Apple lifts lid on new MacBook Pro

Apple has unveiled the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, featuring the company’s own M2 Pro and M2 Max processors.

Apple claims these chips to be the world’s most powerful and efficient processors for a pro laptop, allowing it to tackle demanding tasks like effects rendering, which is up to 6x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro, and colour grading, which is up to 2x faster.

Battery life on the MacBook Pro is now up to 22 hours, the longest battery life yet in a Mac.

For enhanced connectivity, the new MacBook Pro supports Wi-Fi 6E, which is up to twice as fast as the previous generation, as well as advanced HDMI, which supports 8K displays for the first time. With up to 96GB of unified memory in the M2 Max model, creators can work on scenes so large that PC laptops can’t even run them, says Apple.

Rounding out the features of the MacBook Pro are its Liquid Retina XDR display, extensive array of connectivity, 1080p FaceTime HD camera, six-speaker sound system, and studio-quality mics. The new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro will be available from Tuesday, January 24.

The MacBook Pro with M2 Pro features a 10- or 12-core CPU with up to eight high-performance and four high-efficiency cores for up to 20% greater performance over M1 Pro. With 200GB/s of unified memory bandwidth — double the amount in M2 — and up to 32GB of unified memory, users can tackle large projects and run multiple pro apps. A next-generation GPU with up to 19 cores delivers up to 30% more graphics performance, and the Neural Engine is 40% faster, speeding up machine learning tasks like video analysis and image processing. The powerful media engine in M2 Pro also tears through the most popular video codecs, dramatically accelerating video playback and encoding while using very little power.

Running on macOS Ventura, the MacBook Pro includes powerful updates like Continuity Camera, which brings videoconferencing features to any Mac, including Desk View, Center Stage, and Studio Light. Handoff in FaceTime allows users to start a FaceTime call on their iPhone or iPad and fluidly pass it over to their Mac, or vice versa. Tools like Stage Manager automatically organise apps and windows, so users can concentrate on the task at hand and still see everything in a single glance.

Pricing and Availability

The new MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max are available to order on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 27 countries and regions. They will begin arriving on Tuesday, January 24. The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro starts at $1,999 (US), and $1,849 (US) for education; and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro starts at $2,499 (US), and $2,299 (US) for education.