OK, This is the brand new M2 MacBook Pro 13….inch, laptop that was announced this
year at wwdc along with the brand new M2 based MacBook Air. And this laptop has no future.
Over the last few weeks you have probably not heard anyone really
talk about this machine because it did not get any upgrades to its design or features
except for that new m2 processor inside.
This is the base model with the 13.3” display,
8gb of memory and 256gb of storage and a price of 1299.
I debated hard about whether or not to buy one of these to check out because although
I do not think this is an interesting device or that you should buy it, more on that later,
it is the first shipping laptop with the brand new M2 apple silicon. And of course I am curious about
the performance of this chip and I want to test it and see how it compares to my other devices so
this is supposed to be my unboxing and first look at the new M2 MacBook Pro.
All I have to do is pull this little tab….this little piece of plastic
is all that is preventing me from playing with a new laptop….but I just can’t do it.
In my heart I just can’t recommend that anyone buy this laptop,
even though I haven’t even used it yet. Again, yes, the chip is new and I’ll talk about that
in a minute but there are too many things that make me hesitate……let’s start with the design.
There was no new design for this 13” MacBook Pro. It looks the same as the 2016 MacBooks
which is not a bad design, but every other apple laptop has been updated with Apples new
design language except this one which just makes it feel outdated. The new Air announced
along side this one did get a new update and looks amazing on photos so I can’t wait to get my hands
on it. But we live in a shallow world and many people do buy things based on how they look and
I don’t think anyone would choose this over the new MacBook Air. Just based on looks alone.
Next, the Touch Bar. And I know that there are a handful of people who LOVE the Touch Bar
because they use it with specific applications for specific tasks. Im happy for you and that it
works for your workflow. The advantages of things like photoshop quick buttons does not outweigh
the awful experience of the basic controls of changing volume or adjusting the brightness. Apple
hasn’t done a DANG thing to update the functionality of the touch bar since
they released it in 2016. No new features, no great new tools to develop for it….nothing.
Now that Apple has removed the Touch Bar from every other laptop do you think they
are going to do anything to improve it going forward? No…. With the likelihood that this
is the last Touch Bar laptop apple makes do you think new applications are going to spend time
developing their app for the Touch Bar or update existing ones? No….. The Touch Bar has no future
and is just shy of being a relic of something that Apple thought would be bigger than it was.
For the ports, this “Pro” laptop is still stuck with 2 single thunderbolt ports. Well,
only one if you need to charge the laptop because
Apple didn’t add MagSafe to this model like they have all their other MacBooks.
And I will admit that I rarely use more than 2 ports on my MacBook Pro 14 and when I do I
also have a dock connected with additional ports and power, but unlike 18 months ago where the M1
Air and M1 Pro were the New Kids on the Block with apple’s own processors, we now know what a
real “pro” machine looks like with apple silicon and there is just nothing “Pro” about 2 ports.
The screen on this m2 MacBook Pro is the same 13.3” display as the previous model.
Its got 500 nits, p3, True Tone and by any measurement is a fantastic display.
I think its a great display……but…..the new M2 MacBook Air got a display upgrade
matching its 500 nits of brightness and growing to a slightly larger 13.6” display.
The Pro display is at best as good as the air.
Now, When it comes to the speakers, mic and camera we need to see how good the camera
will be with the m2 Air but this m2 pro has the same 720p camera without any updates to
the speakers and mic array which, again, were very solid on the previous model.
Will they be better than the updated 4 speakers system and three mic array on the air?
OK, back to the processor, This is the first MacBook
shipping with the M2 processor, the same one that will ship with the new Air.
The M2 comes with an 8 core cpu, and 10 core gpu. Geekbench shows the M2 is about 10% faster
than the M1 and m1 Pro in single-core tests and about 16% faster than the m1 in multi-core tests.
In Geekbench metal the 10 core m2 gets about 32% faster speeds compared to the 8 core m1.
These are good updates for a second generation of Apple silicon Mac processors and you will see
these speeds being roughly equal in the new m2 air as well, but the 13 Pro does get active cooling
built in which could in theory help it sustain high gpu workloads longer without throttling down.
We did see instances of how this works with the m1 throttling by channels like Max tech which
did so many great tests and I am sure will do the same for the m2, but my takeaway from that is that
there is such a narrow use case where someone needs high, sustained performance
for more than 20 minutes, where the 13” MacBook Pro is the best tool for the job.
Maybe you say you need it for gaming……I don’t know what games you are playing on apple silicon
long enough that this would become an issue…. If you really are gaming on Apple laptops on
a regular basis let me know below which games and how often you play because I am curious.
Maybe you need to run long 3d renders, or something that relies heavily on the GPU
cores because it is your job. And I mean it has to be long periods because, and again…..we don’t
know yet about throttling on the new m2 air, but really long project workloads that require
cooling to keep the top performance. Is the base M2 the best computer you should be using?
If this is for professional use and time is money you are waaaaaay better off getting
an M1 Pro or M1 Max based Mac because that will literally pay for it self in time saved.
The M1 Pro is still about 40% faster than the m2 in muti-core benchmarks
and the 14-core base gpu on the m1 pro is about 38% faster than the 10-core gpu in the m2.
So if you need sustained performance for your workload you are better off getting a
better laptop. If you are a freelancer or still in school then more than likely
the m2 air is still going to be as much or more performance than you will need.
So, who is going to buy this outdated, confusing laptop?
Idiots like me who want to be the first to try out the next generation of apple silicon.
Apple said that the 13” MacBook Pro was the number 2 selling laptop
after the MacBook Air and for a couple weeks until the m2 air ships it will sell….ok…maybe…..but
as soon as the m2 air ships this second best selling laptop will become apples worst.
This machine just does not make sense now at $100 more than the MacBook Air M2 when the Air
gets all the benefits people care about including a new design, bigger screen, regular function row,
better camera, same screen brightness, color options, and of course the lower price tag.
Now, tell me I am wrong below, but this product just
does not make any sense to me. If you feel like you need that extra sustained
performance then you really should check out my videos on the 14 and 16” MacBook
pros but if you are getting a 13” m2 pro anyway check out this video for desk setup ideas.
Hit the thumbs up button if you liked it, hit subscribe if you want and i’ll see you next time.