NEW MACBOOK PROS AND MINIS

Debut of the M2 Pro and M2 Max processors

APPLE’S TRANSITION to M2 brings two new MacBook Pros and two new chips: the M2 Pro, and M2 Max. We also have new M2powered minis (Apple uses a lowercase ‘m’ here for some reason). This means Apple has now moved all its kit over to its own silicon bar the Mac Pro, which still sports Xeons. The M2 Pro is a double-size M2 built using a second-generation 5nm process. It has a 12-core CPU (up from 10), a 16-core neural engine, a 19-core GPU, and twice the memory bandwidth.

The M2 Max adds a 38-core GPU and doubles memory bandwidth again, now reaching 400GB/s. The new MacBook Pros come in 14-inch and 16-inch versions. Memory options run from 16GB to 96GB, and storage from 512GB to 8TB, depending on your chip option: both can be specified with an M2 Pro or M2 Max. Other than the new silicon heart, these are pretty much the same as the previous generation.

As expected, this is the most powerful MacBook yet, and Apple claims it’s six times faster than an Intel-powered MacBook. Meanwhile, the new Mac mini gives you a choice of a regular M2 or an M2 Pro. The 14-inch M2 MacBook Pro starts at $1,999, while the 16-inch model can reach $6,499 if you want every hardware option. The M2 mini starts at $599 and runs to $4,399 for a fully loaded version.

Steve Jobs wasn’t keen on them, but Apple is also due to bring touchscreens to MacBooks, according to ‘reliable sources’. Jobs is no longer the gatekeeper though, and Apple has decided that touchscreens are part of the Macbook’s future. Apple is something of a hold-out here, as touchscreens are everywhere. Adding touch support to the macOS will also remove a bar to using macOS on an iPad, or even iPadOS on a laptop, although Apple will keep the two as separate product lines for now. The touchscreen is first expected to appear in an OLED-equipped MacBook Pro in 2025.