MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) assessment: the right swansong for Apple’s compact professional laptop computer
Two-minute assessment
The MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) is a laptop computer of contradictions. It’s revolutionary… however performs it secure. Thrilling… however a bit boring. It’s an odd alternative… and in addition makes full sense.
The excellent news is that it comes with Apple’s brand-new M2 chip, which the corporate guarantees gives a 40% efficiency enhance over the M1, but it stays the identical worth because the earlier mannequin, beginning at $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$1,999. For anybody who was nearly to purchase a MacBook Professional 13-inch (M1, 2020), getting the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) as an alternative is a little bit of a no brainer, as you’re sort of getting the M2 improve free of charge.
That lack of a worth rise does come at a… effectively… worth, nonetheless, because the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) options the identical design because the earlier mannequin – and the one earlier than that. When you love the look of the previous MacBooks, this gained’t be a problem, however the lack of latest design does make it really feel a bit unnoticed by Apple. Even when it is without doubt one of the finest laptops you should purchase proper now, might this be the final MacBook Professional 13-inch we’ll see?
If that’s the case, then it’s a reasonably nice technique to bow out. The M2 chip places some good work in right here, offering glorious efficiency, particularly in relation to video modifying, and day after day use is, once more, glorious, with a number of apps working without delay with out inflicting the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) any points. All through our time with the laptop computer, we had been impressed with how silent it was as effectively, with the followers not often kicking in to maintain issues cool.
You may even sport on the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022), and whereas efficiency gained’t match a devoted gaming laptop computer, it’s an thrilling glimpse at a future the place Apple embraces Mac gaming extra. We’ll hopefully see extra of this when Resident Evil Village and No Man’s Sky come to Mac later this 12 months. These video games will characteristic assist for the Steel 3 graphics API of the M2 chip, and hopefully this may result in extra formidable and spectacular video games working on M2 MacBooks.
Maybe our favourite side of the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) is the battery life. At over 15 and a half hours, that is extremely spectacular. Often, for workstation laptops used for intensive workloads like video modifying, you’d be taking a look at a battery lifetime of round half this – and even much less.
It even outdoes the earlier M1 MacBook Professional 13-inch, which reveals that the M2 is even much less battery-hungry than its predecessor.
Nonetheless, regardless of all these successes, there’s a feeling that the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) is the final of its sort. Not solely does the dearth of a redesign recommend a scarcity of enthusiasm for the product, and maybe a method to make use of up present inventory from earlier fashions, however with Apple moving into the behavior of placing out new MacBooks, it’s getting more and more troublesome to see what the 13-inch MacBook Professional suits in.
The upcoming MacBook Air (M2, 2022) has a brand new design, a bigger – and brighter – display screen, and will provide related ranges of efficiency attributable to having the identical M2 chip, all whereas costing $100/£50/AU$100 much less. There appears little motive to get the costlier 13-inch MacBook Professional over the brand new MacBook Air. The default configuration of the MacBook Air gives an M2 chip with an 8-core GPU, so for graphically-intensive duties the MacBook Professional ought to have the sting, although you may improve the MacBook Air to an M2 chip with the identical 10-core GPU because the one within the MacBook Professional 13-inch.
In the meantime, for individuals who desire a extra highly effective MacBook to work on, the 14-inch MacBook and 16-inch MacBook Professional from final 12 months provide higher screens, efficiency and extra ports.
Because of this regardless of undeniably being a implausible laptop computer, the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) is surprisingly arduous to justify.
MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) assessment: Worth
- Begins at $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$1,999
- Identical worth as earlier mannequin
Introduced at Apple’s WWDC 2022 occasion, and beginning supply from June 24, the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) sells for $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$1,999.
The excellent news is that this is similar worth the sooner MacBook Professional 13-inch (M1, 2020) launched at, which implies you’re primarily getting an improve from the M1 to the M2 chip free of charge.
The M1 was Apple’s revolutionary first try at making its personal computing chip, fairly than counting on Intel to offer the processing energy. It supplied glorious efficiency and lengthy battery life, and led to a resurgence in MacBooks – and we’re not speaking simply in gross sales, but additionally inside Apple itself. The corporate had felt for some time prefer it was extra fascinated about iPhones and iPads, however the M1-powered MacBooks (and Macs) appeared to reinvigorate Apple’s ardour for its computer systems.
