Comparison: 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 and 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1

The 13-inch MacBook Pro received a modest update at the company’s WWDC 2022 keynote on June 6. Unlike other Apple silicon models, the 13-inch MacBook Pro didn’t receive any major redesigns or significant new features other than the M2.

Here’s how the new Mac differs from the old Mac.

Last updated in 2020, the 13-inch MacBook Pro features an upgraded M2 processor, not the previous generation M1. Including M2 is the most important difference between the two models.

Like the M1, the Apple M2 is based on the 5nm chip manufacturing process. However, the M2 has 4 billion more transistors than its predecessor. On the other hand, the number of cores remains 8, with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores.

The M2 also supports up to 24GB of Unified LPDDR5 memory, but the M1 was limited to 16GB. The unified memory bandwidth is now 100GBps, about 50% more than the M1.

According to our tests, the M2 chip is about 18% faster than the M1 when it comes to standard CPU performance, which is in line with Apple’s claim. Since the number of cores is the same, these increases may be due to architectural improvements.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro’s M2 easily outperforms the M1 model in benchmark tests.

Geekbench 5 results on M2MacBook Pro

In the single-core Geekbench 5 test, the M2 chip scored 1928. The same chip earned a multi-core Geekbench score of 8990. For comparison, the late 2020 MacBook Pro with the M1 chip scored a single core score of 1749. The multi-core score is 7719.

When it comes to graphics performance, Apple has increased the number of GPU cores in M2. The chip has a 10-core integrated GPU instead of the M1’s 8-core graphics processor.

Overall, the new M2 GPU is about 35% faster than the M1’s graphics processor. This may be due to the addition of GPU cores or other enhancements.

Export video on new MacBook Pro

For certain graphical tasks, users may notice a slight significant increase in performance. According to Apple, playing graphics-intensive games like Baldur’s Gate 3 is nearly 40% faster than the M1-based MacBook Pro.

Users working with RAW images with Affinity Photo will find that the workflow is also about 40% faster than previous 13-inch MacBook Pro models.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro also now supports ProRes encoding and decoding in the media engine. According to Apple, it will be able to play up to 11 streams of 4K video or up to 2 streams of 8K ProRes video. Video projects can be converted to ProRes almost 3 times faster.

When I tested exporting videos other than ProRes, I didn’t see any significant difference. Exporting 20 minutes 4K video took less than 10 minutes on M2, but 10 minutes and 14 seconds on M1.

The sides of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro may have more powerful chips, but it can be difficult to tell the difference between the M1 and M2 models. Some tasks, such as video editing, are especially fast because they include Apple’s more advanced media engine, which the M1 doesn’t have.

In terms of physical form factor, both 13-inch MacBook Pro models are basically the same. They share the same overall dimensions and weight.

The M2-based MacBook Pro also has a touch bar, so Apple’s current lineup has this feature only on the Mac.

Both 13-inch MacBook Pro models have the exact same camera, the old 720p FaceTime HD camera. The M2 model also has the same 3-microphone array as the previous model.

However, the updated image signal processor on the M2 chip can slightly improve the performance of video calls. According to Apple, ISPs can automatically improve exposure levels, white balance, and noise reduction.

The camera is the same for both models, but the M2 has an updated signal processor, which could improve the video slightly.

The display is the same. This is a 13.3 inch LED backlit display with IPS. The resolution is 2560×1600, 227 pixels per inch, True Tone, and maximum brightness of 500 nits.

Both models have a pair of USB 4 / Thunderbolt 3 ports that support a variety of features, from DisplayPort to Thunderbolt data transfer at speeds up to 40 Gb / s. Both models also have a headphone jack, but the new model has special support for high-impedance headphones.

13 inch MacBook Pro

There are no upgrades associated with wireless connectivity. Both M2 and M1 MacBook Pro models support Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 6 (also known as 802.11ax).

If you connect your device to an external display, keep in mind that the M2-based 13-inch MacBook Pro supports only one external display. You can connect to one display at 60Hz with a resolution of up to 6K.

In connection with some of these hardware changes, Apple has changed the SSD in the base 256GB model. This entry-level unit on the M2 MacBook Pro includes a slow SSD, but the high-capacity option maintains speed.

The 256GB M113 inch MacBook Pro had a write speed of about 2900 MB / s and a read speed of 2200 MB / s. Conversely, the new 256GB M2 13-inch MacBook Pro offers only 1464 MB / s write speeds and 1446 MB / s read speeds.

The list of other features on the M2-based and M1-based 13-inch MacBook Pros is virtually the same.

Both models are available in silver and space gray, both have the same keyboard and trackpad, and both maintain the same starting price of $ 1,299.

One of the big differences between the M1 and M2 models is the speakers. Both use stereo speakers, but the M2 model supports Spatial Audio, which allows you to add 3D effects to some audio tracks.

In addition, the M2 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with a 67W charging brick instead of the 61W power adapter included in the M1 variant.