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13-Inch MacBook Pro With M2 Chip Reviews: Faster Performance, But Consider Waiting for New MacBook Air

I generally agree with all of the ..."wait and get the new Air" sentiments expressed in the forum. However, I am happy that the supposedly small group who could use the fan, sound, and performance boost without migrating to the 14 or 16 have an option. It is an odd machine in the space, but it isn't like Apple is carving out a new niche for a model of this kind. They are simply offering the machine as they migrate everything along. I can't be mad at that.
 
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I think what all of the reviewers are missing when they talk about the lower price point of the M2 Air is that to achieve the lower price point the M2 Air comes with fewer processor cores. Once you upgrade the CPU to the same as in the M2 13" MacBook Pro, the price is the same.

The MacBook Air used to be the super affordable (relatively speaking) Mac coming in under $1000. The new M2 Air is now $200 more for the base configuration.

Apple really was no thinking here. I would have rather Apple throw a fan in the M2 Air and called it the new 13" MacBook Pro and keep the classic Air design and throw an M2 chip in that body.
 
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BeatCrazy said:
Crazy battery life?

I never associate SD card reader with "Pro", but that's just me.
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The new MacBook Pro 13 offers up to 20 hours battery life. The new MacBook Air offers up to 18 hours. That's a 2 hour difference.

Also, there must still be quite a few 'professions' who use their MacBooks to edit video from their camera's SD card (or Apple wouldn't have brought it back).
 
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Sir_Macs_A_Lot said:
The new MacBook Pro 13 offers up to 20 hours battery life. The new MacBook Air offers up to 18 hours. That's a 2 hour difference.

Also, there must still be quite a few 'professions' who use their MacBooks to edit video from their camera's SD card (or Apple wouldn't have brought it back).
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1B30E333-03F8-4FB3-8373-2D4628020B21.jpeg
No matter how hard you try, you are not importing video or photos from a modern camera (nor a older one) with that slot.
 
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Fender2112 said:
I am considering one of these. The only significant difference I see is the Pro has touch bar and better sound "driver". I'm not sure either is worth the cost.
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Until the Touch Bar fails. Had that happen twice and it was quite expensive to get fixed out of warranty
 
Well, it will begin this silly season of YouTube videos filled with the same old chewed words about Apple Tech.
They all say the same. Now, they will all say this: "wait till MBA M2, it will have better value". I'm already tired of it.

M2 MBP could be great for someone who doesn't have a M-series MacBook. Period. Has a fan, better CPU, amazing battery life. Factors like 0,3 real estate screen or colors (Seriously, colors?!) doesn't influence my purchase, at least. There is one thing, though: MagSafe! It impacts your everyday office life, and it could be the major factor to impact my purchase over the M2 MBP.

I can't understand why people moan about the MPB M2, having them other options in the market.
 
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Almost as if a bunch of us called it in advance, that 13 MBP is the red headed step child that doesnt make any sense in the lineup really.

Awkwardly wedged between the new M2 Air and 14/16 MBP's.
 
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Sir_Macs_A_Lot said:
So no ProMotion Display, only 2 USB-C ports, and no SD-card reader.
What makes this a 'Pro' again?
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The fan! Don’t forget about that fan! /s

I’ve never had the fan in my 14” MBP turn on even once, even when using it outside during this heat wave.

And the fan seriously is the only point anyone can say in this device’s favor. It’s kinda weird.
 
jarman92 said:
PSA: don’t buy this computer.
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You are on point! Not sure why someone would buy this?
I have the M1 air and I think you can get those for $850 now.
I'd get the 15inch M2 air if it has more ports but otherwise
my m1 air is fine.
 
MYZ said:
I'm sure there's been a few panel revisions since but yes same form factor. It's still a very good screen, much better than the current (2020) MacBook Air screen, and I could easily see Apple opting to keep some difference to differentiate.
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Interesting, I went and looked at the compare page and couldn't really see any differences, HOWEVER, IF I do go to their individual tech spec pages I can see the following:

M2 MacBook Air:

Liquid Retina display
  • 13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology;1
    2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch with
    support for 1 billion colors
  • 500 nits brightness
  • Wide color (P3)
  • True Tone technology
MacBook Pro:

Retina display

  • 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
  • 500 nits brightness
  • Wide color (P3)
  • True Tone technology
M1 MacBook Air:

Retina display

- 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
- 400 nits brightness
- Wide color (P3)
- True Tone technology



So with the stuff that apple provides us on the tech spec pages (and on paper for now at least) it would seem that the new M2 Air's display is overall the best. It is an upgrade over the M1 Air in size, amount of colors supported, and brightness. Compared to the Pro it seems it's just a size and supported colors difference. (EDIT: Not that it's really a size advantage at all lol)
 
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Yes, the single-core result of an M2 MacBook Pro will beat any M1 device; that’s because this is an A15-based core, and therefore it’s faster. But of course, so much performance these days comes from using multiple cores together. And while the 8-core M2 will run faster than the 8-core M1 for obvious reasons, it can’t keep pace with the many, many cores in higher-end M1 processors.
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So this M2 13” MBP isn’t offering anything over then the M2 13” Air, so if you want performance opt for the 14” MBP.
 
RaphaZ said:
I can't understand why people moan about the MPB M2, having them other options in the market.
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Not to mention that the 10 core GPU version of the M2 is $1299 in the MBP. You have to get the $1499 MBA in order to get the same GPU. That's not an insignificant difference when the M2 GPU is overall almost 40% faster than the M1. Those two extra cores + the internal cooling will be important for certain types of pro usage, especially since you can get it for $200 less.
 
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gnipgnop said:
Not to mention that the 10 core GPU version of the M2 is $1299 in the MBP. You have to get the $1499 MBA in order to get the same GPU. That's not an insignificant difference when the M2 GPU is overall almost 40% faster than the M1. Those two extra cores + the internal cooling will be important for certain types of pro usage, especially since you can get it for $200 less.
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Precisely. I imagine it for a "light pro" user, people who need more performance than the regular basics. Even for students it could be a cool option.
 
Battery life is a big deal to me. Am I crazy for considering trading in my m1 pro to get this? That battery life is even more impressive than my m1 pro.
 
I'd buy an M1 Air before I'd even consider this - seems more suited to a niche group of consumers/buyers than anything else.
 
I’d be perfectly fine with this if it was sold with the traditional FN keys. Not only did I not like Touch Bar when I last tried it, but it just seems like dead-end tech at this point. No other Mac even offers it as an option. An SD card reader would be nice too, but really it’s just Touch Bar that makes me pass on it.
 
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