Apple’s new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max processors are not nearly as exciting as their predecessors. They have the same screen, design and ports, and the processor is a relatively small speed bump compared to the massive jump with the 2021 redesign. But even if you spent thousands of dollars on an M1 Pro or M2 Max model, there are still a few reasons why power users might want to trade in their M1 model and upgrade.
You do a lot of graphic work
The new models Apple just released have M2 Pro and M2 Max processors, which are naturally faster than their predecessors. But the real gains are on the graphics side, where the 19-core GPU in the M2 Pro boats about a 30 percent boost over the M1 Pro and a whopping 100-plus frames per second in the games we tested. But even if you don’t play Resident Evil Villagewill M2 MacBook Pro give your graphic work a good boost.
You want the fastest Wi-Fi now
The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro are Apple’s first laptops with next-generation Wi-Fi 6E, which takes advantage of the spacious 6GHz spectrum with more antennas and less interference. With a Wi-Fi 6E router, the new MacBook Pros should feel faster all around. And since it’s likely to be a few years before Wi-Fi 7 shows up on a MacBook, you get a bit of future proofing, too.
The M2 Pro looks similar to the model it replaces, but there are noticeable changes on the inside.
Foundry
You are running out of memory
When Apple launched the M1 Pro and Max MacBook Pros in 2021, they had the same 64GB RAM cap as the 2019 Intel model. That’s a lot of memory, sure, and way more than most people would ever need, but the MacBook Pro isn’t made for casual users. So if 64GB wasn’t enough for you, the new MacBook Pro with an M2 Max that has a 38-core GPU offers up to 96GB of memory. It’ll cost you at least $4,000, but you’ll never see the dreaded program memory dialog again.
You want the most battery life possible
The biggest advantage Apple silicon has over Intel isn’t speed, it’s battery life. With extremely high performance per watts, Apple has managed to deliver the best of both worlds – incredible power with a huge battery life, with the M1 models getting up to 21 hours of battery life on a single charge. And the new models somehow improve on that by squeezing an extra hour of juice out of the M2 chips (and even more in our tests).
You want a better multi-screen setup
When the M1 Pro and Max MacBook Pros arrived, they offered more than just a speed boost over vanilla M1 laptops. Where you could only connect a single external monitor with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz with the M1, the M1 Pro increased support to two, and the M1 Max models let you connect four using HDMI and Thunderbolt. But HDMI itself was limited to just one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz. With the M2 Pro’s HDMI 2.1 port, you can connect an 8K display at 60Hz or a high-refresh 4K display at 240Hz, or a 4K display at 144Hz to another 6K display at 60Hz over Thunderbolt. That’s enough of an improvement to make a serious multi-screen setup that will please your eyes.
