Best Prices Today: Apple 13-inch MacBook Air (2022, M2)

The M2 MacBook Air went on sale in July 2022. Compared to the M1 MacBook Air that launched in November 2020, it was completely revised, not just on the inside, but for the first time in years, also on the outside. The 2022 MacBook Air has a better chip, a bigger display (13.6-inch, up from 13.3-inch), and a brand-new design. But if you look in the Apple Store you will notice you can still buy its predecessor (at least for now). Is it worth spending more to get the new model?

In this article, we look at how the 13.6-inch MacBook Air, M2 compares to the 13.3-inch MacBook Air, M1 from 2020, examining how much more powerful the new model is, and whether that extra oomph is worth the higher price. For even more information, check out our full reviews of the M1 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Air. We also evaluate which Mac laptop is best in our separate buying guide.

Since we first wrote this article in July 2022, a couple of things have changed: in June 2023 Apple introduced a larger version of the M2 MacBook Air with a 15-inch screen. At the same time, the company dropped the price of the M2 MacBook Air with 13.6-inch screen by $100/£100. The new price for the entry-level M2 MacBook Air is now $1,099/£1,149, which is just $100/£150 more than the price of the older M1 MacBook Air that remains on sale.

M2 MacBook Air vs M1: Design

The 2022 MacBook Air is certainly an eye-catcher and stands out clearly from its predecessor. This MacBook Air gained a brand new design that includes a bigger screen as well as new color finishes. But it still has a similar footprint to the M1 model:

13.6-inch MacBook Air, M2, dimensions

• 0.44in x 11.97in x 8.46in
• 1.13cm x 30.41cm x 21.5cm
• 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg)

13.3-inch MacBook Air, M1, dimensions

• 0.16–0.63in x 11.97in x 8.36in
• 0.41–1.61cm x 30.41cm x 21.24cm
• 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)

The 2023 15-inch MacBook Air is larger and heavier, as you would expect.

The width of the two laptops is the same, which makes sense because it allows for a full-size keyboard. The M2 model is a few millimeters deeper to allow for a larger screen and on average, this model is narrower than before – although it’s not tapered so the smallest edge isn’t as slim as it was.

While the tapered design allowed Apple to make a light laptop, it was also a disadvantage, as it meant less space for ports on the outside and limited space on the inside for heat dispersion. Despite the difference in design, however, both models are fanless, which could be a disadvantage to power users.

Rumors that the 2022 MacBook Air was losing its tapered design proved correct, but any hopes that this would mean more ports have been scuppered. The M2 MacBook Air has the same two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports as its predecessor and doesn’t have an HDMI port like the 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro. The new model adds MagSafe for charging to free up a Thunderbolt port, but otherwise, both models are the same: Touch ID, two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, 802.11ax, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.0.

Another big difference is the color options. The M2 models have a choice of Midnight (bluish-black) and Starlight (pale gold), as well as space gray and silver (which looks slightly paler than the previous shade). The 2020 MacBook Air comes in space gray, silver, and gold.

The other eye-catching difference between the M1 and M2 models is the addition of a notch for the camera. Like the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, the M2 MacBook Air has very slim bezels that can’t quite fit the camera. When the notch arrived on the larger MacBook Pro models in 2021 there was some criticism, but if you consider that Apple has added screen space on either side of the notch and made the display taller, you’re not actually losing any space.

M2 MacBook Air vs M1: Display

The display size is the other key difference between the new M1 and M2 MacBook Air. The 2022 model has a 13.6-inch display, compared to the 13.3-inch display on the M1 model. The new model is also brighter:

• MacBook Air M2: 13.6 inches, 2560 x 1664, 500 nits brightness
• MacBook Air M1: 13.3 inches, 2560 x 1600, 400 nits brightness

The brighter screen brings it into line with the 13-inch MacBook Pro, but places it far below that of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with 1,000 nits of max brightness. It also lacks the ProMotion technology of those models.

The M2 MacBook Air has a Liquid Retina display, rather than the Retina display of the M1 model (and the M2 MacBook Pro). The main difference is that the Liquid Retina display has better contrast ratios, support for more colors (a billion, rather than millions), and more pixels per inch. The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro go a step further with the superior Liquid Retina XDR display.

Thanks to these changes the display of the M2 MacBook Air isn’t only better than its predecessor—it’s also better than the 13-inch MacBook Pro. In everyday life, however, these differences will rarely be noticeable, although the increased brightness is a plus. The better color representation, on the other hand, will be a benefit for professional design work.

If a big screen is what you are after you might be interested to learn about the 15-inch MacBook Air which launched in July 2023.

