Apple Now Using Samsung SSDs in MacBook Air.

In iFixita's teardown, it was confirmed that the MacBook Airs use Toshiba's Blade X-gale SSDs. A bit over month ago, however, it was discovered that there appear to be different revisions of SSDs circulating in MacBook Airs. The first is obviously the Toshiba, but later user reports show that there is a second, different SSD. This SSD carries a model name of SM128C while the Toshiba is TS128C. The SM in the model name hints towards Samsung as the manufacturer, and Apple has used Samsung SSDs before.

Last October after months of waiting, Apple finally refreshed their MacBook Air lineup, which they reviewed soon after launch. The update introduced a new 11.6" form factor along with a minor redesign, faster graphics, and bigger SSDs all with cheaper prices as an added bonus. The new SSDs were fascinating, since Apple didn't use normal three 2.5" or 1.8" SSDs but in lieu introduced a whole new form factor with mSATA SSDs (also often called blade SSDs).

The fascinating aspect is that the SM128C models provide a pleasant performance bump in at least performance metric. Benchmarks posted by users show that the SM128C manages up to 260MB/s read and 210MB/s write speeds. In our tests (and corroborating what users have reported), the TS128C only offers speeds of up to 210MB/s read and 185MB/s write. The SM128C also supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ) while the TS128C does not. The performance figures match the figures of Samsung 470 Series much, which Samsung quotes as providing up to 250MB/s read and 220MB/s write. The Samsung 470 Series makes use of Samsung's own controller with model number S3C29MAX01-Y340.

There is no absolute confirmation yet that Samsung manufactures the SM128C, but all indicators point that way. Irrespective of manufacturer, the SM128C appears noticeably faster in sequential read/write performance. What they can't confirm is how the models differ in more intense testing, specifically with regards to random read/write performance, TRIM support, etc. Ultimately it may not matter, as users will get whatever Apple decides to put in their laptops.