Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
The 2022 M2 Pro MacBook Pros looks identical to the previous M1 Pro MacBook Pros, same boxy square design, same notch in the display and overall, if you placed the two side by side, you’d easily confuse the two for each other. But these new M2 Pro and M2 Max Macbook pros have some under the hood changes. Other than the obvious M2 chips. The HDMI port is now 2.1 which can support up to 8K displays and 4K120fps, it also has WIFI 6E, and the display has a better response rate. Besides that everything else feels exactly the same and is just as good as the outgoing model, the keyboard, speakers, webcam, and trackpad, all feel really good. So no complaints there.
Affiliate link to product mentioned in this video:
2022 14in MacBook Pro: go.magik.ly/ml/1r62o
Affiliate links to YouTube gear I use:
Sony a7siii: go.magik.ly/ml/1qb8i
Sony A7c: go.magik.ly/ml/1qb8k
14in M1 Pro MacBook Pro: go.magik.ly/ml/1qb83
Mac Studio: go.magik.ly/ml/1qb8o
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
0:18 Physical Features
1:16 Performance/User Experience
4:29 “Should I wait for next year?”
6:30 Conclusion
I found that the M2 Pro performs similarly to the M1 Max in my mac studio in CPU performance but lagged behind a little when it came to GPU. But, I found the responsiveness of all 3 machines, between the M1 pro, M2 Pro and M1 Max to be similar across the board. When it comes to what I do, video editing, photo editing, and documents it handles all of it without a hitch. I find the battery to last basically the same as the last one, giving me more a full day and then some of battery life. The M2 Pro 14in MacBook Pro stays cool doing basic web-browsing, reading and writing documents and it gets warm during my sessions of 4K video editing and really only got hot when I was running it for the benchmarks you saw mentioned earlier. The M2 Pro chip in this laptop is fantastic and I think most people looking at this machine would be fully satisfied with the M2 Pro as it performs almost as well as the M1 Max did last year and that chip was already overkill for most people. But if you want the best of the best, the $900 upgrade to the M2 Max is the way to go, but I don’t see that being the case for 99% of people. The M2 Pro cuts through Final Cut Pro like butter and export times are good. One thing to note though, is that the Base model M2 Pro MacBook pro with 512GBs of storage has slower memory than the outgoing 2021 model. It isn’t noticeable in general usage, but if you work with massive files, it may have an impact on your workflow. Both the new 14 and 16in models with 1TB of SSD storage or more have faster speed storage but you are paying a premium price for that fast storage. If you’re thinking about getting the 16in option, just know that the $500 difference nets you the faster version of the M2 Pro chip, and an overall bigger body and display.
So I think this brings in an interesting point of discussion, every time I review a macbook I hear people commenting saying that they’re “waiting” for next year for an upgrade for their laptop. But like you see here, sometimes the new model that comes after will just be the same laptop but with very minor improvements. So you may be waiting a whole year or more, just to see the same thing again next year. That’s not a bad thing, it’s good that Apple updates every once and awhile. If you are the type of person who does like to wait, I think you end up with some benefits too because you have more options. Based on the trends I’ve seen the last few years, After 6-8 months of a macbook’s release, you can find some good deals on them. Just a few months ago and a few weeks ago, before the M2 Pro’s release, we saw $400 off on the M1 Pro and M1 max models and at that price, it’s much more digestible than the M2 Pro 14in’s starting price of $2000. But I can see the same happening to this laptop, and at 8 months in, rumors also start appearing about the next model, so it’s easier to make a decision then because you’ll have an idea of what you might be missing out on and know if it’s worth waiting for next year’s model, or buying the current model at a good discount. The M2 Pro MacBook pro is still the more refined version of last year's model and you won’t be disappointed with it. It’s a fantastic machine to use. But my point is, whether you choose to upgrade to this model, or wait to hear more about next year’s model, you have a lot of different options.
As a whole the M2 Pro MacBook Pro, is a minor refresh, with a slight performance boost, small wifi and hdmi updates. This laptop isn't an upgrade for the M1 14 and 16in MacBook pro owners out there, this is for the people still on intel MacBooks before 2020. If you’re looking for a powerful-do-it-all laptop, then this is it. It takes an already great laptop and makes it even better this year.