M2 MacBook Air vs M1: Processor, RAM, and battery

Apple currently sells five MacBook Air models: one M1 13-inch model and two M2 13-inch models and two 15-inch MacBook Air. There are also a number of build-to-order options. All the M2 MacBook Air models have identical specs, so we won’t list the 15-inch specs separately.

• MacBook Air M1 with 8-core CPU, 7-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage: $999/£999

In terms of upgrade options, you can add 16GB RAM for $200, 512GB storage ($200), 1TB storage ($400), 2TB storage ($800). The 8-core GPU option is no longer available for this model.

• MacBook Air M2 with 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 8GB memory, 256GB storage: $1,099/£1,149

In terms of upgrade options, you can add 16GB RAM for $200, 24GB ($400) 512GB storage ($200), 1TB storage ($400), 2TB storage ($800).

• MacBook Air M2 with 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB memory, 512GB storage: $1,399/£1,449

In terms of upgrade options, you can add 16GB RAM for $200, 24GB ($400), 1TB storage ($200), 2TB storage ($600).

We’ll look into those components in more detail below:

CPU

Like the M1, the M2 has four performance cores and four efficiency cores, for a total of 8 CPU cores, but the efficiency cores have been enhanced and there is a larger cache (16MB rather than 12MB). As a result clock speeds can be faster and you can expect improved multithreaded performance compared to the M1. In our testing, the M2 has an 18 percent faster CPU than the M1.

The new chip doesn’t just mean that the new Macs can accomplish more though, they use less power doing so: Apple promises an increased CPU performance of 18 percent with the same energy consumption thanks to various optimizations.

We originally ran Geekbench 5 to see how the new CPU performed. Since then Geekbench 6.1 has arrived so we have run benchmarks again, which can be seen below.

Our original Geekbench 5 scores showed that the M2 MacBook Air delivered peak performance in line with the M2 MacBook Pro, and was a bit better than the M1. It’s not going to beat the higher-end M2 Pro and Max processors in the MacBook Pro though.

We also ran the Cinebench R23 benchmark, here it was more obvious that the active cooling of the MacBook Pro makes a difference despite the same M2 chip being used. But the 2022 MacBook Air was 15 percent faster than the M1 model.

GPU

The higher-end M2 with 10 GPU cores offers a 35 percent more powerful GPU than the M1, based on benchmarks. However, the base model of the M2 Air has a slightly lesser GPU with only 8 GPU cores, so we expect the gains to be less with the $1,099 model.

Another factor aiding the M2’s graphics prowess is the addition of engines specifically for video editing in the M2. Plus Apple claims that the Neural Engine is 40 percent faster than in the M1.

We ran the Geekbench 5 Compute test on the 10-core GPU MacBook Air. This model was almost 60 percent faster than the old 7-core M1 MacBook Air (which is no real surprise), but they were also about 40 percent faster than the 8 GPU cores in the M1 MacBook Pro and on par with the same M2 chip in the MacBook Pro.

In our tests the M2 MacBook Air, with a full 10-core GPU, was also roughly 40% faster than the M1 Air with 7 GPU cores in Rise of the Tomb Raider, and between 20-50 percent faster in Civilization VI, depending on the settings.

Memory and Storage

While the standard memory offered by both the M1 and M2 MacBook Pro is the same: 8GB Unified Memory, the performance is not the same. According to Apple, the M2 delivers 50 percent more memory bandwidth compared to M1 (100GB/s memory bandwidth) so there should be some noticeable improvements.

But the biggest difference is the amount of memory. Where the M1 MacBook Air tops off at 16GB memory, the M2 MacBook Air can take as much as 24GB. That’s still less than the 32GB of the M1 Pro models, but it’s an improvement and will no doubt please those who were concerned that 16GB wasn’t enough.

As for storage, both the M1 and M2 MacBook Air ship with 256GB as standard and max out at 2TB for up to $800 more.

Webcam and Speakers

The webcam in the M2 supports a resolution of 1080p, which is significantly better than the low-grade 720p FaceTime HD camera in the M1 MacBook Air. That leaves the M1 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Pro as the only laptops with the old camera.

The speakers have also been updated in the M2 MacBook Air. Instead of relying on a stereo system, the 2022 MacBook Air features four speakers with support for 3D audio, aka Spatial Audio. In addition, the 3.5mm headphone jack offers advanced support for high-impedance headphone.

