Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

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

Ive been on the fence to upgrade my 2016 13” MBP. Surprisingly im still on the fence. Both M2 MBs can

I like the M2 MBP because it is the same design. Im not too big of a fan of the new feet or the MBP & MBA, not a sleek aesthetic that I love. BUT the downfall is that the M2 MBP has the touch bar. Never been a fan of that, and much prefer the buttons
The M2 MBA has finally got rid of that dreaded taper design, and has the smaller screen bezel & physical function buttons. I just hate the feet. Waiting for the demo units to show up in store to play with them to find out which one is more Apple-like.
 
Yeh I’m a little confused why this particular MacBook Pro exists, if you need some power surely get the 14/16 inch versions otherwise just get the Air.
 
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗 said:
Solid Machine for those who prefers the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and having to not deal with the notch. Apple could have released the new MacBook Pro in new colors, atleast. 😭
Click to expand...

Your interesting comment makes me wonder why this device exists at all. Is there really that big of a market for people who want a Touch Bar? Don’t want the notch? Probably more want ports and “pro” at a lower price.

Apple says this is their second most popular laptop. It feels like clutter in the laptop lineup to me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
BWhaler said:
Your interesting comment makes me wonder why this device exists at all. Is there really that big of a market for people who want a Touch Bar? Don’t want the notch? Probably more want ports and “pro” at a lower price.

Apple says this is their second most popular laptop. It feels like clutter in the laptop lineup to me.
Click to expand...
I think it comes down to saving production costs. Apple just decided to save massive amount of money by being able to use an old design (hardware) of the MacBook Pro. The changes were only made internally. It's just an easier way to sell this MacBook Pro without being able to spend money on a hardware design.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973, Leon Ze Professional, Sir_Macs_A_Lot and 2 others
MYZ said:
Source?
The spec sheet doesn't indicate brightness uniformity, color accuracy, or pixel response time.
Click to expand...

Apple has literally never published those specs for any product they’ve ever made, ever. Though it stands to reason that they’re using very similar, if not identical, panels for both computers. And 99.99% of people don’t know what those are and/or wouldn’t notice any difference anyway.
 
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.
Click to expand...
No you don’t. It’s $1299 for the 10 core GPU, making them the exact same price.
 
  • Like
Reactions: snipr125 and Bobby Smallwood
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.
Click to expand...
Nope, they cost the same amount with the same GPU
 
Since the Air usually has passive cooling and this new air seems the same. More than likely without a fan the Air will get thermally throttled during loads so for people who think the Air will perform exactly the same because it has a M2 processor.... I suspect that isn't the case. The Mac Book Pro has fans so it won't have that problem.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Neverless
dumastudetto said:
The professional users whose use cases are well served by this laptop. Obviously that doesn't include you, in this instance.
Click to expand...
I feel like ProMotion should be standard for a Pro product, like iPad Pro has been since 2018 and iPhone Pro since last year. It’s so much easier on the eyes and I can’t think of a more worthwhile screen upgrade that would matter to most consumers.
 
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?
Click to expand...

One day you'll learn that it's just marketing.

Do you think Airpods Pro was designed for professional music listeners?

The iPhone 13 Pro is for professional movie makers?
 
This is an odd computer that exists as a great value in a vacuum. If we disregard the new MacBook Air, it’s $700 cheaper than a modern MacBook Pro.

However, it’s only $300 less spec-for-spec if we add 16GB RAM and 512GB of flash memory. It’s basically like accepting a previous-generation chassis with the latest chip at a discounted price.

This ends up being a great computer for the average consumer that wants a MacBook Pro and isn’t overly tech-savvy.
 
Last edited:
All said and done I'm still happy I went with the M1 Pro over the Air for astrophotography. During integrations the fan ramps to what sounds like 100%, there's no way the Air would produce similar results with passive cooling. There's a market for this computer, for sure. Not everyone wants or needs to spend 2K for the 14".
 
  • Like
Reactions: Neverless and RaphaZ
Monica Chin listed new colors as the #1 reason to wait for the new Air. All of the other reviewers put colors at or near the end.
 
I think that the only logical reason that this machine exists is that Apple had a stockpile of leftover previous generation 13 inch MBP bodies and keyboards on their hands and they are clearing them out.
 
So it's not actually a bad computer, it's just not a new design but now price gap between Air and Pro are closer than ever. Don't really know why this Mac still exists in Apple's lineup except as an alternative to a 14" MBP but then the new Air still has bigger screen at 13.6" than this 13.3 or 13.1" sooooooo just kill this thing and give the people a 15" MBA that'd make some sense.
 
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).
Click to expand...
There's a lot of "pros" that need USB-A, too. A port doesn't dictate pro, or not.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back