Apple's M2 is here...or it will be shortly, when the 13-inch MacBook begins shipping on June 24. As expected, the M2 is a nice upgrade over the M1 (fave.co/30YkQgb), but not revolutionary. There are improvements in every part of the system-on-chip; the CPU, GPU, memory system, Neural Engine, and media engine.
Clearly, the M2 is superior to the M1 (fave.co/30YkQgb), but it now begs the question: Is it worth buying a Mac with the M1 Pro, M1 Max, or M1 Ultra anymore? Just because the second generation of Apple silicon is here, does that mean the first generation has reached the end of the line? We don't have benchmarks yet, but in general, the answer to that is going to be yes, with the differences becoming starker as you move up the performance stack. If anything, it's those considering the M1 Pro simply to get more memory or GPU performance that might be tempted by the M2. Here's how the products stack up.
M2 VS M1 PRO
The M1 Pro has a CPU with up to eight performance cores (twice that in the M2) and two efficiency cores (half that of the M2). It's 10 cores for the M1 Pro versus 8 for the M2, but with the M1 Pro leaning more heavily toward performance cores.
The M1 Pro generally offered CPU performance about 60 percent higher than the M1's. Apple says the M2's CPU is 18 percent faster than the M1's (and recently leaked benchmarks [fave.co/3yF3AHi] back up those numbers), so there's still a pretty substantial gap there. When the benchmarks arrive, we suspect the M1 Pro will still deliver multi-core performance that is around 35 percent higher than the M2's.
The M2's GPU is 35 percent faster than that of the M1, according to Apple. But the M1 Pro, with up to 16 GPU cores and way more memory bandwidth, is about twice as fast as the M1. So expect the M1 Pro to still come in around 40 percent faster than the M2.
This story is from the August 2022 edition of Macworld.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2022 edition of Macworld.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
JBL Xtreme 4 speaker: A powerful portable for parties
The fourth generation of JBL's Bluetooth travel speaker is beefier, better protected from the elements, and louder than ever.
How the iPhone's Headphone Safety setting can affect a Bluetooth speaker
A setting designed to prevent damaging your hearing can also throttle external speakers.
REVIEW: iPHONE 15 STRAIGHTFORWARD EXCELLENCE
SUPERB CAMERA SETUP + DECENT BATTERY LIFE + FAST PROCESSOR = (RELATIVELY) AFFORDABLE QUALITY.
REVIEW: 15-INCH MACBOOK AIR (M3) SIMPLY THE BEST, BUT BETTER
THE M3 UPDATE TO APPLE'S MOST POPULAR LAPTOP LINE IMPROVES ON GREATNESS.
FUJIFILM INSTAX MINI LINK 2: PORTABLE PRINTER WITH RETRO CHARM
Photographer Chase Jarvis (fave.co/ 3xegpdk) said, \"The best camera is the one you have with you.
ALOGIC MATRIX ULTIMATE: A FOLDUP CHARGER THAT DOESN'T NEED A PLUG
I've reviewed a bunch of impressive portable multidevice wireless chargers recently, and this newcomer, the Matrix Ultimate, lives up to its name.
5 MWC announcements that should have come from Apple
The Android show highlighted some new tech that we want to see in Apple products.
We haven't seen the last of the Apple Car
From Al to CarPlay, Apple’s efforts weren't for naught.
AI is coming to the iPhone-and it could change everything
Generative Al is set to impact every corner of Apple’s ecosystem.
U.S. Justice Department sues Apple over its 'iPhone monopoly'
The DOJ is joined by 16 state and district attorneys general in claiming that Apple has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.