Power and battery

With a new 67W power supply (sold separately for $20 with the 8-core GPU model, or a free option with the 10-core GPU model) you can quickly charge the M2 MacBook Air to 50 percent charge in 30 minutes. The M2 MacBook Air charges via the magnetically attached MagSafe port, so you no longer have to worry about pulling your MacBook off a desk when you stumble over the cable. There’s a 30W USB-C Power Adapter (included with the 8-core GPU M2 and the choice of a more compact 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter (with the 10-core GPU M2).

The M2 MacBook Air has a larger battery than its predecessor: a 52.6-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery rather than the 49.9-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery of the previous generation. Coupled with Apple’s claims that the M2 means the 2022 MacBook Air is more power efficient might lead you to suppose that the new MacBook Air would have better battery life, but Apple states that battery life is the same 18 hours.

In our own battery tests the battery lasted 17.5 hours, which was very close enough to Apple’s 18-hour claim. In our tests the M2 MacBook Air battery beat the M1 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Pro by almost an hour and a half.

We also ran our Movie playback battery life test on the two sizes of M2 MacBook Air and the M1 MacBook Air, and found that the difference between the two M2 models isn’t as big as you might think, given the larger battery in the larger MacBook. Bith are better than the M1 MacBook AIr, and on a par with the 14-inch MacBook Pro.

Read our roundup of the best chargers for MacBook Air.

M2 MacBook Air vs M1: Price

If you are considering buying a MacBook Air right now there are three models to choose from: the original 2020 M1 MacBook Air with a 7-core GPU for $999/£999, a 2022 M2 MacBook Air with an 8-core GPU for $1,099/£1,149 (reduced from $1,199/£1,239, and a top-of-the-range M2 MacBook Air with 10-core GPU for $1,399/£1,449 (reduced from $1,499/£1,549). Read about why if you can afford it then you should buy the $1,399/£1,449 MacBook Air in the $1,099 M2 MacBook Air isn’t as good as it looks.

The new model offers an M2 processor with more GPU cores, a bigger screen, and a brand-new design for just $100/£150 more than the M1 model.

The decision is pretty simple really. The newer MacBook Air only costs a small amount more than the older model and for that $100/£150 extra you get a lot more.

There is only one reason to consider the M1 MacBook Air–it may not be on sale for much longer. If you want the older style MacBook AIr then time may be running out to buy one.

M1 vs M2 MacBook Air: Our recommendation

The MacBook Air with M2 is in many respects a significant improvement over its predecessor. It offers better performance, a more modern design, an improved display, and some smaller but notable improvements.

If you are one of those users who use the MacBook primarily for everyday tasks, such as surfing the web, reading emails or watching videos, you may be attracted to the cheaper $999/£999 M1 MacBook Air. A M1 Macbook Air will be able to handle all these tasks without any problems.

However, if you want to save money, rather than buy an M1 MacBook Air we recommend looking for a deal on the M2 MacBook Air. If you look around you may be able to get an M2 MacBook Air for as much as, or less than, the M1 model. See our round-up of MacBook Air deals.

If you do more with your MacBook or use it for professional applications such as video editing or photo editing, the M2 MacBook Air is definitely worth the extra money compared to its predecessor. In fact, if your budget allows, we recommend jumping to the higher-end model with a 10-core GPU, extra storage and better graphics. And as always, you should buy as much memory as you can afford.

The M1 MacBook Air is still a good machine, even as it heads for its third anniversary, but you’ll be much happier with the newer MacBook Air in a year or two.

The best prices for the MacBook Air M1, usually $999/£999 are below.

MacBook

Best Prices Today: Apple 13-inch MacBook Air (2022, M2)

The M2 MacBook Air went on sale in July 2022. Compared to the M1 MacBook Air that launched in November 2020, it was completely revised, not just on the inside, but for the first time in years, also on the outside. The 2022 MacBook Air has a better chip, a bigger display (13.6-inch, up from 13.3-inch), and a brand-new design. But if you look in the Apple Store you will notice you can still buy its predecessor (at least for now). Is it worth spending more to get the new model?

In this article, we look at how the 13.6-inch MacBook Air, M2 compares to the 13.3-inch MacBook Air, M1 from 2020, examining how much more powerful the new model is, and whether that extra oomph is worth the higher price. For even more information, check out our full reviews of the M1 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Air. We also evaluate which Mac laptop is best in our separate buying guide.

Since we first wrote this article in July 2022, a couple of things have changed: in June 2023 Apple introduced a larger version of the M2 MacBook Air with a 15-inch screen. At the same time, the company dropped the price of the M2 MacBook Air with 13.6-inch screen by $100/£100. The new price for the entry-level M2 MacBook Air is now $1,099/£1,149, which is just $100/£150 more than the price of the older M1 MacBook Air that remains on sale.

