iFixit Tears Down 13-Inch M2 MacBook Pro

[loby]

That's standard Apple M.O. so...

In the end, I am guessing that of the millions of these machines they sell each year, the significant majority are configured with 512GB so Apple felt they could skimp since relatively so few buy 256GB and those that do likely do so because they are not focused on disk throughput (and especially synthetic disk throughput scores).

But really at the end of the day, still it is fast, just not what let’s say “should be” in it.

Those who buy the 256GB probably don’t care about black magic speed tests etc. It will be fast enough for them, and it is still faster than what they had before probably. This type of buyer/user does not care. That I think is more Apple’s thinking behind it along with a few more percentage points of profits vs manufacturing and supplier costs in their minds.

Not for everyone, but the laptop is still decent and has its place.

 

[xpla]

I don't know why so much hate is being projected against the M2 MBPRO 13". I use Apple products since 2008 and any product presentation, literally any product, left something a bitter taste because some details are always "not right". May it be the price for RAM, SSD (back in the times HDD) or whatever.

I love my M1 13" MB Pro coming from a MacBook Pro 2015, which i got free of charge because my 2012 MacBook Pro was repaired three times by Apple under the AppleCare guarantee.

The M1 13" is a beast and i don't have any issues with the TouchBar. I don't miss the physical buttons, but maybe i i just got used to the TouchBar.

As my family as a 2011 or so MacBook Pro which does not gets update anymore, i will buy myself the new M2 13" MB Pro with more RAM (16GB) and give the M1 13" MB Pro (8GB) to my family. With the fan built in, i think it's the sweet spot between the 14" which of course is a power-horse and the MacBook Air which might throttle when i (rarely) edit videos. But i have the piece of mind that the 16GB MB Pro 13" M2 will last for a few years.

The Mx generation is really a new era of computing.

I know it always can get better (Mini-LED or OLED display) etc. but here in Europe, Apple is demanding a f* ton of money for the devices and the 14" is too bulky for me, even if it's just a little larger and heavier than the 13". I really enjoy taking my 13" on business trips with me, as the added weight is "bearable" and to the contrary of my business notebook (1,700 EUR Dell whatever "wannabe 13" MacBook Pro") you can actually do things on it. My Dell business notebook is bloated with god knows which security software, the fan is almost all the time running and blowing out hot air and the battery is completely drained after two hours. On a usual business trip for three or four days i did not even need to charge my MacBook Pro 13".

So i really don't know if the Air is the better Notebook if you sometimes want to do a little bit of e.g. video editing. The difference in Europe between the M2 Air with the CPU with less GPU cores, 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM is just 100 EUR. So i think the M2 13" MB PRO is the better choice.

 

[Jack Neill]

The year is 2026. The M1 chip is no longer supported by the latest macOS update, but tens of thousands of users everywhere are able to swap in a processor upgrade to prevent the rest of the computer from turning into e-waste.

This is the hellish nightmare that Apple is protecting us from.

I am hoping OCLP will be our hero when that day comes..

 

[Artemis70]

After seeing more details on this Macbook Pro, I am no longer interested in risking it with the Macbook Air M2. Going to wait until newer Macbook Pros with the 3nm tech comes out and just save my money for that instead. I don't want to purchase an Apple product that cut corners to save a few dollars. Going to milk my Macbook Pro 15 2015 until 2023 with macOS Monterey and get something Apple would be proud to ship.

If your MacBook Pro 15 2015 is still cutting it, I would not replace it yet.

If your machine is not cutting it anymore, I'm curious what makes you wait for the M2 or 3nm tech? Wouldn't the M1 Pro be a good choice?

I switched to the MacBook Pro 14 last year and haven't regretted it. I got myself the M1 Pro model with 10 Core CPU. Right after switching I couldn't believe the performance and was pretty sure that the CPU should be working really hard to deliver such performance, yet the fan was never on. Much to my surprise, I have hardly seen the M1 Pro above 20% busy. This is with workloads that would easily keep the CPU 100% busy on my MacBook Pro 15 2015. Now, I mostly do photo editing, with occasional video editing, so I am not a power user. Depending on your workload, your mileage may vary.

 

[maxoakland]

That's standard Apple M.O. so...

In the end, I am guessing that of the millions of these machines they sell each year, the significant majority are configured with 512GB so Apple felt they could skimp since relatively so few buy 256GB and those that do likely do so because they are not focused on disk throughput (and especially synthetic disk throughput scores).

If the majority are configured with 512GB they should realize that’s the minimum most customers need and upgrade the baseline from 256GB. That was too small in 2015. Now it’s just ridiculous

I am hoping OCLP will be our hero when that day comes..

What’s OCLP and what’s it stand for?

Framework laptop got much better. Even Apple devices like the 14" and 16" MBP had software issues when they came out.

