Apple has introduced the successor of the M1 chip and updated two devices at the same time: The MacBook Pro and the 13-inch MacBook Air.
The MacBook Pro 13″ has the familiar design including the Touch Bar. Apple has therefore only updated the inner workings to the new M2 chip, which is around 1.4 times faster than the M1 model, depending on the application. The ports on the 13″ model remain as they were: there are two Thunderbolt 3 ports but no MagSafe. In terms of price, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is well below the price of the models with the M1 Pro or Max chip and only slightly above the new MacBook Air.
The MacBook Air M2 gets a complete redesign.
The latter has been completely redesigned and comes in a new design that follows the line of the top models. The color scheme is elegant, white is neither found on the display bezel nor on the keyboard. Since the Air also has the M2 chip, it is a good choice for those who can do without the active cooling of the Macbook Pro 13″ or want to avoid the Touch Bar of the Pro model.
In contrast to the M1 MacBook Air, the new model has a much better FaceTime camera on board as well as the somewhat brighter display (500 nits compared to 400 nits). Also nice: in addition to two Thunderbolt ports, the MacBook Air also has a MagSafe port – this also supports fast charging with a 67 watt power adapter (not included). Still a bit annoying: all ports are on the left side, so if you had hoped that a USB-C port would make it to the right side, you might be disappointed.
As mentioned, the M2 chip is a bit more powerful and also has a larger maximum working memory of up to 24 GB. Apple specifies a battery life of 18 hours for both Air models and 20 hours for the M2 Pro. All devices can be equipped with a maximum of 2 TB SSD.