M2 MacBook Air vs M1: Design

The 2022 MacBook Air is certainly an eye-catcher and stands out clearly from its predecessor. This MacBook Air gained a brand new design that includes a bigger screen as well as new color finishes. But it still has a similar footprint to the M1 model:

13.6-inch MacBook Air, M2, dimensions

• 0.44in x 11.97in x 8.46in
• 1.13cm x 30.41cm x 21.5cm
• 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg)

13.3-inch MacBook Air, M1, dimensions

• 0.16–0.63in x 11.97in x 8.36in
• 0.41–1.61cm x 30.41cm x 21.24cm
• 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)

The 2023 15-inch MacBook Air is larger and heavier, as you would expect.

The width of the two laptops is the same, which makes sense because it allows for a full-size keyboard. The M2 model is a few millimeters deeper to allow for a larger screen and on average, this model is narrower than before – although it’s not tapered so the smallest edge isn’t as slim as it was.

While the tapered design allowed Apple to make a light laptop, it was also a disadvantage, as it meant less space for ports on the outside and limited space on the inside for heat dispersion. Despite the difference in design, however, both models are fanless, which could be a disadvantage to power users.

Rumors that the 2022 MacBook Air was losing its tapered design proved correct, but any hopes that this would mean more ports have been scuppered. The M2 MacBook Air has the same two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports as its predecessor and doesn’t have an HDMI port like the 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro. The new model adds MagSafe for charging to free up a Thunderbolt port, but otherwise, both models are the same: Touch ID, two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, 802.11ax, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.0.

Another big difference is the color options. The M2 models have a choice of Midnight (bluish-black) and Starlight (pale gold), as well as space gray and silver (which looks slightly paler than the previous shade). The 2020 MacBook Air comes in space gray, silver, and gold.

The other eye-catching difference between the M1 and M2 models is the addition of a notch for the camera. Like the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, the M2 MacBook Air has very slim bezels that can’t quite fit the camera. When the notch arrived on the larger MacBook Pro models in 2021 there was some criticism, but if you consider that Apple has added screen space on either side of the notch and made the display taller, you’re not actually losing any space.

M2 MacBook Air vs M1: Display

The display size is the other key difference between the new M1 and M2 MacBook Air. The 2022 model has a 13.6-inch display, compared to the 13.3-inch display on the M1 model. The new model is also brighter:

• MacBook Air M2: 13.6 inches, 2560 x 1664, 500 nits brightness
• MacBook Air M1: 13.3 inches, 2560 x 1600, 400 nits brightness

The brighter screen brings it into line with the 13-inch MacBook Pro, but places it far below that of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with 1,000 nits of max brightness. It also lacks the ProMotion technology of those models.

The M2 MacBook Air has a Liquid Retina display, rather than the Retina display of the M1 model (and the M2 MacBook Pro). The main difference is that the Liquid Retina display has better contrast ratios, support for more colors (a billion, rather than millions), and more pixels per inch. The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro go a step further with the superior Liquid Retina XDR display.

Thanks to these changes the display of the M2 MacBook Air isn’t only better than its predecessor—it’s also better than the 13-inch MacBook Pro. In everyday life, however, these differences will rarely be noticeable, although the increased brightness is a plus. The better color representation, on the other hand, will be a benefit for professional design work.

If a big screen is what you are after you might be interested to learn about the 15-inch MacBook Air which launched in July 2023.

M2 MacBook Air vs M1: Processor, RAM, and battery

Apple currently sells five MacBook Air models: one M1 13-inch model and two M2 13-inch models and two 15-inch MacBook Air. There are also a number of build-to-order options. All the M2 MacBook Air models have identical specs, so we won’t list the 15-inch specs separately.

• MacBook Air M1 with 8-core CPU, 7-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage: $999/£999

In terms of upgrade options, you can add 16GB RAM for $200, 512GB storage ($200), 1TB storage ($400), 2TB storage ($800). The 8-core GPU option is no longer available for this model.

• MacBook Air M2 with 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 8GB memory, 256GB storage: $1,099/£1,149

In terms of upgrade options, you can add 16GB RAM for $200, 24GB ($400) 512GB storage ($200), 1TB storage ($400), 2TB storage ($800).

• MacBook Air M2 with 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB memory, 512GB storage: $1,399/£1,449

In terms of upgrade options, you can add 16GB RAM for $200, 24GB ($400), 1TB storage ($200), 2TB storage ($600).

