Mar 13, 2024 07:00:00

The M3-equipped MacBook Air solves the ``storage speed slowdown problem in low-capacity models''

Apple released

the MacBook Air on March 8, 2024, which is equipped with the next-generation SoC ' M3 ' chip, which has improved power consumption and CPU/GPU performance efficiency. Compared to the M2- equipped model released in July 2022, which was pointed out to have a slower SSD transfer speed than the M1-equipped MacBook Pro , it has been revealed that the M3-equipped model has improved SSD transfer speed as well. I found this out through research.

M3 MacBook Air refresh boosts storage speeds for 256GB models | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/03/m3-macbook-air-refresh-boosts-storage-speeds-for-256gb-models/

Apple released the new M2-equipped MacBook Pro in June 2022 and the M2-equipped MacBook Air in July 2022. The M2 has been installed in each Mac product as the next generation version of the M1 chip, but both the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air have significantly lower data transfer speeds than the M1-equipped MacBook Pro with the base model 256GB SSD. It became clear that it was.

It has been pointed out that the 256GB model of the M2-equipped MacBook Air has ``SSD transfer speed slower than the M1-equipped MacBook Pro'' - GIGAZINE

According to a teardown at the time, the number of flash memory chips for storage was reduced from the M1-equipped model to the M2-equipped model, and the slowdown was due to the inability to read and write from multiple chips at the same time. was considered to be the cause.

Therefore, YouTube channel Max Tech conducted a teardown of the M3-equipped MacBook Air and found that even the low-capacity version of the 256GB SSD was equipped with two 128GB chips. As a result, both read and write speeds are improved compared to the M2-equipped model, making the performance almost equivalent to the M1-equipped MacBook Air.

M3 MacBook Air Teardown - Apple FIXED the MacBook Air! - YouTube


The image below shows Max Tech disassembling the M3-equipped MacBook Air and removing the memory part cover. The red frame indicates the NAND flash memory , and you can see that two are installed.

However, technology media Ars Technica says, ``If you order a 256GB MacBook Air with M3, it will not necessarily ship with two 128GB chips. We use multiple suppliers based on which components are cheaper or more readily available at the time, so if you buy the same 256GB MacBook Air, you'll end up with just one chip. 'Time and two pieces of time may occur.' In addition, Max Tech speculates that ``the price of one 128GB chip is higher than that of one 256GB chip,'' and Ars Technica says, ``In the future, we may return to the cheaper single 256GB chip.'' ” states.