M2 MacBook Pro 13 Review - Don't Choose Wrong!

M2 MacBook Pro 13 Review. I compare it to the MacBook Pro 13 M1, MacBook Pro 16 M1 Pro and a couple of PC Laptops. I also tested gaming! But the big question is should you just wait for the M2 MacBook Air?

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[mattjdeboer]

I watched a bunch of videos trying to convince me to buy the M2 MacBook Air over this one and just couldn't do it. I ended up buying this one because 1) it has fans, 2) I weirdly like the design over the new one, and 3) I'm one of few people that really like the Touch Bar and what it can do.

[paulbernardo]

i've had my m2 pro 13 since june and i love it. the reason why i returned the m2 air for the m2 pro is the 10 core gpu for the 256gb model vs the 8 core gpu for the 256gb m2 air. i dont need those extra cores but for 100 dollars more ill take it.

[beliveinurself]

The fans are a fairly big deal.
Being able to install TG Pro and leave the fans spinning at a low RPM has been great with my M1. I noticed fairly recent improvements when playing WoW Classic compared to when they were off.
Then there’s the touch bar. BetterTouchTool has made me really enjoy this feature.
Lastly… the bezels. It’s strange… they always look large in photos. But when I use my machine, they seem really small. I don’t notice them one bit.

The only real thing holding me back is that, the M1 is still perfectly fine for my use.

[StormTuber]

I guess I'm weird, my ideal MacBook pro design would be 14 inches, with a touch bar and a notch.

[ConserveMore]

Why is no one talking about audio? After listening to the 13" Pro vs. Air at a Best Buy yesterday, I bought the Pro because audio was fuller / less tin can sounding. It makes for a better streaming video experience.

[omarcortes]

Would be great if it had more ports. The MBP 13 is one those laptops most of us dreamed of having one, but apple makes it hard to consider this as an option having the air as the main competitor.

[HipsterTactical]

I just purchased an M2 Pro 13" (^this machine) mainly for music production. It's the 8gb / 512gb version. I use FL Studio and I can load many, many fairly intensive plugins (Omnisphere, Kick 2, etc.) and it has ZERO lagging issues. The plugins I use aren't all entirely optimized for Apple silicon, either. Granted, audio production doesn't require much in the way of video processing. Now, i will say the 515 SSDs are faster than the 256 SSDs they're putting in the M2 Pro 13s. But... with that in mind... this is a very capable machine from purely a processing standpoint, even with 8gb of ram. I compared it to the 14" M1 Pro in the store. The M2 13" Pro (^this/my machine) felt every bit as snappy in everyday tasks, if not more so (vs. the 14" M1 Pro). And it cost about $400 less. And it has better battery life. And it's handier to carry around. So... there's my case for the M2 13" Pro.

[AFatOcelot]

The fact that I can get better performance from this base level m2 mbp than ONE YEAR earlier m1 PRO/MAX is insane. This laptop is an absolute BEAST.

[brandonroebuck]

As a music/audio guy who is late to the Apple silicon game, it’s the best option for me; active cooling for long mix/tracking sessions and the occasional video edit; small form factor that I can travel easily with; Touch Bar is useful for certain things and when I need function keys, it’s usually on a desk where I have a keyboard

Screen doesn’t matter as much to me but the better ram over the air is welcome

I had a Mac mini with an i5 that was my main desk setup but this has replaced that as a do it all studio piece and travel piece in one; I understand I’m a niche market, but being able to save the extra $400 for a similarity spec’d 14 inch has given me money for a thunderbolt 3 dock and some hubs

[factinthebox]

Only thing that's holding me back from M1's and M2's is because they're not optimized for Autocad, Revit and a bunch of other architecture softwares. It's not like I'm planning to do large projects on them but aleast make it optimized for simple architecture projects.

[faei]

one other audience for this device. Those who need a Mac for uni but can't operate a fanless one due to high temperatures in university buildings. I wanted the M2 Air but I've seen one at university already hit maximum at 100~ degrees. It was being used by a Level 6 programmer trying to work with one of Apple's developer SDKs.

[gilfernandesjr]

The only thing that makes me thinking of buying this Pro M2 is the fans! Not just about the thermal issues on Air M2, but mostly because of longevity. Electronical parts that gets hot very often have its durability decreased. So in that case, the fan would make sense. Or am I wrong? I really cant decide between pro m2 or air m2 (considering both with 16gb ram)

[sai_vishu_]

I went with the M2 Pro but would have preferred 14 inch M1 however I just cannot accept the fact of spending 3000 dollars ( SGD ) which is quite a lot here for just a laptop considering I am not even a professional singer, youtuber, etc

[MB-jzuu]

I think best buy sales will eventually make this m2 macbook pro cheaper than the redesigned macbook air.

[zachh]

Im going from my 2014 MacBook Air to the M2 pro with 16GB memory and 512GB ssd I know with those specs its only $300 less than the 14 inch but I live in Oregon so no sales tax 😏. But anyways it is definitely going to be a upgrade👁👄🕳

[SeanFairgrieve]

I’m leaning towards this and I am coming from a 2013 Macbook Air.

[MrSamPhoenix]

I love this design more than the frumpy 14” and 16” versions. I wish Apple had updated it with MagSafe and an SD card reader.

[keganbennett]

You said that the fans kicked in quicker, which means the air might be susceptible to more heat throttling. I’m going for the pro.

[andyH_England]

Yes, 16GB for pro-multitasking. This proves, if it needed proving that Apple were spot on with limiting the M1 iPads to using Stage Manager; when you use pro apps then memory runs out and apps crash, whether in Macs or iPads, 16GB is the sweet spot for a great experience when you are doing pro stuff.

I would add that the MB Pro 13 is used extensively in business and Enterprise and mine was bought for my business. This is another demographic that will buy this, but consumers will def lean towards the new Air.

The improvements are apparent, including faster RAM, 50% more bandwidth, media engines, 25% extra GPU, 20% extra multi-core CPU, stronger battery life, ISP making webcam look better, etc, so with 3nm delayed until at least 2023, I think Apple were right to do an M2 (AKA M1+), as these are improvements worth having. The MB Pro 13 may not outdo the stellar sales of last year but I suspect many Windows OEMs would be happy to have a product that will sell this well even with influencers trashing it!

[zachliem]

Because it’s the one of the best and most iconic laptop designs ever