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The Street

Jacob Krol

Everything to Know About the M2 Mac Mini and MacBook Pros

Apple Amazon Intel Corporation

Apple is ready to expand its latest chip--M2--to more devices beyond the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. As the Cupertino-based company's first product launches of 2023, they’re introducing the new Mac Mini, 14-inch MacBook Pro, and 16-inch MacBook Pro.

All of these feature a form of the M2 Chip including the entry-level variant plus the new M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. These take the performance further with more CPU and GPU cores, while also supporting more RAM. Across the board, Apple’s (AAPL) promises a faster, more efficient experience with larger improvements in the graphics department.

All three of these new Macs are up for order now and will officially launch on Jan. 24. Pricing wise, the Mac Mini is now $100 cheaper at $599 for the starting configuration. The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros continue to start at $1,999 and $2,499 respectively.

Ahead we’re breaking down all the improvements, namely in the world of performance, that you need to know about the new Mac Mini and MacBook Pros.

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M2 or M2 Pro Mac Mini: What You Need to Know

The introduction of the M2 chip to the Mac Mini is the first update to the machine since the first Macs with Apple Silicon were unveiled, so it’s been in the works for a bit. Rather than just offering the compact computer with just one chip, you now get a choice.

Aside from the improved performance, there is also a price cut. The starting price for the standard M2 Chip is just $599--a $100 price drop over the previous M1 version. You can configure the Mac Mini with M2 Pro starting at $1,299, though.

Either way, you’re getting a tiny, 7.7-inch square desktop that you’ll bring your own peripherals for. You’ll supply the keyboard, mouse or trackpad, and the monitor.

Like the 13-inch MacBook Pro or MacBook Air with M2, the Mac Mini with M2 starts with an 8-core CPU, 10-core CPU, and 16-core Neural Engine chip. You can expect more mundane tasks like opening apps to feel snappier, while it also provides a runway for more intense creative tasks.

We’ll need to put the M2 Mac Mini through its paces, but Apple is promising some impressive leaps over the M1 Mac Mini and one that was powered by an Intel Core i7 processor. These improvements are in creative use-cases--up to 24x faster ProRes transcodes in Final Cut Pro with M2 over M1--and with gaming as Apple promises gameplay is up to 35% faster in Resident Evil Village.

Those looking for more performance can consider the M2 Pro Mac Mini, which is made up of a 12-core CPU, 19-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine chip. It’s a 5-nanometer chip, like the core M2, but sports 40 billion transistors.

Apple promises that CPU performance is up to 20% faster than the M1 Pro, which lets more intense apps complete tasks even faster. With up to a 19-core GPU, you can expect speeds in this regard up to 30% faster than the M1 Pro.

Those looking for a machine fit for photo or video editing, as well as music producing, will likely find this to be the right mix of performance. Especially if you don’t want to jump to the Mac Studio.

Alongside the performance improvements, the Mac Mini is getting Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 for improved connectivity. The M2 variant will feature two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI, two USB-As, gigabit ethernet, and a headphone jack. The M2 Pro model gets four thunderbolt ports for a bit more connectivity. Both feature a fan, or cooling system, to push either the M2 or M2 Pro farther for heavier tasks.

At $599 for the entry-level M2 Mac Mini, it’s a pretty good value on paper especially if you’ve been rocking an older Intel Mini that you’d like to upgrade. Over the M1 Mac Mini, we expect the performance to be improved but it won’t be as night and day from an intel device. Of course, we’re basing this off of testing with the M2 chip in laptops, we’ll be reporting back once we’ve tested the Mac Mini with M2.

You can pair the M2 Mac Mini with Apple's own Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse. For a display, you could opt for the Studio Display which offers a plug and play solution via Thunderbolt and sports a built-in camera.

M2 Pro or M2 Max MacBook Pros: What You Need to Know

Let’s start with what is staying the same. The upgraded 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros keep everything from the fully redesign we saw back in Oct. 2021. The overall builds are a bit chunkier and heavier with a bunch of ports, displays that stretch to the edges, a keyboard greeting for typing on, and longer battery life.

What’s new is under the hood in the form of the M2 Pro or the M2 Max chips. And performance with the M1 Pro and M2 Max was already great and pretty much a leap over the Intel alternatives from the previous 16-inch MacBook Pro. We’re expecting, based on the new chips, that these will be more efficient, better for video editing, and stretch the battery life a bit longer. Over the 21 hours with the previous generation, Apple is promising up to 22 hours from battery life here.

The 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro sports up to a 12-core CPU and up to a 19-core GPU. That should deliver up to a 20% boost for computing tasks and up to 30% faster experience with graphics. Meaning that you can finish a render quicker, but it also shouldn’t impact the battery life all that much. The M2 Pro also allows for up to 32GB of RAM and doubles the unified memory bandwidth to 200GBps over the M2.

Those looking for even more power, likely the equivalent of a mobile studio, can consider the MacBook Pros with the M2 Max chip. It can be configured with up to a 38-core GPU which makes it ideal for graphic intensive tasks or workflows. In terms of a CPU it’s a 12-core setup and this version can be paired with up to 96GB of RAM, though it will cost you as an $800 upgrade. Over the M1 Max, Apple promises this is up to 30% faster with graphics and up to 20% faster with computing tasks.

Related: MacBook Air with M2 Review

Along with speed improvements, Apple is also stretching the battery life further. The new MacBook Pros will last up to 22 hours, which the company says is the longest battery life ever in a MacBook.

These MacBook Pros also get Wi-Fi 6E for faster connectivity and a newer HDMI port, which is likely up to the HDMI 2.1 standard.

All-in-all, these should be some of the most powerful laptops available on the market today and we’re eager to go hands-on with them. With the performance upgrades, Apple is opting to keep the starting prices the same.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 for an M2 Pro chip with a 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. You can upgrade that to a 12-core CPU and 19-core CPU for $2,499, while the M2 Max 14-inch starts at $3,099.

Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 Pro 12-core CPU, 19-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage starts at $2,499. For $3,499, you get the M2 Max chip with a 12-core CPU, 38-core GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. For fun a fully maxed out 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 Max chip, 96GB of RAM and 8TB of storage will run you $6,499, so the price can go pretty high here.

Both the new 14-inch and 16-inch are up for order now and will officially launch on Jan. 24.

The other thing to note here is that the M1 Pro and M1 Max 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pros will still be available for a bit from authorized retailers, and with discounts could be a pretty unbeatable deal.

Amazon is discounting the 16-inch with M1 Pro (10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage) by 12% to just $2,199. The M1 Max version with a 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage is $3,299 from $3,499.

Both will still perform excellent and even if you’re coming from an Intel-powered machine, will give you an extra runway for nearly all tasks.

Prices are accurate and items in stock at time of publishing.

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