We’ll look into those components in more detail below:

CPU

Like the M1, the M2 has four performance cores and four efficiency cores, for a total of 8 CPU cores, but the efficiency cores have been enhanced and there is a larger cache (16MB rather than 12MB). As a result clock speeds can be faster and you can expect improved multithreaded performance compared to the M1. In our testing, the M2 has an 18 percent faster CPU than the M1.

The new chip doesn’t just mean that the new Macs can accomplish more though, they use less power doing so: Apple promises an increased CPU performance of 18 percent with the same energy consumption thanks to various optimizations.

We originally ran Geekbench 5 to see how the new CPU performed. Since then Geekbench 6.1 has arrived so we have run benchmarks again, which can be seen below.

Our original Geekbench 5 scores showed that the M2 MacBook Air delivered peak performance in line with the M2 MacBook Pro, and was a bit better than the M1. It’s not going to beat the higher-end M2 Pro and Max processors in the MacBook Pro though.

We also ran the Cinebench R23 benchmark, here it was more obvious that the active cooling of the MacBook Pro makes a difference despite the same M2 chip being used. But the 2022 MacBook Air was 15 percent faster than the M1 model.

GPU

The higher-end M2 with 10 GPU cores offers a 35 percent more powerful GPU than the M1, based on benchmarks. However, the base model of the M2 Air has a slightly lesser GPU with only 8 GPU cores, so we expect the gains to be less with the $1,099 model.

Another factor aiding the M2’s graphics prowess is the addition of engines specifically for video editing in the M2. Plus Apple claims that the Neural Engine is 40 percent faster than in the M1.

We ran the Geekbench 5 Compute test on the 10-core GPU MacBook Air. This model was almost 60 percent faster than the old 7-core M1 MacBook Air (which is no real surprise), but they were also about 40 percent faster than the 8 GPU cores in the M1 MacBook Pro and on par with the same M2 chip in the MacBook Pro.

In our tests the M2 MacBook Air, with a full 10-core GPU, was also roughly 40% faster than the M1 Air with 7 GPU cores in Rise of the Tomb Raider, and between 20-50 percent faster in Civilization VI, depending on the settings.

Memory and Storage

While the standard memory offered by both the M1 and M2 MacBook Pro is the same: 8GB Unified Memory, the performance is not the same. According to Apple, the M2 delivers 50 percent more memory bandwidth compared to M1 (100GB/s memory bandwidth) so there should be some noticeable improvements.

But the biggest difference is the amount of memory. Where the M1 MacBook Air tops off at 16GB memory, the M2 MacBook Air can take as much as 24GB. That’s still less than the 32GB of the M1 Pro models, but it’s an improvement and will no doubt please those who were concerned that 16GB wasn’t enough.

As for storage, both the M1 and M2 MacBook Air ship with 256GB as standard and max out at 2TB for up to $800 more.

Webcam and Speakers

The webcam in the M2 supports a resolution of 1080p, which is significantly better than the low-grade 720p FaceTime HD camera in the M1 MacBook Air. That leaves the M1 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Pro as the only laptops with the old camera.

The speakers have also been updated in the M2 MacBook Air. Instead of relying on a stereo system, the 2022 MacBook Air features four speakers with support for 3D audio, aka Spatial Audio. In addition, the 3.5mm headphone jack offers advanced support for high-impedance headphone.

Power and battery

With a new 67W power supply (sold separately for $20 with the 8-core GPU model, or a free option with the 10-core GPU model) you can quickly charge the M2 MacBook Air to 50 percent charge in 30 minutes. The M2 MacBook Air charges via the magnetically attached MagSafe port, so you no longer have to worry about pulling your MacBook off a desk when you stumble over the cable. There’s a 30W USB-C Power Adapter (included with the 8-core GPU M2 and the choice of a more compact 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter (with the 10-core GPU M2).

The M2 MacBook Air has a larger battery than its predecessor: a 52.6-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery rather than the 49.9-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery of the previous generation. Coupled with Apple’s claims that the M2 means the 2022 MacBook Air is more power efficient might lead you to suppose that the new MacBook Air would have better battery life, but Apple states that battery life is the same 18 hours.

In our own battery tests the battery lasted 17.5 hours, which was very close enough to Apple’s 18-hour claim. In our tests the M2 MacBook Air battery beat the M1 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Pro by almost an hour and a half.

We also ran our Movie playback battery life test on the two sizes of M2 MacBook Air and the M1 MacBook Air, and found that the difference between the two M2 models isn’t as big as you might think, given the larger battery in the larger MacBook. Bith are better than the M1 MacBook AIr, and on a par with the 14-inch MacBook Pro.