Spec Sheet
Right here is the 13-inch MacBook Professional (M2, 2022) configuration despatched to TechRadar for assessment:
CPU: Apple M2 (8-core)
Graphics: Built-in 10-core GPU
RAM: 16GB Unified LPDDR5
Display screen: 13.3-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 Retina show (backlit LED, IPS, 500 nits brightness, huge shade P3 gamut)
Storage: 1TB SSD
Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C), 3.5mm headphone jack
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
Digicam: 720p FaceTime HD webcam
Weight: 3.0 kilos (1.4kg)
Measurement: 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches (30.41 x 21.24 x 1.56cm; W x D x H)
So, the announcement of the M2 comply with up, bought loads of us excited. It comes with the posted specs (extra on these later), and guarantees a giant bump in efficiency. So, with the M2-powered MacBook Professional 13-inch costing the identical because the M1 model launched for, it makes this new mannequin look like fairly good worth.
It’s additionally cheaper than the MacBook Professional 14-inch (2021) and MacBook Professional 16-inch (2021), that are geared toward high-end customers searching for highly effective workstations. Whereas they presently nonetheless include M1-class chips, the M1 Professional and M1 Max are literally extra highly effective than the M2. The MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022), then, is pitched as a extra inexpensive different to these MacBook Execs, geared toward individuals who want a robust laptop computer, however don’t have to carry out such strenuous duties.
Apple additionally introduced the MacBook Air (M2, 2022), which is able to go on sale later in July. This comes with an M2 chip as effectively, and a complete new design, and prices $1,199 (£1,249, AU$1,899), however whereas it has the identical 8-core CPU, the MacBook Air begins with an 8-core GPU.
So, the MacBook Professional 13-inch isn’t the most affordable technique to get an M2 – nonetheless the brand new, costlier, M2 MacBook Air is tantalisingly near the value of the MacBook Professional now, with simply $100 separating them.
As with earlier fashions, there are numerous configuration choices obtainable with the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022), corresponding to upping the unified reminiscence to both 16GB or 24GB (which is a brand new alternative with the M2 chip), in addition to to increase the storage as much as 2TB. The bottom mannequin comes with 256GB, which is a bit on the low aspect today, particularly for workstations that will likely be used for inventive professionals, who typically use giant recordsdata, so paying extra for a bigger SSD might repay. As you enhance the specs, nonetheless, the value of the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) does begin climbing fairly considerably.
MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) assessment: Design
- Identical design as earlier mannequin
- Contact Bar lives on!
Whereas the upgrades on the within of the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) are welcome – and thrilling – on the surface it’s one other story. Primarily, there’s been no change to the design, so this 12 months’s mannequin seems to be equivalent to the one from two years in the past. This will likely please anybody who likes the present design, but it surely does make the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) really feel a little bit of an odd one out, seeing because the MacBook Air, 24-inch iMac and MacBook Professional 16-inch have all had redesigns.
So, the dearth of any adjustments to the general design is a bit complicated. It means the MacBook Professional 13-inch retains the 720p FaceTime webcam of earlier fashions, whereas nearly each different MacBook now has a 1080p webcam – together with the MacBook Air (M2, 2022).
The previous webcam does imply there’s no distracting notch that dips into the display screen (one thing that some folks have discovered annoying on the MacBook Execs from final 12 months, although we’ve by no means been bothered by them).
This implies the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) additionally has the previous, chunky bezels that encompass the display screen, making it look a bit dated. In the meantime, the redesigned MacBook Air will get thinner bezels, making it a extra modern-looking system, and permits Apple to suit a bigger display screen with out growing the general dimension of the laptops.
Whereas each the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) and MacBook Air (M2, 2022) are ostensibly 13-inch laptops, the MacBook Air now really has a larger display screen than the MacBook Professional’s, at 13.6-inches in comparison with 13.3-inches. We’re now in an odd scenario the place the MacBook Air gives a greater display screen than the 13-inch MacBook Professional (together with higher webcam and microphones), whereas nonetheless costing much less.
Sticking with the identical design means the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) nonetheless comes with the divisive Contact Bar, which is a skinny display screen above the keyboard that reveals context-sensitive buttons.
It’s a little bit of a shock inclusion, as most individuals anticipated Apple to kill it off. It wasn’t universally liked by folks, and an growing variety of third social gathering apps dropped assist for it. With each different MacBook line now having ditched the Contact Bar, it’ll be an much more area of interest characteristic.
After all, there’s nonetheless loads to love in regards to the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022)’s design. It’s solidly constructed, the display screen stays glorious, and the Contact ID button permits you to log into macOS shortly and simply by utilizing your fingerprint. That Apple aptitude and construct high quality continues to be evident right here, and it stays one of many thinnest and lightest professional laptops on the market – although it means it nonetheless simply sticks with two Thunderbolt ports for inputs, which is low for a laptop computer geared toward professionals.
So, what’s occurring right here? Whereas it is perhaps that Apple noticed no motive to vary the MacBook Professional 13-inch design, there could also be different elements at play right here. Having the ability to put new {hardware} within the present physique means Apple doesn’t must give you new components, which might show pricey, so this will have been why the value has been stored the identical – whereas the redesigned MacBook Air is now a good bit costlier.
