Apple on Tuesday, introduced new devices – the MacBook Pro 14″ and 16″ with either the M2 Pro or M2 Max SoCs (systems on a chip) and the Mac mini with the M2 and M2 Pro. These MacBook Pro complete the switch from Intel chips to Apple Silicon.
MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max
These high end devices featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max, bring even more power-efficient performance and battery life to MacBook Pro users. According to Apple, the new MacBook Pro features up to 6x faster performance than fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro and support for up to 96GB of unified memory for demanding pro workflows
Building on the unprecedented power efficiency of Apple silicon, the battery life on MacBook Pro is now up to 22 hours, which is the longest battery life ever in a Mac.
“MacBook Pro with Apple silicon has been a game changer, empowering pros to push the limits of their workflows while on the go and do things they never thought possible on a laptop,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Today the MacBook Pro gets even better. With faster performance, enhanced connectivity, and the longest battery life ever in a Mac, along with the best display in a laptop, there’s simply nothing else like it.”
For enhanced connectivity, the MacBook Pro now features Wi-Fi 6E for faster wireless connectivity, as well as more advanced HDMI, to support 8K displays up to 60Hz and 4K displays up to 240Hz. These new capabilities build on the versatile connectivity options already in MacBook Pro, including three Thunderbolt 4 ports for high-speed connection to peripherals, an SDXC card slot, and MagSafe 3 charging.
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 while the 16-inch MacBook Pro model will cost at least $2,499. The new MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max are available in Silver and Space Gray and to order as from January 17 but will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers starting Tuesday, January 24.
Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro
The new M2 Pro chip delivers pro-level performance to Mac mini for the first time, enabling users to run high-performance workflows that were previously unimaginable in such a compact design. Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro delivers faster performance, even more unified memory, and advanced connectivity, including support for up to two displays on the M2 model, and up to three displays on the M2 Pro model.
“With incredible capabilities and a wide array of connectivity in its compact design, Mac mini is used in so many places, in so many different ways. Today, we’re excited to take it even further with M2 and M2 Pro,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Bringing even more performance and a lower starting price, Mac mini with M2 is a tremendous value. And for users who need powerful pro performance, Mac mini with M2 Pro is unlike any other desktop in its class.”
The Mac mini with M2 features an 8-core CPU with four high-performance and four high-efficiency cores, along with a 10-core GPU. While with the M2 Pro, it features up to a 12-core CPU with eight high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, along with up to a 19-core GPU, M2 Pro has 200GB/s of memory bandwidth — double the amount in M2 — and supports up to 32GB of memory.
For connectivity, the M2 model features two Thunderbolt 4 ports and support for up to two displays. The M2 Pro model includes four Thunderbolt 4 ports and support for up to three displays. Additionally, the M2 Pro model can support one 8K display, a first for the Mac. Both models feature two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, a Gigabit Ethernet port with a 10GB option, and an upgraded headphone jack to support high-impedance headphones. For wireless connectivity, both new models also feature the latest standards with Wi-Fi 6E5 for up to 2x faster throughput than before, as well as Bluetooth 5.3.
The Mac mini with M2 starts at $599 while the Mac mini with M2 Pro starts at $1,299. The new Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro is available to order today, January 17, and will be available in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, beginning Tuesday, January 24.
M2 Pro and M2 Max chips
The M2 Pro and M2 Max SoCs take the breakthrough power-efficient performance of Apple silicon to new heights. The M2 Pro scales up the architecture of M2 to deliver an up to 12-core CPU and up to 19-core GPU, together with up to 32GB of fast unified memory while the M2 Max builds on the capabilities of M2 Pro, including an up to 38-core GPU, double the unified memory bandwidth, and up to 96GB of unified memory.
Both chips feature enhanced custom technologies, including a faster 16-core Neural Engine and Apple’s powerful media engine.
“Only Apple is building SoCs like M2 Pro and M2 Max. They deliver incredible pro performance along with industry-leading power efficiency,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. “With an even more powerful CPU and GPU, support for a larger unified memory system, and an advanced media engine, M2 Pro and M2 Max represent astonishing advancements in Apple silicon.”
M2 Pro and M2 Max feature updated custom technologies:
- Both M2 Pro and M2 Max include Apple’s next-generation, 16-core Neural Engine, capable of 15.8 trillion operations per second, and up to 40 percent faster than the previous generation.
- M2 Pro has an immensely powerful and efficient media engine, including hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, and ProRes video encode and decode, allowing playback of multiple streams of 4K and 8K ProRes video while using very little power. M2 Max features two video encode engines and two ProRes engines, bringing up to 2x faster video encoding than M2 Pro.
- Apple’s latest image signal processor delivers better noise reduction and, along with the Neural Engine, uses computational video to enhance camera image quality.
- A next-generation Secure Enclave is a critical part of Apple’s best-in-class security.
