Apple has a hot product launch today. Fans of the company’s compact desktops are drooling over the new Mac Mini, while the portable crowd is wowing the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro devices. Inside, you’ll find the next generation of Apple’s custom chips in the form of the M2 Pro and M2 Max (above). Apple says these are the most powerful and efficient chips it’s ever used in computers, and it has the numbers to prove it.
The new chips are an evolution of the M2 ARM chips Apple released last year in devices like the iPad Pro and MacBook Air. M2 Pro uses a 5nm chip and has 40 billion transistors, which is 20% more than the previous generation M1 Pro and twice the number of the base model M2. Memory bandwidth has also been doubled compared to M2, reaching 200GB/s. It comes in 10-core and 12-core CPU variants. Apple claims a 20% performance improvement compared to the M1 Pro. In terms of GPU, the M2 Pro has 19 cores, up from 16 on the M1 Pro. Combined with the larger L2 cache, graphics rendering is said to be 30% faster than the M1 Pro.
If the M2 Pro’s features aren’t enough for you, there’s also the new M2 Max, which, as leaks predict, has even more features. It has 67 billion transistors and uses the same 5nm node process. It doubles the memory bandwidth of the M2 Pro to an incredible 400GB/s, and supports up to 96GB or unified memory. If you’re working with large files like 8K video, this setting will provide a significant speed boost. There is only one version of the Max chip, with 12 ARM CPU cores and up to 38 GPU cores. It also has the Pro’s larger L2 cache, but it can handle up to 96GB of unified memory.
If you want to get Apple’s latest chips, you have two options: the latest Mac Mini and MacBook Pro. The Mac Mini is the cheapest way into Apple’s desktop ecosystem, starting at $599. It has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, support for two monitors (or an 8K monitor), and there’s even an upgraded headphone jack for use with high-impedance headphones. You don’t get the M2 Max option on this machine, but you can get the 10-core M2 Pro chip. However, this isn’t the $599 version. The Mac Mini includes last year’s base model, the M2, which is still a very powerful chip. If you want the fancy new M2 Pro, you’ll see a significant jump in price—that version starts at $1,299. You can order today.
If you want to get away from your desk, the new MacBook Pro 14- and 16-inch models are now available as M2 Pro and Max. These computers feature three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an SD card slot, and MagSafe 3 charging. Like the 2021 MacBook Pro models, it has a display notch, but still no Face ID.
Apple’s latest laptops do show off the capabilities of the M2 Pro and Max, but they start at $1,999. That’s what you pay for the 14-inch 10-core M2 Pro. There’s also a 12-core version ($2,499), and finally there’s the M2 Max, which costs $3,099. Upgrading to 16 inches will cost $2.499, $2,699 and $3,499. You can even fill it up with 96GB of RAM for an extra $800. All of these new laptop models are available to buy today, and they’ll be arriving at your doorstep in about a week.