Apple is using an M.2 form factor PCIe flash card with four I/O lanes Credit: Lucas Mearian When Apple launched the new MacBook Pro earlier this month, the company claimed its performance would be double that of the previous model. As it turns out, that wasn’t an exaggeration. Benchmark tests with Blackmagic software on a new 13-in. MacBook Pro with Retina display revealed it can pin the needle at more than 1,400MBps for writes and more than 1,300MBps for reads. The machine that Computerworld tested had a 512GB PCIe M.2 form-factor flash module ($1,799) and an Intel dual-core i5 2.9GHz processor, 8GB of (1866MHz LPDDR3) RAM, and was running OS X 10.10.2 (Yosemite). That performance compares to the previous model MacBook Pro (mid-2014), which had industry-leading performance of nearly 650MBps write speeds and over 700MBps read speeds. That machine also had a 512GB PCIe M.2 flash module, a 2.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB of 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM, and was also running OS X 10.10.2. So what did Apple do to the new 2015 MacBook Pro? The new machine gained some typical upgrades: a larger battery, faster memory and a faster processer — either a 2.7 GHz dual core i5 or 2.9GHz i5 Intel Broadwell processer. (A 3.1GHz dual core i7 processor is a build-to-order upgrade.) While both the previous model MacBook Pro and the latest model sport leading-edge PCIe flash memory cards, versus 2.5-in SATA drives used in most other laptops today, the 2015 MacBook Pro’s mass storage device doubles bandwidth. Apple’s Samsung-made PCIe 3.0 flash card in the 2015 MacBook Pro, which comes with 128GB, 256GB and 512GB and 1TB capacities, went from a PCIe 2.0 x2 (or two I/O lanes) in the previous model to a PCIe 3.0 x4 (four I/O lanes). iFixit Samsung’s M.2 flash memory card being removed by iFixit from a 2015 MacBook Pro. “Double the lanes, double the speed,” said Gregory Wong, an analyst with Forward Insights. In January, Samsung announced it had moved into full production of its new SM951 laptop SSD, its first mass produced expansion card using the PCIe 3.0 x4 slot SSD specification. The SM951 SSD uses 14-nanometer class multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash. Along with PCIe 3.0, the gumstick-sized SSD also supports the PCIe 2.0 specification, making it backward compatible for many of today’s ultraslim laptops. Related content news analysis Apple earnings: About that iPhone 'slump' in China Based on information from Thursday's earnings report, it seems that data pointing to an iPhone slump in China were over-baked. By Jonny Evans May 03, 2024 9 mins iMac iPhone Apple news Microsoft begins to phase out ‘classic’ Teams Microsoft is encouraging Teams customers to move to the new, faster version of the collaboration app; the older version will be switched off next year. By Matthew Finnegan May 03, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Teams Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis Apple confirms it will open up the iPad in Europe this fall The latest efforts to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act mean developers can offer to side load apps to both iPhones and iPads in the EU. Apple has also taken steps to improve what it offers to smaller and non-commercial developers in the By Jonny Evans May 02, 2024 6 mins iPad Apple Mobile Apps news Udacity offers laid-off US workers free access to its courses for 30 days Sign-ups will be available over the next 30 days By Lucas Mearian May 02, 2024 4 mins Technology Industry IT Jobs IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe