TOApple’s M2 Pro chip upgrade for the MacBook Pro boosts performance and battery life on an already extremely capable machine, but it comes with a hefty price hike, making it particularly expensive outside the US. USA
The starting price is £2149 ($1999 / A$3199), which is £250 (A$200) more than its predecessor despite being the same price in the US, which is partly due to the weak exchange rates. Not that the 2021 model was cheap, but breaking the £2,000 mark for the new version raises the barrier to entry significantly.
The exterior of the machine remains intact, with the winning combination of a bright, fast, crisp, super-bright display, class-leading keyboard and trackpad, reasonable selection of ports, and a premium look befitting its price point. It was great in 2021 and it still is today.
Runs macOS 13.2 arrives like all recent Macs, including its stable desktop companion, the Mac mini. It generally runs similar to previous versions and isn’t much different from Windows, but it does have useful features for screen sharing and proximity, allowing you to use a Recent iPad as a second screen either control it remotely. Can use an iPhone as a wireless webcamwhich works great but is less necessary because the MacBook Pro’s FaceTime HD camera is already pretty good.
Specifications
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Screen: 14.2-inch Mini LED (3024 x 1964; 254 dpi) ProMotion (120 Hz)
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Processor: Apple M2 Pro or M2 Max
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RAM: 16, 32, 64 or 96GB
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Storage: 512GB, 1, 2, 4, or 8TB SSD
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OS: macOS 13.2 arrives
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Camera: 1080p FaceTime HD camera
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Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, 3x USB 4/Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, SD card, headphones
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Dimensions: 221.2 x 312.6 x 15.5mm
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Weight: 1.6kg
M2 Pro is faster and more efficient
The new M2 Pro chip offers decent performance gains over the already very fast M1 Pro chips, with up to 14% improvement in CPU speed and up to 22% faster graphics in tests. That puts it right up there with some of the best Intel and AMD laptop chips, but with considerably lower power consumption. The M2 Max chip is also available for those who need more graphics or power for specialized applications.
Equipped with the M2 Pro, the laptop lasted about 10% longer on battery than its predecessor in my tests, managing more than 15 hours of light work like word processing or browsing, and about 12 hours of more demanding tasks, how to batch edit large images in Affinity Photo. That’s completely impressive, beating all rivals by some margin.
The battery reaches a full charge in just under 90 minutes, reaching 50% in about 30 minutes with Apple’s included 96W USB-C charger and MagSafe cable, but can also be charged via any of the ports USB.
Sustainability
MacBook Pro is made from 30% recycled materials, including aluminum, rare earth elements, tin, gold, and plastic. Apple breaks down the computer environmental impact in your report.
The computer is usually repairable and has repair manuals availableand Apple can replace the battery for £245. Repair specialists iFixit praised the machine’s more repairable design, but criticized Apple’s use of software locks in spare parts. Apple offers free trade-in and recycling schemes, even for non-Apple products.
Price
The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at £2,149 ($1,999/AU$3,199) for an M2 Pro chip with 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. Models with 12-core CPU/19-core M2 Pro GPU start at £2,499, while M2 Max models start at £3,149.
The 16-inch MacBook Pro starts at £2,699 ($2,499/AU$3,999). It is not possible to upgrade RAM or storage after purchase.
For comparison, the MacBook Air M2 starts at £1,249while Windows laptops roughly equivalent to new machines, like the Dell XPS 15, cost around £1,950the Razer Blade 14 is all about £2,100 and Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio costs from £1,449.
Verdict
The 14-inch MacBook Pro is a truly great laptop with plenty of power and longer battery life than any of its competitors.
Many of its parts are best-in-class and are assembled in a very user-friendly package. But it comes at a very high cost, and one that can be prohibitive even for those looking for a pro-level workhorse: £2,149 buys a lot of machines elsewhere.
Certainly, for Apple consumers, it makes the £1,249 MacBook Air M2 even more attractive at £900 less than the entry-level Pro, though it’s still not exactly cheap. For those who need a Mac but don’t need the power and ports, there aren’t many corners cut for the Air.
Still, it’s encouraging to see Apple continue to make progress with its own chips to increase performance and power efficiency hand in hand. Longer battery life is always welcome.
Advantages: Powerful, very long battery life, fantastic miniLED ProMotion display, lots of ports and SD card slot, brilliant speakers, Touch ID, great keyboard and trackpad, MagSafe, 14 inches is a great size.
Cons: no USB-A, no Face ID, no Center Stage camera, RAM or SSD cannot be upgraded after purchase, no Boot Camp/Windows support, very expensive.
