Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Air SSD Really Is Twice as Fast as Previous Model

As customers are receiving their new Apple Silicon Macs, we're starting to see more benchmarks and testing being posted in our Apple Silicon forum. One forum user (abbotsford1980) shared SSD Benchmarks for their new M1 MacBook Air with 256GB storage:

apple silicon macbook air ssd benchmarks

The benchmarks confirm that the new ‌MacBook Air‌ SSD is approximately twice as fast as the previous model with 2190 MB/s writes and 2675 MB/s reads. Apple did announce this performance boost when launching the new machine, and attributed the improved speed to the ‌M1‌'s storage controller as well as new flash technology:

The M1 chip’s storage controller and latest flash technology deliver up to 2x faster SSD performance, so previewing massive images or importing large files is faster than ever.

The 2019/2020 Intel ‌MacBook Air‌ was criticized for actually offering a slower SSD than the 2018 model. The 2019/2020 ‌MacBook Air‌ SSD speeds were 1319 MB/s reads and 1007 MB/s writes.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Related Forum: MacBook Air

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...

Top Rated Comments

eric89074 Avatar
48 months ago
The switch to Apple silicon has been a home run, and this is just the beginning.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ersan191 Avatar
48 months ago
Apple really undersold this thing, imo.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zoom25 Avatar
48 months ago
The new iMac can't come soon enough.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FactVsOpinion Avatar
48 months ago
Apple has proven to be unusually honest with claims like this.

The all around performance of these new models is surprising, but to find out that Apple’s claims weren’t bogus is not surprising—not to me anyway.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dragoon2745 Avatar
48 months ago
So it's twice as fast today because the cut the speed in half in the previous models? Why did they have to move to slower SSDs in the MacBook Air to begin with?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
UndefinedxJoker Avatar
48 months ago
First time in a long time that an Apple product gets nothing but positive news.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)