Apple unveiled new versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, which feature faster 5nm-based M2 Pro and M2 Max processors, a maximum of 96GB of RAM, an enhanced HDMI 2.1 port that can handle 8K external displays, improved Wi-Fi 6E, and additional improvements.
According to Apple, the latest M2 Pro chip in the new MacBook Pro models boasts a 10-core or 12-core CPU, which results in a 20% increase in performance compared to the M1 Pro chip. Additionally, it has a 16-core or 19-core GPU that provides 30% faster graphics performance in comparison to the M1 Pro chip. The 16-core Neural Engine also sees a 40% speed boost over the previous generation.
Apple claims that the new M2 Max chip in the MacBook Pro models boasts a 12-core CPU that offers 20% more performance than the M1 Max chip. It also has a 38-core GPU, making the new MacBook Pro up to 6 times faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro for certain tasks.
Both the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models can now be configured with up to 96GB of unified memory when equipped with the top-of-the-line M2 Max chip. The previous models were limited to 64GB of memory with the M1 Max chip. However, the memory bandwidth remains the same at a maximum of 200GB/s for the M2 Pro chip and 400GB/s for the M2 Max chip.
The new MacBook Pro models can be outfitted with up to 8TB of SSD storage, similar to the previous generation. Additionally, they now support Wi-Fi 6E, which provides faster wireless speeds and reduced latency when using the 6GHz frequency band, compared to the previous Wi-Fi 6 technology that used 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.
The updated HDMI 2.1 port on the new MacBook Pro models allows for an external display with a resolution of up to 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 240Hz.
Apple claims that the new 16-inch MacBook Pro can last up to 22 hours on a single charge, which it claims is the longest battery life in any Mac. The 14-inch model has a battery life of up to 18 hours, both models have an hour more than the previous generation, as per Apple's technical specifications.
The design of the new MacBook Pro models remains unchanged from the previous generation, which includes a Liquid Retina XDR display with a notch, a black keyboard housing, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, MagSafe 3 charging, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, and a six-speaker audio system.
The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro are now available for purchase on Apple's website as of today, and will be in stock starting January 24th. The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999, while the 16-inch version starts at $2,499.