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Apple repeats NAND SSD slowdown issue with 256GB drive aboard the $1,299 15-inch MacBook Air

Apple may have made the same snafu with its base model SSD with its new 15-inch MacBook Air that it made with the 13-inch version of the notebook.

The SSD, which features a single 256GB NAND chip, offers slower SSD read and write speeds when compared to the other models with more storage available.

The issue was noted by YouTuber Max Tech, who published his benchmark tests and pointed out a 30 percent to 50 percent reduction in SSD speeds when compared with the M1 MacBook Air, which offers two NAND chips of 128GB each.

The slower read and write speeds are present on the Mac mini, 13-inch MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and now the 15-inch MacBook Air—all of them with the entry-level M2 chip. While the comparison is easier to spot with another machine side to side, the everyday user won’t feel the difference.

The single NAND chip with a 256GB capacity offers slower speeds transferring data to an external hard drive. The drive might also offers slower speeds for your Mac when the computer is maxed out, as Apple uses the SSD space as virtual memory when the physical RAM is being completely used.

Users can avoid this slowdown by purchasing the next configuration, and while the base configuration’s $1,299 price point is tempting, the difference in speeds might compel customers towards a model with a larger drive.

The new MacBook can feature up to 24GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. It’s available on Apple’s website, local Apple Stores, and premium resellers.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via Boy Genius Report and Max Tech