Apple has now also placed the M2 processor in the Mac mini and MacBook Pro, which has significantly increased performance. Apple also offers the M2 Mac mini cheaper than the previous version, while the M2 MacBook Pro models have become more expensive than the M1 models.
Bert van Dyke
Following the MacBook Air, Apple has now also made the Mac mini 18% faster with the M2 processor. Graphics performance has been improved by 35%. Due to hardware ProRes acceleration, video editing in Final Cut Pro is 2.4x faster than with the M1 Mac mini, so the new Mac mini with M2 processor is highly recommended for video editors. Thanks to this processor, the Mac mini is up to 5x faster than the best-selling Windows desktop with a Core i5 processor. After all the price increases at Apple, it is surprising that the price of this basic version with 8GB RAM and 256GB memory storage has now been reduced by € 80 from € 799 to € 719. If you can use the education discount, buy on apple.nl via the heading For education and Purchases for your study: https://www.apple.com/nl-edu/store You then only pay € 599 for the M2 Mac mini. That price is without mouse, keyboard and monitor. For € 230 more you can expand the RAM to 16 GB, so you can work even better with demanding applications. For € 230, you can also double the storage space to 512 GB. This is probably beneficial, because the Macbook Air has already shown that you can read and write large files much faster. In addition to two USB and Thunderbolt 4 ports, the basic version also has connections for HDMI, 1 or 10 gigabit Ethernet (surcharge € 115) and a high-quality headphone connection. You can also connect two monitors at the same time and with Wi-Fi 6E you benefit from a 2x faster wireless connection.
TIP: Via the Thunderbolt 4 ports you can get great speed with an external NVMe with external storage that is much cheaper than increasing the storage to 1 TB or 2 TB for € 460 or € 960.
The Mac mini with M2 Pro processor has 2 extra Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 ports
Also heavier Mac mini with M2 Pro processor
Instead of the last Mac mini with Intel processor, Apple now sells a heavier version with an M2 Pro processor, which is also present in the MacBook Pro that was updated at the same time. This M2 Pro processor has twice as many transistors and a much higher memory bandwidth. You can also work with three screens with this Mac mini, including one 8K screen. Thanks to the M2 Pro processor, this Mac mini is now even up to 14x faster than the fastest Intel Mac mini! The Mac mini with the M2 Pro is also 4.2 times faster than the Mac mini M1 with the ProRes transcoding in Final Cut Pro. This heavier Mac mini can therefore be an affordable alternative to the Mac Studio models released in 2022 without many additional expansions. After all, you pay € 2,333 for the basic Mac Studio with M1 Max with 10 CPU cores, while you only have to pay € 1,569 for an M2 Pro Mac mini with 10 CPU cores. And it is also equipped with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD storage as standard.
MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max processors
In addition to the Mac mini, Apple has also equipped the MacBooks with a new M2 Pro and M2 Max processor. Because these processors are more energy efficient, you can work 1 hour longer with these new Macbook Pro models (16-inch model WiFi 15 hours / video 22 hours and 14-inch model WiFi 12 hours / video 18 hours). You can also charge the battery half way in 30 minutes. The downside is that the prices have increased by approximately € 200 to € 300, depending on the chosen configuration. The 14-inch MacBook prices start at € 2,449. The 16-inch MacBook Pro costs €3,049 with an M2 Pro processor and €4,199 with an M2 Max processor. These kinds of prices are of course overkill for private users and for them a MacBook Air with an M2 processor is probably a better purchase. You can now order all updated models with delivery from Tuesday 24 January.
In this video you can see in 18 minutes how Apple presented the new Macbook Pro and Mac Mini models.