Read our roundup of the best chargers for MacBook Air.

M2 MacBook Air vs M1: Price

If you are considering buying a MacBook Air right now there are three models to choose from: the original 2020 M1 MacBook Air with a 7-core GPU for $999/£999, a 2022 M2 MacBook Air with an 8-core GPU for $1,099/£1,149 (reduced from $1,199/£1,239, and a top-of-the-range M2 MacBook Air with 10-core GPU for $1,399/£1,449 (reduced from $1,499/£1,549). Read about why if you can afford it then you should buy the $1,399/£1,449 MacBook Air in the $1,099 M2 MacBook Air isn’t as good as it looks.

The new model offers an M2 processor with more GPU cores, a bigger screen, and a brand-new design for just $100/£150 more than the M1 model.

The decision is pretty simple really. The newer MacBook Air only costs a small amount more than the older model and for that $100/£150 extra you get a lot more.

There is only one reason to consider the M1 MacBook Air–it may not be on sale for much longer. If you want the older style MacBook AIr then time may be running out to buy one.

M1 vs M2 MacBook Air: Our recommendation

The MacBook Air with M2 is in many respects a significant improvement over its predecessor. It offers better performance, a more modern design, an improved display, and some smaller but notable improvements.

If you are one of those users who use the MacBook primarily for everyday tasks, such as surfing the web, reading emails or watching videos, you may be attracted to the cheaper $999/£999 M1 MacBook Air. A M1 Macbook Air will be able to handle all these tasks without any problems.

However, if you want to save money, rather than buy an M1 MacBook Air we recommend looking for a deal on the M2 MacBook Air. If you look around you may be able to get an M2 MacBook Air for as much as, or less than, the M1 model. See our round-up of MacBook Air deals.

If you do more with your MacBook or use it for professional applications such as video editing or photo editing, the M2 MacBook Air is definitely worth the extra money compared to its predecessor. In fact, if your budget allows, we recommend jumping to the higher-end model with a 10-core GPU, extra storage and better graphics. And as always, you should buy as much memory as you can afford.

The M1 MacBook Air is still a good machine, even as it heads for its third anniversary, but you’ll be much happier with the newer MacBook Air in a year or two.

The best prices for the MacBook Air M1, usually $999/£999 are below.

MacBook

Apple currently sells two laptop lines: the MacBook Pro (which comes in 13-inch M2, 14-inch M2 Pro/Max and 16-inch M2 Pro/Max models) and the MacBook Air (which is available in 13.3-inch M1 or 13.6-inch M2 and a, new for 2023, 15-inch M2 MacBook Air). That is a lot of Mac laptops with very different specs.

In this article, we are concerned with the Mac laptops that are best suited to average use: home, student and office work. The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro or M2 Mac chips are better suited to pro users and have much higher prices, so we won’t be including them here. But if you are wondering whether your needs might extend a little further on the pro side, you may also be interested to read: Which MacBook Pro: 13, 14, 16-inch compared.

We’ll be considering the following similarly speced Mac laptops:

• 13.3-inch MacBook Air, M1, 2020.
• 13.6-inch MacBook Air, M2, July 2022.
• 13.3-inch MacBook Pro, M2, June 2022.
• 15-inch MacBook Air, M2, June 2023.

We’ve included the M1 MacBook Air, but only really in passing: it will be three years old in November, and, while it’s price is still $999/$999 the price of the much better M2 MacBook Air is only $100/$100 more, so our advice is simple: pay a little extra for a much better machine.

Elsewhere we look at the MacBook Air M1 vs M2 and the 15-inch MacBook Air vs the 14-inch MacBook Pro. We also compare the 8-core MacBook Air with the 10-core MacBook Air. For advice about the best MacBook we also have a buying guide, see: Best MacBook 2023: Which Mac laptop is best?

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: 13-inch and 15-inch options compared

Here are the three Mac laptops that have our attention. We will be comparing design, specs, displays, price and other features below.

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Design

When Apple revealed its new design for the MacBook Air in June 2022 you could have been forgiven for thinking you were looking at a MacBook Pro. The tapered edge for which the Air was famous had gone, replaced with a more uniform design. But placed beside the 13-inch MacBook Pro the differences are evident: The MacBook Air is still thinner, albeit fractionally, but it is also very slightly larger thanks to the bigger screen.

Looking at the screen you will notice the other glaring difference: the MacBook Air has a notch (also seen on the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro and iPhones) and the 13-inch MacBook Pro doesn’t. This enables the bigger screen and conceals a much better FaceTime camera, so it’s not a bad thing, although some people don’t like notches.