The 2022 M2 Pro MacBook Pros looks identical to the previous M1 Pro MacBook Pros, same boxy square design, same notch in the display and overall, if you placed the two side by side, you’d easily confuse the two for each other. But these new M2 Pro and M2 Max Macbook pros have some under the hood changes. Other than the obvious M2 chips. The HDMI port is now 2.1 which can support up to 8K displays and 4K120fps, it also has WIFI 6E, and the display has a better response rate. Besides that everything else feels exactly the same and is just as good as the outgoing model, the keyboard, speakers, webcam, and trackpad, all feel really good. So no complaints there.
Affiliate link to product mentioned in this video:
2022 14in MacBook Pro: go.magik.ly/ml/1r62o
Affiliate links to YouTube gear I use:
Sony a7siii: go.magik.ly/ml/1qb8i
Sony A7c: go.magik.ly/ml/1qb8k
14in M1 Pro MacBook Pro: go.magik.ly/ml/1qb83
Mac Studio: go.magik.ly/ml/1qb8o
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
0:18 Physical Features
1:16 Performance/User Experience
4:29 “Should I wait for next year?”
6:30 Conclusion
I found that the M2 Pro performs similarly to the M1 Max in my mac studio in CPU performance but lagged behind a little when it came to GPU. But, I found the responsiveness of all 3 machines, between the M1 pro, M2 Pro and M1 Max to be similar across the board. When it comes to what I do, video editing, photo editing, and documents it handles all of it without a hitch. I find the battery to last basically the same as the last one, giving me more a full day and then some of battery life. The M2 Pro 14in MacBook Pro stays cool doing basic web-browsing, reading and writing documents and it gets warm during my sessions of 4K video editing and really only got hot when I was running it for the benchmarks you saw mentioned earlier. The M2 Pro chip in this laptop is fantastic and I think most people looking at this machine would be fully satisfied with the M2 Pro as it performs almost as well as the M1 Max did last year and that chip was already overkill for most people. But if you want the best of the best, the $900 upgrade to the M2 Max is the way to go, but I don’t see that being the case for 99% of people. The M2 Pro cuts through Final Cut Pro like butter and export times are good. One thing to note though, is that the Base model M2 Pro MacBook pro with 512GBs of storage has slower memory than the outgoing 2021 model. It isn’t noticeable in general usage, but if you work with massive files, it may have an impact on your workflow. Both the new 14 and 16in models with 1TB of SSD storage or more have faster speed storage but you are paying a premium price for that fast storage. If you’re thinking about getting the 16in option, just know that the $500 difference nets you the faster version of the M2 Pro chip, and an overall bigger body and display.
So I think this brings in an interesting point of discussion, every time I review a macbook I hear people commenting saying that they’re “waiting” for next year for an upgrade for their laptop. But like you see here, sometimes the new model that comes after will just be the same laptop but with very minor improvements. So you may be waiting a whole year or more, just to see the same thing again next year. That’s not a bad thing, it’s good that Apple updates every once and awhile. If you are the type of person who does like to wait, I think you end up with some benefits too because you have more options. Based on the trends I’ve seen the last few years, After 6-8 months of a macbook’s release, you can find some good deals on them. Just a few months ago and a few weeks ago, before the M2 Pro’s release, we saw $400 off on the M1 Pro and M1 max models and at that price, it’s much more digestible than the M2 Pro 14in’s starting price of $2000. But I can see the same happening to this laptop, and at 8 months in, rumors also start appearing about the next model, so it’s easier to make a decision then because you’ll have an idea of what you might be missing out on and know if it’s worth waiting for next year’s model, or buying the current model at a good discount. The M2 Pro MacBook pro is still the more refined version of last year's model and you won’t be disappointed with it. It’s a fantastic machine to use. But my point is, whether you choose to upgrade to this model, or wait to hear more about next year’s model, you have a lot of different options.
As a whole the M2 Pro MacBook Pro, is a minor refresh, with a slight performance boost, small wifi and hdmi updates. This laptop isn't an upgrade for the M1 14 and 16in MacBook pro owners out there, this is for the people still on intel MacBooks before 2020. If you’re looking for a powerful-do-it-all laptop, then this is it. It takes an already great laptop and makes it even better this year.
