Wired
For the overall performance, it may be difficult to feel the difference between the M2 processor and the M1 processor version of the MacBook Pro under normal usage conditions. When editing needs, you can clearly feel the difference in performance.
The new 13.3-inch MacBook Pro unveiled with the new Macbook Air during WWDC 2022 this year has the same overall appearance as the model with the M1 processor replaced in October 2020, but after replacing the M2 processor, it is obvious that the memory The upper limit of capacity is increased, and at the same time, with the M2 processor, the single-core performance of the CPU and the display performance of the GPU are improved.
13.3-inch MacBook Pro
The 13.3-inch MacBook Pro replaced with the M2 processor basically maintains the same design as the previous version, still retains the Touch Bar interface, and the keyboard also maintains the design of the previous MacBook Pro, not like the 14-inch and 16-inch models updated last year. All black keyboard. The screen size remains 13.3 inches, and the screen brightness can also reach up to 500 nits. The built-in fan also keeps the overall computing efficiency stable. The charger is changed to a higher 67W specification (the previous version was 61W).
▲The appearance of the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with M1 processor and M2 processor is basically the same
The M2 processor used this time also adopts the 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU specifications. The memory capacity starts from 8GB, and the maximum optional 24GB memory version (the previous maximum is only 16GB), and the memory transmission bandwidth is also increased to 100GB per second, the storage capacity starts from 256GB, and can reach up to 2TB capacity. In terms of connection ports, the left side of the fuselage uses two sets of USB-C ports that are compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4.0. It supports fast charging itself, or it can be connected to displays with input specifications such as DisplayPort through adapters. The right side is equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack. .
On the whole, the appearance of the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 processor is almost the same as the version with the M1 processor, the difference is only in the processor specifications. As for the battery life performance, the continuous playback time of movies through the Apple TV app can be up to 20 hours, and the time through wireless Internet access can be up to 17 hours. The data on the account is the same as the version equipped with the M1 processor.
▲The inner operation interface has not changed significantly 
▲The left side is also equipped with two sets of USB-C compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4.0 specifications, with an additional fast charging design
However, in addition to the processor specifications, there are still some differences between the two. For example, the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro equipped with the M2 processor supports ProRes and ProRes RAW hardware-accelerated codec processing capabilities, the sound section supports spatial audio, and the 3.5mm headphone jack additionally supports high-impedance headphones.
In addition, compared to the new MacBook Air with M2 processor, the new 13.3-inch MacBook Pro does not use the MagSafe magnetic charging interface, the charger maintains the 67W charging efficiency specification, and the color matching also maintains space gray and silver. Two options.
Its product positioning directly replaces the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro launched in 2020, and the suggested price remains at NT$39,900.
▲ The overall fuselage has not changed significantly 
▲The right headphone jack is added to support the connection of high-impedance headphones, and the sound output part is added to support spatial audio
A brief review of M2 processor features
Let’s briefly review the main features of the M2 processor.
▲The main features of the M2 processor
The M2 processor mainly continues the M1 design concept, and aims to maximize performance and minimize power consumption. It is built with TSMC’s second-generation 5nm process technology. It is composed of 20 billion sets of transistors, corresponding to an integrated memory transmission frequency of 100GB per second. It is 50% wider than the M1, and integrates up to 24GB of LPDDR5 memory. It also uses 4 sets of performance core CPUs and 4 sets of efficiency core CPUs, with a GPU designed with a maximum of 10 cores.
As for the overall area design, the M2 processor is actually only slightly larger than the M1 processor.
▲ The M2 processor is actually only slightly larger than the M1 processor
Compared with the M1 processor, the M2 processor improves the CPU performance by about 18% and the GPU performance by 35%. At the same time, compared with the 10-core laptop CPU for Windows PC, the M2 processor only needs 1/4 of the power perform the same effect.
Under the same power consumption, the M2 processor is 87% more efficient than the 12-core laptop CPU used in Windows PCs.
In addition, the greater advantage of the M2 processor is that it can address higher memory capacity. Compared with the M1 processor, it can only correspond to a maximum memory capacity of 16GB, and even supports the LPDDR5 memory specification with lower power consumption. It will be more beneficial if the user needs to be opened by paging, or if the clipping of audio and video content is more important.
In the artificial intelligence computing part, the neural computing engine of the M2 processor can correspond to about 15.8 trillion operations per second, which is about 40% higher than that of the M1 processor, and supports 8K H.264, HEVC and ProRes in encoding and decoding, and Can output to 6K resolution external monitor display.
