Alongside the M2 Mac mini, Apple announced a new MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. Set to be released later this week, the reviews regarding the company’s high-end MacBooks are now available.
With 14 and 16-inch options, users can choose between the new M2 Pro chip and the more powerful M2 Max option. Here’s what everyone is talking about these upgrades.
TechRadar says the M2 Pro is such a great chip that the only way to justify purchasing the M2 Max MacBook Pro is if you need serious GPU power:
The only issue I have regarding the performance of the MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023) is that the M2 Pro does such a good job, that it’s hard to see what the M2 Max can improve on, apart from perhaps higher benchmark numbers.
If you need some serious GPU power, then sure, the M2 Max may be worth it, but for most people the M2 Pro will be more than enough.
TechCrunch praises the bigger battery life available with the new 14-inch MacBook Pro. The reviewer said he was able to squeeze in 21.5 hours of the system before the screen shut off:
The battery life, meanwhile, is just straight up awesome. With video playback, I was able to squeeze an impressive 21.5 hours out of the system before the screen shut off. That’s just shy of the stated 22 hours. The Air and 13-inch Pro, meanwhile, are listed as up to 18 and 20 hours, respectively. It’s easy to see Apple hitting a full day in a generation or two. In the meantime, you should be able to make it through that direct flight from New York to Singapore without incident (no, I can’t sleep on flights, either).
CNET highlights the horsepower of this machine but also how its design remains the same as the 2021 iteration, except for a few spec bumps.
It offers a modest refresh from the more significantly redesigned 2021 model; notably, upgrades to the latest generation of M2-class processors, Wi-Fi 6E and HDMI 2.1, which means support for displays up to 8K/60Hz and 4K/240Hz as well as variable refresh rates. The combination of the old and new enhances the veteran laptop’s chops as a powerhouse computer for creation and development work.
You can also read the MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max reviews from MacWorld and Pocket-lint.