Apple has unveiled M2 Pro and M2 Max, its latest ‘systems on a chip’, and brought them to the Mac mini and both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro.
An evolution of the standard M2 chip, the M2 Pro features up to 12 CPU cores and up to 19 GPU cores, and can accommodate up to 32GB of RAM. CPU performance is said to be up to 20 percent faster than the 10-core CPU in the M1 Pro chip, and graphics speeds up to 30 percent faster.
M2 Max also has a 12-core GPU, but ups the ante by offering a GPU with up to 38 cores, along with a larger L2 cache. What’s more, you can equip it with up to 96GB of memory.
One of the first products to host the M2 Pro is the updated Mac mini, which is also available with a standard M2 chip for the first time. Prices start at $599/£649, though you can’t get an M2 Pro-powered machine for less than $1,299/£1,399, and there’s no M2 Max option.
The M2 Mac mini supports up to two displays, while the M2 Pro model can run up to three.
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The same can’t be said of the revised 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, which can now be spec’d with either M2 Pro or M2 Max chips. Prices start at $1,999/£2,149 and $2,499/£2,699 for the 14- and 16-inch models respectively, while the cheapest M2 Max machines will set you back $3,099/£3,349 or $3,499/£3,749, depending on which size you go for.
The new MacBook Pros are also notable for offering up 22 hours of battery life - the longest ever in an Apple laptop, we’re told - and support displays of up to 8k via “advanced” HDMI. There’s WFi 6E support, too.
All the new Macs can be ordered from today and will be available from 24 January. Find out more on the Apple website.