Huh, that’s a good point. As Apple’s software quality and compatibility go down, they will eventually meet the quality of Windows PCs. Unless Apple makes the changes people have been clamoring for 5 years in a row

 

[CWallace]

If the majority are configured with 512GB they should realize that’s the minimum most customers need and upgrade the baseline from 256GB. That was too small in 2015. Now it’s just ridiculous

It is, but with all those companies willing to spend $200 to upgrade to 512GB, what financial incentive does Apple have to raise the standard capacity to that?

Apple also seems to have the philosophy that for "general consumers", everything should be in the cloud so making the base storage on the MacBook Air 256GB encourages people to sign up for the 2TB iCloud tier to store all their stuff off-machine.

 

[maxoakland]

It is, but with all those people willing to spend $200 to upgrade to 512GB, what financial incentive does Apple have to raise the standard capacity to that?

Apple also seems to have the philosophy that for "general consumers", everything should be in the cloud so making the base storage so skimpy encourages people to sign up for the 2TB iCloud tier to store all their stuff off-machine.

That’s the problem. Apple used to have a goal of making a great experience for customers while also making as much money as possible. Now their goal is to milk customers as much as possible while giving the bare minimum they get get away with.

Steve Jobs famously said that is the *exact* reason Apple failed in the 90s

 

[CWallace]

That’s the problem. Apple used to have a goal of making a great experience for customers while also making as much money as possible. Now their goal is to milk customers as much as possible while giving the bare minimum they get get away with.

Steve Jobs famously said that is the *exact* reason Apple failed in the 90s.

And yet that philosophy has driven Apple to levels of success (financial and marketshare) that Steve could only have dreamed of.

And Steve hand-picked the man who made it happen to replace him when he was gone, so maybe he came to the conclusion his original view was mistaken.

 

[Arnold Ziffel]

I like how the guys at Max Tech go through these and other machines. Give them a view and you can probably learn what you need to before buying.

 

[Arnold Ziffel]

Apple silicon for Macs is taking the Mac to new heights. Exciting time to be in the Mac arena.

 

[maxoakland]

And yet that philosophy has driven Apple to levels of success (financial and marketshare) that Steve could only have dreamed of.

And Steve hand-picked the man who made it happen to replace him when he was gone, so maybe he came to the conclusion his original view was mistaken.

You think money, success, and market share are more important than customer experience?

 

[CWallace]

You think money, success, and market share are more important than customer experience?

I think money, success and market share is a direct result of a positive customer experience.

Apple customers clearly feel their experience with Apple is a positive one which is why they keep spending hundreds billions of dollars a year with them.

 

[Jack Neill]

What’s OCLP and what’s it stand for?

OpenCore Legacy Patcher

Experience macOS just like before

dortania.github.io

 

[maxoakland]

I think money, success and market share is a direct result of a positive customer experience.

Apple customers clearly feel their experience with Apple is a positive one which is why they keep spending hundreds billions of dollars a year with them.

Customers here are talking about ways they aren’t satisfied with Apple. You sound like you work for Apple’s marketing department at this point. If you’re not getting paid, that’s sad

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

It would make sense to have some similarities from the M1 to the M2. It makes manufacturing easier, less complicated. Imagine a car manufacturer that had to have a separate line to make every different model and engine size they make. Sure, some had to be on a separate line, but most had a tag that said the 'trim level', and the correct parts are added to the carcass as it moves down the line. It saves on inventory of the 'shell' that the different 'guts are put in. They seem to be making things less expensive to build (although programming the system to reject different appendages is nasty, but 'so Apple').

 

[Abazigal]

Customers here are talking about ways they aren’t satisfied with Apple. You sound like you work for Apple’s marketing department at this point. If you’re not getting paid, that’s sad

People here have been complaining about every single thing under the sun and my observation is that while their concerns are valid, they are not necessarily representative of Apple’s overall user base.

For example, it’s anecdotal, but I still have 150 gb of free storage on my entry level M1 MBA and my suspicion is that anyone using their laptop to work primarily with documents (and little else) will face a similar situation. 512 gb is simply overkill for their needs. This isn’t about Apple shortchanging consumers. This is just a small number of users desiring higher specs and wanting Apple to give them away for free so they don’t have to pay as much, not realising or caring that Apple is overserving the community.

You are never going to find a company with a 100% satisfied user base, and sometimes, when there is unhappiness, it’s not Apple’s fault, but that of the end users for either having unrealistic expectations or simply not being aware of how Apple works. The customer isn’t always right, and I would like to see this community being more proactive in calling out these fallacious arguments as and when they do arise.

 

[loby]

You think money, success, and market share are more important than customer experience?

That always unfortunately depends on what side of the coin you are on..