With the first orders expected to reach buyers on Friday, reviews of the new MacBook Pro M2 have officially appeared online. The new entry-level MacBook Pro is nearly identical to the previous-generation model in every way, making the new M2 chip the star of the show. These reviews give us an initial look at the M2 chip and its capabilities.
The Verge did some comparisons between the M2 MacBook Pro and its predecessor, the M1, as well as the M1 Pro chips in the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros. This almost only works for single-core tasks, not for multi-core tasks.
In the single-core tests I ran, the M2 beat the more expensive M1 Pro. That's impressive in itself (suggesting that while the M1 Pro has more power cores than the M2, those cores aren't as strong as the M2 power cores on a personal level). But it also foreshadows the M2 Pro, Max and Ultra variants we might see in the future. They are more likely to show an improvement in single-core performance than their M1-based predecessors, rather than simply loading more cores.
How does this thing perform in benchmarks? On CPU scores - Geekbench, Cinebench, Xcode tests, etc. - we see slightly better results than the M1. In GPU tests, including some games, the results were significantly better.
Extensive testing with six colors also confirms this. Jason Snell explained that the M2 chip will outperform any M1 machine in single-core tests simply because the M2 is based on the A15 and the M1 is based on the A14. The memory of the M2 chip is also faster:
The M2 also includes some features that were previously only present in the more expensive M1 series chips. It has improved performance in 4K video encoding and decoding, and supports faster LP5 memory, which can be slightly denser, allowing the M2 to have a maximum RAM of 24GB, compared to the M1's 16GB.
All the tests I was able to run on the M2 MacBook Pro confirmed this story. Yes, the MacBook Pro M2's single-core results will outperform any M1 device; that's because it's an A15-based core, so it's faster. But, of course, great performance these days comes from using multiple cores simultaneously. While the 8-core M2 is understandably faster than the 8-core M1, it can't keep up with many of the cores found in the more expensive M1 processors.
CNET notes that while the M2 MacBook Pro is the first M2 Mac, the real comparison will come when the M2 MacBook Air launches next month. This will give us a more detailed look at the efficiency and performance of the M2 chip in a completely fanless machine.
Gizmodo details how the M2 performed in benchmarks and how it compares to other machines on the market:
Our tests confirmed these claims: Thanks to the M2 chip, the MacBook Pro 13 scored 8603 in Geekbench 5, which is about 15.2% higher than the previous model (7470). While the MacBook Pro 14 (12,663) with the M1 Max or a more powerful Intel chip is unmatched among gaming laptops like the Asus Zephyrus G14 (9,830), the MacBook Pro outperforms the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (6643) and Lenovo The Yoga 9i ( 7259) is equipped with the latest Intel Core i7-1260P processor.
You'll notice that the main focus of all these reviews is on the M2 chip. This is because the MacBook Pro M2 is otherwise identical to the MacBook Pro M1. It has the same design, the same touchpad, the same ports, and the same limitations. One of the biggest limitations is that the M2 is limited to one external display, just like the M1 before it.
Almost all reviews come to the same conclusion that the MacBook Pro M2 is an impressive upgrade over the M1. The battery life of around 17 hours is impressive, and thanks to the M2 chip and support for up to 24 GB of RAM, performance is excellent, and performance under heavy loads remains a little longer than before.
However, the design is outdated -- especially with the upcoming release of an updated MacBook Air and last year's 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
Other M2 MacBook Pro Reviews:
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