Apple Announces M2-Powered MacBook Pro and Redesigned MacBook Air
- Laurent Giret
- Jun 06, 2022
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24
Apple unveiled today its new MacBook Pro and redesigned MacBook Air powered by the company’s brand new M2 chip. This second-gen Apple Silicon chip follows the introduction of Apple’s M1 Pro, Max, and Ultra chips in the new 14″ and 16″ MacBook Pro and Mac Studio.
Apple’s new M2 chip uses a second-gen 5nm technology to include 20 billion transistors, which is 25% more than what’s on the M1 chip from 2020. Apple’s M2 keeps the same unified memory architecture, but with 59% more memory bandwidth and a maximum of up 24GB of memory.
The M2 chip once again comes with an 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, and Apple promises up to 18% greater multi-core performance compared to the M1. The GPU on the M2 supports up to 10 cores (that’s more than the M1 GPU), and Apple promised up to 25% higher GPU performance at the same power level compared to the M1 GPU. Additionally, the M2 chip includes a next-gen secure enclave and neural engine.
Apple said today that its redesigned MacBook Air has been completely redesigned around its new M2 chip, and it looks very much like a smaller version of the 14-inch MacBook Pro. It brings back the Magsafe port for charging, and its battery will deliver up to 18 hours of video playback. It will also come with a power adapter that includes 2 USB-C ports, and the new MacBook Air will support Fast Charge and be able to reach 50% battery in just 30 minutes.
With its thinner bezels and rounded corners, the new MacBook Air will come with a slightly bigger 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display that’s 25% brighter than before. The notch hides a new 1080p Facetime HD camera that delivers better low-light performance, and consumers can also expect a triple mic array and a four-speaker sound system that supports spatial audio.
This new MacBook Air keeps its two Thunderbolts port on the left and the audio jack on the right, and the Magic Keyboard also still comes with a Touch ID sensor. Just like the M1 MacBook Air, this redesigned M2 MacBook Air is fanless and completely silent. Thanks to the M2 chip, Apple says that it provides 38% faster video editing performance compared to its M1 predecessor.
In addition to this new redesigned MacBook Air, Apple has also refreshed its 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with a new M2 chip. Unlike the fanless M2 MacBook Air, all configurations of this new MacBook Pro come with an M2 chip with 10 GPU cores, and Apple promises up to 39% faster gaming performance compared to the previous M1 model. Compared to the M2 MacBook Air, the M2 MacBook Pro will also have slightly better battery life with up to 20 hours of video playback.
The design of this new 13.3-inch MacBook Pro is unchanged, and the main difference with the M2 MacBook Air is the presence of a cooling system allowing the M2 chip to run at maximum power for longer periods. If you were expecting a new Mac Mini model powered by this new M2 chip, you may have to wait until later this year.
Apple’s new M2 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are available for pre-order today and they will start shipping next month. The redesigned MacBook Air starts at $1199 and is available in four colors, while the new M2 MacBook Pro starts at $1299. The M1 MacBook Air from 2020 also remains available at $999.