New M2 13-inch MacBook Pro Review Roundup [Video]

Early reviews of the new M2 13-inch MacBook Pro have been published ahead of its release on Friday.

Check out our roundup of reviews below and click here to learn more about the new notebook. Apple has yet to announce a release date for the new M2 13-inch MacBook Air but you can download the iClarified app or follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and RSS to be notified when it does.


Engadget
The 2022 13-inch Macbook Pro may come with the brand new M2 chip, but it feels dated in other ways. With a 60hz screen, wide bezels, and only two ports, the 13-inch Macbook Pro lacks a lot of the great features the 14 and 16-inch models have, and that can even be found on the new Macbook Air. The M2 is legitimately fast, at least.





CNET
I love the new MacBook Air design and its upgrades to the display and webcam. I suspect the 13-inch Pro will appeal to only a very specific subset of shoppers, such as those who want the better cooling and who want to jump into the Pro line without spending $2,000 or more. For everyone else, I'd suggest waiting to see what the M2 version of the MacBook Air can do when it arrives sometime in July.




Wired
All of this isn’t to say the 13-inch MacBook Pro is completely unusable for heavy-duty tasks, but it likely won’t be enough for anyone who regularly deals with processor-intensive workloads. If that’s you, I think it’s worth saving your cash and going for the base version of the 14-inch MacBook Pro instead. If you just need a good, new laptop, wait for the upcoming MacBook Air. You get a slightly larger, more modern-looking screen, a better webcam, nicer speakers, and a fast-charging support, all in an overall lighter package (and fun colors!). This MacBook Pro remains an awkward middle child and doesn’t bring nearly enough to the table to be worth your while.



The Verge
If you’re currently on an Intel MacBook (which I assume you are if you’re already looking to upgrade), the jump to the M2 will be huge. (I don’t even have to run benchmarks against older Intel systems — this machine is faster.) You’ll get all the benefits of the M1 that we raved about in 2020 plus some extra performance and extra battery life. And the caveats that the MacBook carried in 2020 with Rosetta performance penalties and various programs being incompatible have largely been ironed out in the two years since. But, if you’re not on a deadline, then the MacBook Air is coming.


Gizmodo
You have to squint to see the advantages of the MacBook Pro 13, which include slightly longer battery life, studio-quality mics, and a notch-free design. And so we get to the heart of this review: why should anyone buy the MacBook Pro 13? It’s all about the fans. I don’t mean the diehards–I’m talking about those spinning things in the base of the MacBook that keep it cool under a heavy workload. Need to run intensive tasks for hours on end, with a budget that doesn’t exceed $2,000? Then the MacBook Pro 13 is your best option if only by process of elimination. What’s clear is that this entry-level Pro model doesn’t feel so “Pro” anymore. To put it bluntly, Apple should either plan a major update for next year or let the new MacBook Air take its place.


Rene Ritchie
The M2 MacBook Pro has Apple’s most bleeding-edge system-on-a-chip... all wrapped up inside a 13-inch unibody aluminum chassis that, swear to Jobs, has barely changed in the last 6 years. So, riddle me this, Mac-man — who the hell is this Pro for? And how does it compare to the upcoming M2 MacBook Air and the still new-ish M1 Pro MacBook Pro?