This will likely even be why the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) has launched sooner than the brand new MacBook Air, which nonetheless has a obscure launch day of July 2022.
If a scarcity of a redesign has meant that Apple has averted elevating the value and has been in a position to get it into folks’s palms extra shortly, then some folks could discover it is a, er, worth value paying.
MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) assessment: Efficiency
- First rate enchancment on M1
- Just about silent in use
Benchmarks
Right here’s how the 13-inch MacBook Professional (M2, 2022) carried out in our suite of benchmark assessments:
Cinebench R23 CPU: Single-Core: 1,554; Multi-core: 8,722
Geekbench 5 Single-Core: 1,935; Multi-Core: 8,972
Handbrake: 54 fps
Blender Monster: 146; Junkshop: 70; Classroom: 68
Battery Life (TechRadar film check): 15 hours and 31 minutes
The MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) is the primary system to pack Apple’s brand-new M2 chip. Whereas the corporate was cautious to make it clear that the M1 Professional and M1 Max chips will nonetheless have the efficiency benefit, primarily all the way down to their extra cores, the M2 represents a good bump over the usual M1.
The M2 chip options an 8-core CPU with 4 effectivity and 4 efficiency cores. The M2’s GPU is a 10-core design, which is 2 greater than the GPU within the Apple M1 powering the Apple MacBook Professional 13-inch (2020), and greater than the M2 chip within the base mannequin of the brand new MacBook Air.
It additionally comes with a 16-core neural engine that Apple claims is 40% sooner than the neural engine within the Apple M1, a lift to twenty million transistors and assist for as much as 24GB of unified reminiscence, in comparison with the 16GB max the M1 supported.
The preliminary (admittedly obscure) figures Apple gave urged an general efficiency enhance of 40% over M1, however now we now have our palms on an M2 system, do these guarantees stack up?
In our assessments, the M2 achieved higher efficiency in each single and multi-core CPU assessments, providing a noticeable uplift when it got here to multitasking, with varied functions open without delay.
It additionally scored round twice as a lot because the Floor Laptop computer 4 working with Intel’s high-end, and nonetheless comparatively current, Intel Core i7-1185G7.
We remarked that Apple’s transfer from Intel to its personal M1 chips was a smart transfer, and with the M2, it seems to be like that continues, with the brand new chip providing sensible efficiency in comparison with Intel-based laptops of across the identical worth.
Benchmarks solely inform a part of the story, nonetheless, however the excellent news is that in our day-to-day use of the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022), the laptop computer carried out brilliantly. macOS Monterey (macOS Ventura is coming afterward, and the MacBook Professional will get a free improve) felt quick and responsive, and the assorted apps we examined out, together with Safari, Chrome, Last Lower Professional and GarageBand, loaded shortly and ran effectively, even once we had a number of apps going without delay.
When the M1 launched, Apple got here up with an incredible instrument – Rosetta 2 – which allowed apps that had been constructed for Intel {hardware} to run on the brand new Apple chip. It did an incredible job that ensured your older Mac apps might run on newer Macs. Since then, an growing variety of apps now run natively on M1 and M2 {hardware}, resulting in a a lot smoother expertise.
The video processing chops of the brand new MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) stay spectacular, with it simply dealing with a number of 8K video streams without delay. The earlier mannequin was additionally adept at this, and until you’re doing very intensive workloads, chances are you’ll not see an enormous distinction should you’re upgrading from the M1 mannequin.
That’s, until you go for 24GB of unified reminiscence. The M1 maxed out at 16GB, and this increase ought to provide you with a a lot better expertise when multitasking. As a result of it is unified reminiscence, not solely can it’s used as system reminiscence, but it surely may also be utilized by the GPU, which implies it will likely be in a position to work with far more intensive and complicated graphics tasks. Whereas it gained’t compete with the M1 Max or M1 Professional-toting MacBook Execs from late final 12 months, it ought to provide a superb stepping stone, contemplating the cheaper worth of the 13-inch MacBook Professional.
The M2 additionally has extra reminiscence bandwidth, which is now 100GB/s (in comparison with 68GB/s), so even should you get an 8GB or 16GB model, it’ll have sooner reminiscence than the identical quantity with an M1 system.
That further reminiscence also needs to assist out with gaming. Often, you wouldn’t anticipate a MacBook to do a lot gaming – however Apple is pushing the gaming capabilities of the M2 processor, mentioning on stage at its WWDC 2022 keynote that due to the Steel API of the M1 and M2 chips, alongside a brand new upscaling characteristic often known as MetalFX, M2-powered MacBooks particularly will likely be formidable gaming machines.