Simple comparison of MacBook Pro with M2 processor, M1 processor and M1 Pro processor (plus comparison of MacBook Air with M2 processor)
The author uses the MacBook Pro equipped with M2 processor, M1 processor and M1 Pro processor, and the MacBook Air equipped with M2 processor to make a simple comparison of book performance. The MacBook Pro equipped with M1 processor has not been used for a short time The MacBook Pro equipped with the M1 Pro processor has also been used for several months, so the efficiency of the built-in SSD will be affected to some extent, which will affect some test results, but theoretically there will not be too obvious gap, so still It can be seen that the performance differences of different specifications of the models.
Different models are equipped with different memory and storage capacity. For example, the MacBook Pro equipped with the M1 processor only has 8GB of memory and 512GB of storage capacity, while the MacBook Pro with the M2 processor uses 16GB of memory and 1TB of storage capacity. The MacBook Air with the M2 processor uses 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage capacity. Although it will cause some impact, the actual magnitude is not large, unless the MacBook Pro equipped with the M1 processor has been used frequently for more than a year. At the same time, the 256GB SSD of the MacBook Air with M2 processor also has relatively low access efficiency, which may affect the operating performance.
Among them, using Cinebench R23 to perform single-core and multi-core performance computing, it can be found that the single-core MacBook Pro equipped with the M2 processor is not much different from the 16-inch MacBook Pro equipped with the M1 Pro processor, and even only better than the 16-inch MacBook Pro equipped with the M1 processor. The MacBook Pro is a bit ahead.
There is a significant gap in the performance of multi-core computing alone. The M2 processor is obviously much better than the M1 processor. However, because the M1 Pro processor has a larger number of cores and the computing architecture is somewhat different, the performance in multi-core computing will be significantly different. more prominent.
In addition, because the MacBook Pro model has a built-in active cooling fan system, it can maintain stable performance under long-term use, while the MacBook Air with M2 processor will protect it by reducing the frequency during long-term use. The processor is overheated and damaged, and the 256GB capacity version of the SSD has relatively low performance under long-term operation, so it is not conducive to long-term use. Otherwise, external devices such as laptop cooling racks should be considered for assistance.
▲Test single-core and multi-core computing performance through Cinebench R23 
▲Geekbench 5.4.2 test results, it can be found that the performance difference between M1 and M2 in single-core computing is not large, but the performance of multi-core computing is significantly different, especially when the core configuration of the M2 Pro processor is more Much improved performance
Through CrossMark 1.0.1.88 Pro for comprehensive performance calculation, in terms of productivity performance related to multi-core computing performance, it can be seen that the MacBook Pro equipped with the M2 processor is about to catch up with the M1 Pro processor. As for the creativity related to GPU display operation acceleration The performance of the M2 processor has also been significantly improved.
▲Comprehensive performance calculation through CrossMark 1.0.1.88 Pro, the overall performance of the M2 processor has been significantly improved
In addition, in terms of response performance, it can be seen that the MacBook Pro equipped with the M1 processor is significantly lower, and the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test 3.4.2 test results also show that its writing performance is low, resulting in lower overall computing performance. .
▲Blackmagic Disk Speed Test 3.4.2 test results, you can see the difference in SSD access performance, which affects the overall computing performance
In the follow-up, the author also used many people to edit videos. Through 10 sets of 4K resolution videos with a length of 1 minute, a total length of 10 minutes was formed. At the same time, 6 layers of videos were stacked, and the output was 4K 60fps, H. 264 encoded MP4 videos.
However, the MacBook Air with the M2 processor was returned during testing, so it failed to record the time it took to output the movie. However, since the computing performance of the M2 processor is similar to that of the new Macbook Pro, the corresponding performance of the new Macbook Pro may be used as a reference.
▲Through screen editing, 10 sets of 4K resolution videos with a length of 1 minute are composed of videos with a total length of 10 minutes, and 6 layers of videos are stacked at the same time, and the output is 4K 60fps, H.264 encoded MP4 videos 
▲The data of the Macbook Air equipped with the M2 processor is lacking, but in theory it will be similar to the MacBook Pro equipped with the M2 processor, and even almost the same as the MacBook Pro equipped with the M1 Pro processor
You don’t have to worry about the battery life when you take it out, and the computing performance is higher.
If you look at the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with almost the same design before and after, the battery life performance of the M1 processor version and the M2 processor version has not changed much, and the same solid corresponds to about 10 hours of continuous use. time.
▲The 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with almost the same design
When the author goes out to carry it, it is turned on from time to time during the day for querying data and writing manuscripts. Without additional power supplementation through the charger, the MacBook Pro with the M2 processor can still easily achieve all-weather battery life performance without having to Need to worry about whether you need to find an outlet to charge on the way.
Even the usage mode of having to carry a charger with you in the past can be changed. You only need to carry a laptop and you can go out lightly. Even if the power is only 50%, there is no need to worry about whether the power is insufficient.
