Apple launches MacBook Pro laptops with new M2 Pro and M2 Max chips
On Tuesday, Apple unveiled new versions of its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, as well as Mac Mini.
The company's official announcement focuses on the two new chips that can now come with its Macs, given that neither the MacBook Pro or Mac mini received any other major changes.
The two new chips on offer are M2 Pro and M2 Max, which are more powerful variants of the M2 chip that the company launched in June 2022. Until now, you could only have the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air with an M2 chip, while the 14-inch and the 16-inch Pro could come with the more powerful, but older M1 Pro and M1 Max chips.
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The new M2 Pro tops up at 12 CPU cores and 19 GPU cores, with a maximum of 32GB of unified memory. The M2 Max pushes that even further, with a maximum of 38 GPU cores, and up to 96GB of unified memory. The chips have a faster, 16-core Neural Engine to take care of AI-related tasks.
Apple says that the M2 Max is the "world's most powerful and efficient chip for a pro laptop." Here are some stats for you: It has 67 billion transistors, 400GB/s of unified memory bandwidth. The M2 Pro has 40 billion transistors, and 200GB/s of unified memory bandwidth.
Botttom line: These new chips are fast. Apple says that the M2 Pro processes images in Photoshop 40 percent faster than the M1 Pro chip; it also compiles code 25 percent faster than its predecessor.
What else is new? The MacBook Pro laptops now come with the faster, Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity standard, as well as upgraded HDMI, which supports 8K displays up to 60Hz and 4K displays up to 240Hz. Outside, nothing has changed; these laptops still have 14-inch or 16-inch displays with a notch on top, and come in either Space Gray or Silver.
Another big benefit from the new chips: Better battery life. Apple says that these new MacBook Pro laptops have the longest battery life ever in a Mac. For the 14-inch version, that's up to 18 hours of battery life; on the 16-inch variant, you get up to 22 hours of battery life.
Pricing starts at $1,999 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, and $2,499 for the 16-inch MacBook Pro. That's with the M2 Pro chips; if you opt for the more powerful, M2 Max chips, the prices start at $3,099 and $3,499, respectively.
The story is similar with the Mac mini, which can now be configured with an M2 or an M2 Pro chip. It starts at $599 with the M2 chip, and at $1,299 with the M2 Pro chip. For the M2 version of the device, the ports are the same as before: 2 Thunderbolt ports, two USB-A ports, and HDMI port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The M2 Pro version of the Mac mini comes with two extra Thunderbolt 4 ports, and simultaneous support for up to three displays.
All of the new devices are available to order starting today, Jan. 17. They will start arriving to customers on Jan 24. That's for the U.S. and 26 other countries and regions; in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, and Singapore, however, the orders will open up on Feb. 3.
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
