The basic version of the new Mac mini M2 costs $ 599 with a 256GB SSD that has slower read / write speeds than its predecessor.
A detailed analysis of the new Mac mini shared by YouTube channel Brandon Geekabit reveals that the 256GB model is only equipped with a single 256GB storage chip, while the same configuration with the M1 chip has two 128GB chips. This difference explains why the new model has a slower SSD, as more NAND chips allow for faster speeds.
This has also been confirmed with the benchmarking application Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, which shows that the SSD read/write speed for the new 256GB Mac mini is around 1,500 MB/s, which is between 30% and 50% slower than the SSD. with the read/write speed of the previous equivalent drive. Of course, benchmark results and real-world performance may vary.
Customers who want the fastest SSD should make sure they buy an M2 Mac mini with at least 512GB of storage to avoid this problem. A slower SSD can affect file transfer speeds, and overall performance can also be slightly affected as Macs temporarily use SSD space as virtual memory when physical RAM is used up.
As for the higher-end Mac mini with the M2 Pro chip, the base model with 512GB of storage appears to have two fewer NAND chips than the Intel-based model it replaced. Meanwhile, the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models with the M2 chip and 256GB SSD also have slower read/write speeds due to only one NAND chip. Even the 512GB version is noted to have slow read / write speeds due to the use of SSDs with reduced NAND chips.