▲The battery life performance can roughly correspond to the usage needs of one day without charging
As for the overall performance, it may be difficult to feel the difference between the M2 processor and the M1 processor under normal usage conditions. The difference in performance can be clearly felt.
Among them, the M2 processor can use more memory resources, and the multi-core computing performance is improved. Compared with the M1 processor, the GPU computing performance is significantly improved, and 8K H.264, HEVC and ProRes codec processing is added. The ability to make the M2 processor more handy when executing Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro and other editing software.
Next, in conjunction with the macOS 13 Ventura operating system update to be released in the fall, the new version of Metal API will be able to improve the GPU computing performance of the M2 processor. At that time, more audio and video content processing efficiency and 3D rendering effects will be further improved.
Gaying on the same field: Comparison of MacBook Airs with the same M2 processor
Compared with the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro, which has almost no changes in appearance, the new MacBook Air, which also uses the M2 processor this year, adopts obvious design changes.
Among them, the new MacBook Air adopts a similar design to the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro updated last year, cancels the original thin body vision, adopts a flatter body frame, and adds more color options, such as the new midnight black with starlight color.
▲The new MacBook Air with M2 processor
Other obvious changes include the bangs-shaped design of the screen, which increases the visual display range to 13.6 inches. The charging part is also incorporated into the MagSafe magnetic interface, and the connecting cable is also covered with woven material to avoid entanglement, and it does not need to occupy one of the USB-C ports for charging.
As for the charger part, the new version of the 30W charger is used, or the dual-hole charger corresponding to the 35W charging efficiency can be selected.
▲The screen is the same as the new 14-inch and 16-inch Macbooks launched last year, both of which are designed with bangs. 
▲The central position of the bangs is reserved for placing the video camera 
▲The MagSafe magnetic charging stand is added to the left side, allowing users to free up additional space for USB-C connections 
▲ Magnetic charger connector designed with MagSafe interface
Also equipped with the M2 processor, the new MacBook Air still reduces the number of GPU cores to 8 cores in the entry-level specification, and there is no additional cooling fan inside the fuselage, so the overall computing performance will be better than that of the same M2 processor, but the built-in The 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with a cooling fan design is slightly inferior.
Therefore, if you are choosing between the 13.3-inch Macbook Pro, which is also equipped with an M2 processor, and the new MacBook Air, if you focus on performance, the 13.3-inch Macbook Pro is naturally the first choice. If you are more concerned about the new MacBook Air, you have to pay attention to the 256GB version. The SSD read and write efficiency may affect performance issues.
But if performance is not the primary focus, but light use is the main focus, then the new MacBook Air is indeed a good choice.
And if it is budget-oriented, you might as well consider maintaining sales in the market. The MacBook Air equipped with the M1 processor actually has quite good convenience in general use.
▲The same integrated Touch ID fingerprint reader design of the power button 
▲The touchpad with enlarged area and glass material design 
▲The keyboard did not follow the new MacBook Pro with a comprehensive black design
summary
Compared with the new MacBook Pro, which is also equipped with an M2 processor, due to the additional built-in cooling fan design inside the fuselage, unlike the new MacBook Air, which uses an SSD with lower read and write performance in the entry model, and reduces the number of GPU cores, it will be able to Fully utilize the computing performance of the M2 processor.
However, considering the needs of multi-tasking, even the new MacBook Pro is recommended to directly choose a memory capacity configuration of 16GB or more.
▲The new MacBook Pro
In terms of positioning, the current MacBook Pro and MacBook Air equipped with the M2 processor are actually locked in entry-level use requirements, but there are still different positioning divisions between the two. For example, the MacBook Pro is still locked in more advanced work requirements. , and maintain the existing body design and Touch Bar configuration experience, while the MacBook Air uses a new body design, and corresponds to a larger screen display area, and also adds new color options.
And to choose the M2 processor, or choose the existing M1 processor specifications?
If the budget is sufficient, of course, it is recommended to directly choose the model equipped with the M2 processor. If you want to choose a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, it depends on your personal use needs. If it is mainly used for word processing work, it is actually recommended to choose a MacBook Air. Enough, the color naturally depends on personal preference, but pay attention to the number of cores in the entry-level model and the performance decline after long-term use.
However, if you have more advanced usage requirements like the author, such as additional video editing, post-production for recording content, etc., then it is recommended to choose a MacBook Pro, and it is also recommended to directly choose a memory capacity of 16GB or more. As for more advanced usage requirements, such as more professional image editing and 8K-level video editing, then you can consider a MacBook Pro equipped with an M1 Pro processor or higher.
As for the general student population, it is still quite recommended to choose MacBook Air. Even if the MacBook Air with M1 processor can be purchased at a relatively low price, it is actually a very practical choice.
However, if you are choosing a MacBook Pro equipped with an M1 processor, you must pay attention to the problem of SSD performance decline.