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The M2 MacBook Pro 13 Has No Future!

9:21 video

This is the new M2 MacBook Pro 13-inch, announced at WWDC along with the M2 MacBook Air, and I think it has no future. You’ve probably not heard anyone talk about it, because it got no design or feature upgrades beyond the M2 chip. It’s the base model: 13.3-inch display, 8 GB of memory, 256 GB of storage, $1,299.

I debated whether to buy one, because it’s the first shipping laptop with the M2 and I’m curious about the chip. This was supposed to be an unboxing, and all that’s preventing me from playing with a new laptop is a little piece of plastic, but in my heart I can’t recommend anyone buy it, even before using it.

Why not

  • Design. It looks the same as the 2016 MacBooks. Not a bad design, but every other Apple laptop has the new design language, and this one feels outdated. I don’t think anyone would choose it over the new Air on looks alone.
  • The Touch Bar. I know some people love it for specific tasks, and I’m happy it works for them, but quick buttons in Photoshop don’t outweigh the awful experience of changing volume or brightness. Apple hasn’t updated its functionality since 2016. With the Touch Bar removed from every other laptop, and this likely the last Touch Bar laptop, I don’t see developers building for it. It’s just shy of being a relic of something Apple thought would be bigger.
  • Ports. A “Pro” laptop with just two Thunderbolt ports, and only one when you need to charge, since it doesn’t have MagSafe like Apple’s other MacBooks. I rarely use more than two on my 14-inch Pro, and use a dock when I do, but after 18 months of knowing what a real Pro machine looks like with Apple silicon, there’s nothing Pro about two ports.
  • Display. The same 13.3-inch panel: 500 nits, P3, True Tone, and a fantastic display by any measure, but the M2 Air’s display now matches its brightness and is slightly larger at 13.6 inches. At best the Pro’s is as good as the Air’s.
  • Camera, speakers and mics. The same 720p camera, with no updates to the speakers or mics, which were solid, but I want to see if they beat the Air’s 4-speaker system and three-mic array.

The chip

It’s the first MacBook with the M2, the same chip as the Air: 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU. Geekbench shows about 10% faster single-core than the M1 and M1 Pro, about 16% faster multi-core than the M1, and in Geekbench Metal the 10-core M2 gets about 32% more than the 8-core M1. Those are good gains for a second generation, and you should see roughly the same in the new Air.

The 13-inch Pro has active cooling, which could in theory help it sustain GPU workloads without throttling, as Max Tech showed with the M1. But I think very few people need sustained high performance for more than 20 minutes and have this as the best tool for the job. If you’re gaming on Apple silicon laptops regularly, let me know which games and how often. Long 3D renders and heavy GPU work might count.

If this is for professional use and time is money, you’re way better off with an M1 Pro or M1 Max Mac, which will pay for itself in time saved. The M1 Pro is still about 40% faster than the M2 in multi-core, and its 14-core base GPU is about 38% faster than the M2’s 10-core. For freelancers or students, the M2 Air will probably be as much performance as you need.

Who will buy it?

“Idiots like me” who want to be first to try the next generation of Apple silicon. Apple said the 13-inch Pro was its number two selling laptop after the Air, and it will sell for a couple of weeks until the M2 Air ships, but then it becomes Apple’s worst. At $100 more than the M2 Air, it doesn’t make sense when the Air gets a new design, bigger screen, regular function row, better camera, the same brightness, colors and a lower price.

Tell me I’m wrong below. If you need sustained performance, check out my videos on the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros; if you’re buying the 13-inch M2 Pro anyway, see my desk setup video.

Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. See my ethics statement.

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