a worthy tradeoff for what will likely result in better performance. And even if those read speeds are still somewhat slower, most users will not notice the difference in day-to-day usage.
Once you get your hands on one of the new MacBook Pro models, you can expect faster write speeds and, overall, a smoother experience — also in part thanks to the new, improved M2 silicon.
Source: Macworld, Tom’s Guide