Apple's 2019 256GB MacBook Air Includes Slower SSD Than 2018 Model

The 2019 MacBook Air, refreshed last week, appears to have a slower SSD than the 2018 ‌MacBook Air‌, according to testing by French site Consomac. Using testing with the Blackmagic Disk Speed benchmarking test, the site found that the read speeds of the new SSD are lower.

A test of the 2019 ‌MacBook Air‌ with 256GB of storage demonstrated write speeds of 1GB/s and read speeds of 1.3GB/s. An equivalent model released in 2018 featured write speeds of 920MB/s and read speeds of 2GB/s. While write speeds are on par with the older machine (and are even slightly better), read speeds have dropped 35 percent.

blackmagicdiskspeedtest
Consomac also saw write speeds of 500MB/s in the 128GB 2019 ‌MacBook Air‌ and read speeds of 1.3GB/s, but this is similar to the performance of the 128GB 2018 ‌MacBook Air‌ as that machine also featured large differences between read and write performance. Higher capacity SSDs were not tested, but may display the same slight decline in performance.

The 2019 ‌MacBook Air‌ features an updated True Tone display and a price drop, starting at $1,099 instead of $1,199. Students are able to get the new machine even cheaper, with the ‌MacBook Air‌ now priced at $999 with educational pricing.

It's possible Apple went with slower SSD performance in order to drop the ‌MacBook Air‌'s price to a more affordable level, and it's not a change that most ‌MacBook Air‌ users are likely to notice in day to day usage of the machine, especially those upgrading from a much older model.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Related Forum: MacBook Air

Top Rated Comments

BigBoy2018 Avatar
61 months ago
The read and write speeds of SSD's are overrated. What matters a lot more in real world use is the access times.

Pretty much ANY SSD has access speeds 100 times that of a spinning hard drive, and that's where the real payoff is.

Only if you're copying super large files might you start to see the benefit of crazy fast read/write speeds. And even then, only if you're copying that super large file from and equally fast drive (otherwise the source drive will be the bottleneck).
Score: 69 Votes (Like | Disagree)
R3k Avatar
61 months ago
All you guys who own MacBook Air server farms are going to be pissed.
Score: 56 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SoN1NjA Avatar
61 months ago
Alright guys let’s pretend to act surprised

Those price cuts had to come from somewhere :rolleyes:
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Elyzien Avatar
61 months ago
Does not matter how slow the SSD is when the CPU drops power by 50% because it is always over heating. You know why it is called the MacBook "Air", cuz you have to blow air on it while it is in use.

I always have fans blowing on my Gold Air & I have to use a fan control software to increase the internal fan; Apple has the fan trigger point too low!
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alexandr Avatar
61 months ago
improvement after improvement!
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Elyzien Avatar
61 months ago
The read and write speeds of SSD's are overrated. What matters a lot more in real world use is the access times.

Pretty much ANY SSD has an access speeds 100 times that of a spinning hard drive, and that's where the real payoff is.

Only if you're copying super large files might you start to see the benefit of crazy fast read/write speeds. And even then, only if you're copying that super large file from and equally fast drive (otherwise the source drive will be the bottleneck).
Nice to see logic and brains make a comment for once.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Camera Lozenge 2 Perspective Gray

Five Key Upgrades Coming to iPhone 16

Friday March 15, 2024 1:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
When To Expect New iPads Feature 1

Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim

Monday March 18, 2024 4:02 am PDT by
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
airpods 3 orange

Two New AirPods 4 Models Expected to Launch in September or October

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:56 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Expected to Depreciate Heavily

Tuesday March 12, 2024 9:04 am PDT by
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
iOS 17 Passkey With Apple ACCOUNT Feature

'Apple ID' Expected to Change to 'Apple Account' Starting With iOS 18

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:13 am PDT by
MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to rebrand "Apple ID" to "Apple Account" across its software platforms and websites like iCloud.com as early as this year, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has corroborated this change. A mockup of the new Apple Account branding In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new "Apple Account" branding will start to be used later this...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

iOS 17.4.1 Update for iPhone is Imminent

Monday March 18, 2024 5:27 am PDT by
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 should be released within the next few days, with a build number of 21E235, according to a source with a proven track record. MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes. ...
M3 iPad Feature 3

New iPads Likely to Begin Shipping in April

Monday March 18, 2024 9:52 am PDT by
Apple's new iPad Pro models with OLED displays will likely begin shipping to customers in April, according to information shared today by Ross Young, CEO of display industry research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also said the new iPad Pro models might not ship until "deeper" into April in his Power On newsletter on Sunday:I've repeatedly said that new...