If you miss that tapered design that made the MacBook Air instantly identifiable it is still available if you buy the M1 version of the MacBook Air.

Another notable difference is that the 13-inch MacBook Pro is the only Mac laptop that still features Apple’s Touch Bar strip. Apple removed the Touch Bar from the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with the 2021 models, so if you want the Touch Bar the 13-inch MacBook Pro is the only Mac laptop to offer it. All three MacBooks have the same Magic Keyboard with scissor-switch keys. All of the models also have a Touch ID sensor and Force Touch trackpad.

Thanks to the extensive redesign in 2022, the MacBook Air gained many features that the 13-inch MacBook Pro lacks. Most significant is the fact that the 2022 MacBook Air has a larger 13.6-inch screen with slimmer bezels, while the 13-inch MacBook Pro has an older 13.3-inch display (the same as the M1 MacBook Air).

If a 13.6-inch screen isn’t big enough for you, Apple added a 15.3-inch MacBook Air to the lineup in June 2023. This model looks identical to the 13.6-inch MacBook Air, and shares (mostly) the same specs, it’s just bigger.

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Dimensions

When it launched in 2008, the MacBook Air was the lightest laptop available, but over the years the weight of the MacBook Pro has also declined, so the difference is a lot less now:

The 13-inch MacBook Air is lighter than the 13-inch MacBook Pro, but only slightly. The 15-inch MacBook Air is, of course, heavier than the other Mac laptops, but it’s still lighter than the 14-inch MacBook Pro.

• 15-inch MacBook Air, M2: 3.3 pounds (1.51kg)
• 13-inch MacBook Air, M2: 2.7 pounds (1.24kg)
• 13-inch MacBook Pro, M2: 3 pounds (1.4kg)
• 13-inch MacBook Air, M1: 2.8 pounds (1.29kg)

Following its redesign the 2022 MacBook Air is actually very slightly larger than the 13-inch MacBook Pro. That change is what allows Apple to accommodate a larger display. The measurements of the M1 MacBook Air are the same as the 13in MacBook Pro.

• 15-inch MacBook Air, M2: 13.40 x 9.35 x 0.45 inches (34.04 x 23.76 x 1.15cm)
• 13-inch MacBook Air, M2: 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches (30.41 x 21.5 x 1.13cm)
• 13-inch MacBook Pro, M2: 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches (30.41 x 21.24 x 1.56cm)
• 13-inch MacBook Air, M1: 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.16-0.63 inches(30.41 x 21.24 x 1.61-0.41cm)

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Colors

Another difference between these MacBooks is the color choices. There are four colour choices for the 2022 13-inch MacBook Air and the 2023 15-inch MacBook Air: Midnight (dark blue), Starlight (gold), Space Gray and Silver. The Starlight shade is paler gold, while Midnight is close to black with a dark blue hue.

The MacBook Pro offers only silver and space grey options. The M1 MacBook Air comes in silver, space gray and gold.

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Display

Due in part to the fact that the 2022 MacBook Air screen is slightly taller, with a diagonal measurement of 13.6 inches rather than 13.3 inches, the 13.6-inch MacBook Air display offers slightly more pixels than its predecessor:

• 15-inch MacBook Air, M2: 15.3inch diagonal, 2880 x 1864 pixels
• 13-inch MacBook Air, M2: 13.6inch diagonal, 2,560 x 1,664 pixels
• 13-inch MacBook Pro, M2: 13.3inch diagonal, 2,560 x 1,600 pixels
• 13-inch MacBook Air, M1: 13.3inch diagonal, 2,560 x 1,600 pixels

When Apple upgraded the 13-inch MacBook Air in the summer of 2022 it made changes to the quality of the screen. As a result, the newer 13-inch MacBook Air can achieve 500 nits brightness compared to 400 on the older model. The 13-inch MacBook Pro also offers 500 nits as does the 15-inch MacBook Air.

Apple uses the marketing term Liquid Retina for the newer MacBook Air models, but that seems to only refer to the rounded corners. These screens aren’t on par with the Liquid Retina XDR display screens of the larger 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, which offer Pro Motion screen technology that can achieve a 120Hz refresh rate for a smoother viewing experience.

Those more expensive MacBook Pro options also offer up to 1,000 nits of brightness, deeper blacks and more vivid colors.

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Specs

All Apple’s laptops run on Apple silicon. The older MacBook Air runs on M1, which was Apple’s first system-on-chip for Macs that arrived back in November 2020. The three other Mac laptops we are discussing here feature the M2 chip, which arrived in June 2022.

