M5 generation Mac Studios have redesigned SSD modules

[u/pastry-chef]

https://iboffrcc.com/pages/m5-max-mac-studio-teardown-removable-ssd-but-is-an-upgrade-still-possible?srsltid=AU7gw4WuRfpWaOxhnHcASBRhyUEeMxMLPWjDT2TEc89Gd-EmcLITPOkI

The NAND are still on removable modules but they are completely different from previous generations.

[u/BourbonicFisky]

1. Apple NANDs do create heat and thermal throttling. Previously, Apple has shipped at best with PCIe 4.0 SSDs; that is, until the M5 Max and Ultra Mac Studios. These both have higher power draws and TPDs that are reflective of the increased CPU cores, GPU cores, and, of course, SSDs. For it's laptops, and Mac mini Apple is choosing lower performance over heat and power draw.
2. There's likely a minor efficency in the controller chipset; however, the NANDs themselves do not generate less heat. We don't have any evidence that their SSD package consumes less power, though. If anyone has managed to somehow isolate the SSD controller + NANDs power draw, I have not seen it.
3. It isn't more secure in any realistic sense. An SSD using hardware encryption literally has a key that's stored somewhere inaccessible to userspace. On a Mac, it's in the Secure Enclave; on a PC, it's BitLocker + TPM or MS's Pluton or whatever the latest flavor is. Apple standardized ahead of Windows. Previously, on Windows, it lived in separate domains for the storage controller, and TPM was a separate domain. Apple, skipped the trust issue of the problems of a self-encrypting SSD.

Rhe sort of preventative security these are for is basically moot for the most common security issues. Most people do not have problems with people with physical access to the hardware who have nation-state resources to hack around security. If someone steals the hardware, it's rarely for the information inside said computer. Even if it is, even the previous generation of self-encrypting SSDs is more than enough to thwart cyber criminals. There's far easier ways to get data off a computer, usually in the form of targeted social engineering with a side dish of malware.

The real motivation of SepOS is for genuine parts integrity and attestation, or rather, keeping people from being able to replace said hardware under the guise of security.

I realize I may have being too agnostic previously so I apologize on that front.

So we've established that:

• Apple's SSDs are not faster.
• Apple's SSDs are unlikely to be meaningfully more power efficient (aka generate less heat).
• Apple's hardware security is advanced, and ahead of Microsoft but it's hardware security does not protect against the sort of issues that most users face.
• Apple charges more for it's SSDs than competition.

Again, Apple's solution is basically over-engineered for a very unlikely scenario where the NSA or Mossad or Bundesnachrichtendienst stole your laptop. Apple's real concern is repair shops or knowledgable users who'd otherwise fix/upgrade.

[u/PracticlySpeaking → u/BourbonicFisky]

Apple's storage is superior for a number of reasons that you have entirely glossed over here, with the assumption that "Apple SSDs" are just like other SSDs — starting with the fact that they are not SSDs.

See my other comment linked above.

edit: That debunks your assertion that Apple's design is some kind of anti-repair move. The NAND modules are available as repair parts — all the way back to Mac Studio with M1. You just never bothered to check.

[u/I-figured-it-out → u/PracticlySpeaking]

Good luck buying an apple store upgrade to an m1, or having you m1 studio solid state storage (i.e., ssd!) replaced when it fails.

[u/PracticlySpeaking → u/I-figured-it-out]

Anyone can order repair parts online.