🔬 [REVIEW] Apple MacBook Pro 13 (M2, 2022) - you should get the MacBook Air

📈 💵 Specs and Prices: https://laptopmedia.com/series/apple-macbook-pro-13-2022/
🔬 In-depth Review: https://laptopmedia.com/review/apple-macbook-pro-13-2022/

➡️ CONTENTS:
[0:00] Introduction
[0:29] Design and construction
[0:59] Keyboard and Touchpad
[1:20] Ports
[1:28] Disassembly and upgrade options
[1:41] Display quality
[2:23] Battery life
[2:46] Performance
[3:17] Temperatures
[3:53] Verdict
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🔬 [REVIEW] Apple MacBook Pro 13 (M2, 2022)

The TouchBar is a plucky little thing that makes a comeback in 2022, thanks to Apple and their new MacBook Pro 13. Apple’s current lineup is pretty weird, with the Pro 13 using the older design, while the Air 13 has the new notched look. Regardless, both the Air and the Pro use the new M2 SoC, which features more powerful Avalanche and Blizzard cores.

Design

We are generally happy with the lack of a notch, and as a bonus, there’s the TouchBar. Overall, the whole laptop is a carbon copy of the Late 2020 MacBook Pro 13, with sharp edges and rounded corners complementing the metal chassis. The design is a bit outdated, with the Windows-based competition catching up with if not surpassing Apple, making thinner and lighter notebooks that still offer amazing build quality.

Keyboard and touchpad

The Magic keyboard feels much more like a traditional keyboard, even if the key travel is short, due to the 15.6 mm profile. The feedback is clicky, but more importantly, the typing experience is consistent across the entire board. The trackpad is covered with glass and is super accurate.

Ports

Dongles will be a part of your life with the MacBook Pro 13, as you only get two Thunderbolt 4 ports and an audio jack.

Upgrade options

We’re skipping the teardown segment since there’s nothing to be seen on the inside. Soldered memory - Check. Soldered SSD - Check. Soldered everything - Check.

Display

Moving onto the display, we have a single offering, with a 13.3-inch QHD+ IPS panel. As with all MacBooks, the display is one of its key selling points, with the panel here delivering exceptional viewing angles and a peak brightness of around 500 nits. It also covers 100% sRGB and 99% DCI-P3 gamuts, so colors are vivid and rich.

Battery

The laptop uses a 58.2Wh battery pack, which is pretty big for a device of this size. As for the battery life, this might be the best that we have seen, as the laptop lasts for 28 hours and 20 minutes of Web browsing, or 19 hours and 40 minutes of video playback.

Performance

The new M2 SoC delivers 12% better Single-Core performance than its M1 predecessors, including the Pro model. In Multi-core, however, the M2 is only better than the regular M1 chip, with a performance increase of 19%.

According to Apple, the main focus on the M2 is the GPU performance. Compared to the M1, the new GPU brings a 35% improvement in benchmarks.

Temperatures

The laptop generates a decent amount of heat, with the later stage of our stress test pushing the SoC to 91°C, which is a significant and unwelcomed increase from its M1-powered counterpart.

In terms of comfort, the hotspot on the keyboard reached 41°C, while the fan on the inside was surprisingly quiet, despite spinning at its max 7000RPM.

Verdict

The M2 SoC is a clear upgrade over the M1, however, the rest of the laptop stays exactly the same as the 2020 version, so if you want anything more than a performance increase, you should wait a bit for the release of the new MacBook Air.