Bad news, sports fans. It looks like Apple has downgraded the speed of the SATA interface in the newest revision of the MacBook Pro. While the previous MacBook Pros had a 3.0 Gbit SATA interface, benchmarks show that the current MacBook Pro only clocks in at 1.5 Gbit.
This is really only an issue if you plan(ned) on using a solid state drive. Traditional hard disk drives won’t even come close to maxing out a 1.5 Gbit interface, so there’s no need to worry in the slightest if you’re using a regular HDD.
It’s a different story if you’re using an SSD, as your top speed is effectively halved. Check out these benchmarks. The first pic shows a MacBook with a 3.0 Gbit SATA interface, while the second shows a new MacBook Pro with the slower 1.5 Gbit SATA interface.
No one knows what the heck is going on. Is Apple cutting costs? Is this an artificial limitation? Where will David Villa play next year? Question marks all around.