Customers will receive the upgraded laptop on June 24th.
You won't have to wait long to get your hands on a Mac with an M2 processor. Apple has announced that orders for the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 will begin taking place on June 17th, with customers receiving their orders on June 24th. With 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, the machine starts at $1,299 ($1,199 for school).
For better or worse, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro delivers a straightforward performance bump over the M1 model. You'll still get the Touch Bar and two Thunderbolt/USB 4 connections, as well as the traditional look. With 20 hours of battery life, it's still a good laptop, but this isn't a significant upgrade.
In some ways, Apple's strongest competition will be the yet-to-be-released MacBook Air M2. You won't receive a cooling fan or the longest possible battery life, but you will get a larger screen, MagSafe power, more free ports, and a smaller, lighter chassis. The 13-inch Pro is suitable for folks who require long-term processing power but can't justify the cost of the 14-inch system.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro's small shape is popular among users, and with M2, it gains even more performance and features. It has a next-generation 8-core CPU with performance and efficiency improvements, as well as Apple's next-generation GPU, which now has up to 10 cores – two more than the M1. And, thanks to its active cooling system, the MacBook Pro is built to keep up with the most demanding workflows.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro is roughly 40% faster than the previous generation for customers working with RAW photographs in apps like Affinity Photo, and up to 3.4x faster for consumers moving from a machine lacking Apple silicon.
Graphics-intensive titles like Baldur's Gate 3 run roughly 40% faster than before, and up to 3.3x faster for consumers upgrading from a model sans Apple chips.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with macOS Monterey, which contains Continuity technologies like Universal Control that allow users to work seamlessly across Mac and iPad. Portrait mode and Spatial Audio are included in FaceTime to make calls feel more genuine and lifelike, and SharePlay allows Mac users to share FaceTime experiences. 5 Live Text with a Visual Appearance Shortcuts provides the simplicity of automation to the Mac, while Up uses intelligence to display helpful information, Safari includes advanced tab management with Tab Groups, and Up uses intelligence to surface valuable information.
MacOS Ventura, which will be released this autumn, will take full advantage of M2, with new features as as Stage Manager, Continuity Camera's impressive new capabilities, and FaceTime Handoff. Safari, Mail, Messages, Spotlight, and other apps have all received significant upgrades in macOS Ventura.
