On Tuesday, Apple announced new versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro and Mac Mini.
The company’s official announcements focus on two new chips that can now fit into the Mac, given that neither the MacBook Pro nor the Mac mini received any other major changes.
The two new chips on offer are the M2 Pro and M2 Max. These are stronger variants of his M2 chip that the company launched in June 2022. So far, I’ve only had his 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air with M2 chips. , the 14-inch and 16-inch Pro are likely to feature the more powerful but older M1 Pro and M1 Max chips.
The new M2 Pro features 12 CPU cores and 19 GPU cores with up to 32GB of unified memory. The M2 Max takes it even further, with up to 38 GPU cores and up to 96GB of unified memory. The chip features a faster 16-core neural engine to handle AI-related tasks.
M2 Max.
Credit: Apple
Apple says the M2 Max is “the world’s most powerful and efficient chip for professional laptops.” Here are some stats: It has 67 billion transistors and an integrated memory bandwidth of 400GB/s. The M2 Pro has 40 billion transistors and 200GB/s of unified memory bandwidth.
Bottom line: these new chips are fast. Apple says the M2 Pro processes images in Photoshop 40 percent faster than the M1 Pro chip. It also compiles code 25% faster than previous versions.
Anything else new? MacBook Pro laptops come with faster Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity and an upgraded HDMI that supports 8K displays up to 60Hz and 4K displays up to 240Hz. Outside, nothing has changed. These laptops have a 14-inch or 16-inch display with a notch at the top and come in either Space Gray or Silver.
Another big advantage of the new chip is improved battery life. According to Apple, these new MacBook Pro laptops have the longest battery life ever on a Mac. Up to 18 hours of battery life for the 14-inch version. The 16-inch variant gets up to 22 hours of battery life.
The new MacBook Pro laptops start at $1,999 and $2,499 respectively.
Credit: Apple
Pricing starts at $1,999 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro and $2,499 for the 16-inch MacBook Pro. That’s the case with the M2 Pro chip. If you opt for the more powerful M2 Max chip, prices start at $3,099 and $3,499 respectively.
The story is similar to the Mac mini, which can now be configured with an M2 or M2 Pro chip. Starting at $599 for the M2 chip and $1,299 for the M2 Pro chip. For the M2 version of the device, the ports are the same as before: two Thunderbolt ports, two USB-A ports and an HDMI port, a Gigabit Ethernet port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The M2 Pro version of Mac mini has two additional Thunderbolt 4 ports, supporting up to three displays simultaneously.
Four ports, three simultaneous displays – if you opt for the more expensive M2 Pro variant of the Mac mini.
Credit: Apple
All new devices are available to order starting today, January 17th. It is scheduled to arrive at the customer on January 24th. This is for the United States and 26 other countries and regions. However, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, New Zealand and Singapore will start taking orders on February 3rd.
