M2 MacBook Pro: 5 reasons to (not) buy it

In addition to the new M2 MacBook Air, Apple also equipped its current 13-inch MacBook Pro with the new chip during WWDC 2022. How good is the new laptop?

The new M2 MacBook Pro is once again an excellent product, but it mainly sows confusion. Next to the M2 MacBook Air and M1 Pro MacBook Pro, its position feels mostly uncomfortable. Why? I’ll explain!

M2 MacBook Pro: 5 reasons to (not) buy

To give you a good idea of ​​the new 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro, after more than a week of use, I’ll list five reasons. I will not only tell you why you should get the laptop at home, but also why not. Here they are:

#1 NOT: the old design

While the M2 MacBook Air, the 14-inch MacBook Pro and the 16-inch MacBook Pro have been redesigned, the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro has to make do with the 2016 design. There are plenty of consumers who are fans of it, but compared to the rest of the range, in addition to appearance, it also has some drawbacks.

It starts with the fact that consumers get a less good screen. The M1 Pro MacBook Pro features a 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with ProMotion, a resolution of 3024 x 1964 pixels and a pixel density of 254 ppi. The new 13-inch model features a Retina display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 and a pixel density of 227 ppi. Professionals who are looking for the best possible screen make a concession with this model that they do not have to make in practical terms.

That certainly also applies to the number of connections on the M2 MacBook Pro. This model has two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C connections and a mini-jack connection. The M1 Pro model works with three Thunderbolt 4/USB-C connections, mini-jack connection, HDMI port, MagSafe 3 port and SDXC port.

So you not only have to deal with a lesser appearance, but also with less ease of use. You could argue that the Touch Bar is the only advantage in this area. Provided you as a consumer are a fan of that, of course.

#2 DO: more power

The story gets more interesting if you look at the raw performance of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Where there is a small improvement of 10% in the CPU area, this model will mainly make the difference with the GPU.

Compared to the standard M1 chip, the new M2 chip provides an improvement of about 35%. This is quickly reflected in programs such as Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro, but also when playing games. Professionals who until now had their eye on the M1 model can really make a difference here.

#3 NOT: slower SSD entry model

While the M2 MacBook Pro is generally fine on the inside, the entry-level model seems to run into problems. After several tests, it becomes clear that this model has lower read and write speeds compared to the same models of the previous generation. It simply loses to the M1 MacBook Pro.

That is a problem for consumers who want to buy the cheapest variant of the M2 MacBook Pro. We’ll go into more detail about that in the article above.

#4 DO: bigger battery

In terms of battery life, the M2 MacBook Pro does not seem to take big steps compared to its predecessor. For example, you can still watch 20 hours of movies and 17 hours of wireless internet with a full charge. The only difference in this area is that you can now also charge the laptop with an adapter with 67W power. With the previous model, 61W was the max.

However, if you look at the other models in the range, the story becomes a lot more interesting. The M2 MacBook Air, in turn, offers 15 hours of wireless internet and allows you to watch movies for 18 hours on a full charge. The M1 Pro MacBook Pro offers 17 hours in that area, where it can surf wirelessly for 11 hours.

#5 NOT: the price

The last point focuses entirely on price. There isn’t much wrong with that. With a suggested retail price of $1,504, the M2 MacBook Pro is the cheapest Pro you can buy right now. Well, what does that say?

For €100 less you get the almost equally powerful M2 MacBook Air. A laptop that does have a brand new design and whose biggest performance difference is the fan.

If you really want to go for more computing power, you will quickly end up with the M1 Pro MacBook Pro. This laptop can be purchased with a minimum of 512GB, which makes it less than €300 more expensive compared to the same storage capacity. An amount that gives you more connections, a better display, four extra GPU cores and twice as much central memory.

13-inch M2 MacBook Pro: buy or leave it?

Yes, the M2 MacBook Pro is another masterful device. The big question, however, is for whom the laptop is interesting. The majority of the target group will be able to get along well with the M2 MacBook Air, where the real professional can better venture to the M1 Pro or M1 Max MacBook Pro.

You won’t go wrong with the M2 MacBook Pro, but there are really better options in Apple’s range at the moment. Unless you are completely in love with the design of this 13-inch model and the accompanying Touch Bar. Otherwise, I really don’t see any reason why you should get this model at home at the moment.