The 2019 MacBook Air released last week has a slower SSD than the 2018 MacBook Air. The 128GB and 256GB models were tested (via Consomac).
2019 MacBook Air
Using the Blackmagic Disk Speed test, the read speeds of the SSD are slower. It found write speeds of 1GB/s and read speeds of 1.3GB/s. Meanwhile the 2018 MacBook Air had write speeds of 920MB/s and read speeds of 2GB/s.
The read and write speeds of the 128GB model were similar to 2018’s equivalent model, with write speeds of 500MB/s and read speeds of 1.3GB/s. Models with higher capacity SSDs weren’t tested. The slower speeds could be a result of Apple lowering the price of the 2019 MacBook Air.
Further Reading:
[Apple Updates MacBook Air, MacBook Pro for 2019 Back to School]
The speed reduction may have been for lower energy consumption (battery life) and lower heat dissipation. Also, typical SSD sequential real and write speeds are typically half of the numbers quoted here. And not all SSDs are created equal when it comes to idling and peak performance watts required – some are far more power hungry than others.
Disappointing, but that’s what you get for a lower price, apparently.
The 2018 Airs were 20% slower than the 2017 MacBook under pressure (photo/video editing) due to thermal limiting on the Airs. Explains why MacBook was still more expensive, but Apple’s discontinued MacBook and ‘everybody should buy an Air’ – except they should go the extra for a low end Pro.