Whereas large title video games supporting these options, corresponding to No Man’s Sky and Resident Evil Village, gained’t be coming till later, there’s nonetheless a rising variety of video games that run on macOS. We did check out a number of video games on it, nonetheless. Shadow of the Tomb Raider stays a graphically-impressive title, however on the highest settings, the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) managed a median of 29fps (frames per second). That is completely playable, and gives an analogous stage of efficiency (however higher graphics) than the last-gen Xbox One and PS4 consoles.
Nonetheless, for PC avid gamers used to 60fps efficiency – or larger – then this efficiency gained’t be too spectacular. Keep in mind, nonetheless, that the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) makes use of built-in graphics, fairly than a devoted graphics card like some, far more costly, gaming laptops do. In that respect, the efficiency is fairly nice.
Decreasing the settings will get a way more stable 46fps on common, making the sport really feel extra fluid and responsive, and whereas the graphics settings had been on their lowest settings, it nonetheless appeared good.
We additionally performed Tunic, a stunning isometric sport that’s closely impressed by Nintendo’s Zelda video games on the SNES, which performed brilliantly on the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022). It’s these extra stylized indie video games, fairly than blockbuster AAA video games, which seem to work finest on the brand new MacBook Professional. We’ll have a extra in-depth have a look at the gaming efficiency of the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) quickly.
The MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) we got to assessment got here with 16GB of reminiscence, so we weren’t in a position to check out how a lot of an influence 24GB makes, but it surely must be noticeable for intensive tasks. For most individuals, 16GB must be a lot, whereas the 8GB configuration feels just a little too low today. MacBooks stay unimaginable for a person to improve the parts themselves, so that you’re caught with the configuration you purchase. With that in thoughts, we advocate going with probably the most quantity of reminiscence (and storage) you may afford.
Total, efficiency is excellent, and a good step up over the M1 MacBook Professional 13-inch, although in real-world assessments many individuals gained’t see this until they actually push the laptop computer. We’d have an interest to see how the MacBook Air (M2, 2022) fares, because it shares the identical M2 chip, so might provide related efficiency for much less cash.
A key distinction, as with the earlier fashions, is that whereas the MacBook Air has a fanless design, the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) options followers. This permits the MacBook Professional to work more durable for longer with out overheating, supposedly permitting it to carry out duties that would go away the MacBook Air to throttle efficiency to maintain cool.
Nonetheless, throughout our assessments, the fan appeared to not often kick in – if in any respect. This implies the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) is almost utterly silent when in use, which is nice for individuals who discover highly effective laptops and PCs which have followers going on a regular basis distracting. Nonetheless, it does additionally imply that there’s not too many instances when the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022)’s followers will imply the laptop computer can outperform the MacBook Air.
MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) assessment: Battery life
- Very lengthy battery life
- Prices barely faster
The M1 chip was impressively environment friendly when it got here to energy, and that allowed the brand new technology of MacBooks powered by it to supply glorious efficiency, whereas additionally providing impressively lengthy battery lives that outstripped many Home windows-based opponents.
So, when the M2 was introduced, alongside the brand new MacBook Professional 13-inch, Apple was eager to level out that it was much more environment friendly, providing what Apple claims is an 18% enhance in CPU efficiency while taking on the identical quantity of energy.
In our battery life check, which includes working a looped 1080p video till the battery dies, the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) lasted a really spectacular 15 hours and 31 minutes, nearly two hours longer than the M1 MacBook Professional 13-inch in the identical check.
For comparability, the final MacBook Professional to come back with an Intel processor, the MacBook Professional (13-inch, 2020), scored simply eight hours and 31 minutes in the identical check, highlighting simply how good the M2 is.
Apple has additionally boosted the facility adaptor a bit, now providing 67W over 61W, which implies the battery expenses barely sooner. There’s no MagSafe charger, nonetheless, like the brand new MacBook Air, or final 12 months’s MacBook Execs, one other sacrifice made because of the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022) holding the older design.
Must you purchase the MacBook Professional 13-inch (M2, 2022)?
Purchase it if…
Don’t purchase it if…
First reviewed June 2022
Additionally think about…
If our Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020) assessment has you contemplating different choices, listed below are three extra laptops to think about…
Testing scorecard
| Attributes | Notes | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Worth | The worth stays the identical because the earlier mannequin, making it the most affordable MacBook Professional. | 4/5 |
| Design | There is no new redesign right here, which is a disgrace. Nonetheless, it is solidly constructed, however seems to be dated. | 3/5 |
| Efficiency | The M2 chip gives glorious efficiency, and it is nearly silent when in use. | 4.5/5 |
| Battery life | At 15 hours and half-hour, this laptop computer has a implausible battery life that outlasts a lot of the competitors. | 5/5 |
We pleasure ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing course of, providing up long-term consideration to the merchandise we assessment and ensuring our critiques are up to date and maintained – no matter when a tool was launched, should you can nonetheless purchase it, it is on our radar.