The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models feature faster M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, which arrived in January 2023. To learn more about all the Mac processors read our Mac processor comparison.

This is how the specs in the various MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro compare:

13.3-inch MacBook Air, M1 (2020, $999/£999)

8-core CPU with 4 perform­ance cores and 4 efficiency cores
7-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Memory (up to 16GB)
256GB SSD

13.6-inch MacBook Air, M2 (2022, $1,099/£1,149)

8-core CPU with 4 perform­ance cores and 4 efficiency cores
8-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Memory (up to 24GB)
256GB SSD

13.6-inch MacBook Air, M2 (2022, $1,399/£1,449) *

8-core CPU with 4 perform­ance cores and 4 efficiency cores
10-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Memory (up to 24GB)
512GB SSD

15-inch MacBook Air, M2 (2023, $1,299/£1,399)

8-core CPU with 4 perform­ance cores and 4 efficiency cores
10-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Memory (up to 24GB)
256GB SSD

15-inch MacBook Air, M2 (2023, $1,499/£1,599)

8-core CPU with 4 perform­ance cores and 4 efficiency cores
10-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Memory (up to 24GB)
512GB SSD

13-inch MacBook Pro, M2 (2022, $1,299/£1,349)

8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
10-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Memory (up to 24GB)
256GB SSD

13-inch MacBook Pro, M2 (2022, $1,499/£1,549 **

8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
10-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Memory (up to 24GB)
512GB SSD

The more expensive 13-inch MacBook Air option* used to have the same price as an identically specced MacBook Pro** ($1,499/£1,549), however, Apple has reduced the price of that 13-inch MacBook Air so you can now get the same spec for $1,399/£1,449.

As a result, it might look like the choice is obvious: the 10-core GPU, 512GB MacBook Air is the better choice as it costs $100/£100 less than the same 10-core GPU, 512GB MacBook Pro. However, it’s not that straightforward. Other factors can slow down the MacBook Air, as played out in our benchmarks. The fact that the AIr is more compact and fanless means it is less able to manage heat, and therefore may run slower if you were to really push it. Take a look at our benchmarks below for more.

CPU

The 2022 MacBook Air and 13in MacBook Pro both run on Apple’s M2 chip, as does the 15-inch MacBook Air. Like the M1 chip, which you can still get in the entry-level MacBook Air, the M2 has eight CPU cores, four of which are high-performance cores and four are high-efficiency cores. This is an advantage of Apple’s chip design: when the high-efficiency processor cores are busy backing up to iCloud or syncing photos the high-performance cores will still be available for more intensive operations. The M2 is superior to the M1 because this time round the faster performance cores are paired with a larger cache, while the efficiency cores see even greater performance gains, according to Apple. So it might look like the CPU is the same, but it isn’t.

In our Geekbench 5 CPU benchmarks we saw that the M2 MacBook Air peak performance was in line with the M2 MacBook Pro, and a bit better than the M1. But it’s not on par with the higher-end M2 Pro and Max processors. Note Geekbench has recently been updated to 6.1 but we haven’t been able to retest everything yet. So until we can, take a look at the benchmarks for the 15-inch MacBook Pro in our 15-inch MacBook Pro review.

The Cinebench R23 tests show the differences between the M2 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air though – the new MacBook Air was 15 percent faster than the M1 model, but 10 percent slower than the M2 MacBook Pro.

GPU

As you will see from the specs above, another key difference between all the Mac laptops on offer here is the number of graphics cores.

The entry-level MacBook Air doesn’t only offer a less-powerful M1 chip, there are only seven graphics cores compared to the eight or ten graphics cores in the M2 MacBook Air models.

The number of GPU cores might be a key part of the decision about which model is best suited to your needs. If you think you are likely to need that extra GPU core you may think that the best option is to buy the more expensive Air. But the MacBook Pro, which offers a 10-core GPU option, might be a better option, as we will explain.

The reason why the MacBook Pro is a better option for graphic-intensive operations than the MacBook Air is that it also includes a fan for cooling – as a result, you will be able to push it a little further. The MacBook Air will be perfectly fine for normal operations, but because it lacks a fan you may find that things slow down in order for it not to overheat while you are pushing it.

The Geekbench 5 Compute benchmarks showed scores for the M2 MacBook Air with 10-core GPU were in line with the M2 MacBook Pro and almost 60 percent faster than the old M1 MacBook Air (with 7 GPU cores), and about 40 percent faster than the “full” M1 with 8 GPU cores in the M1 MacBook Pro.

A MacBook Air has never been a great gaming laptop, and even the improvements we find in the M2 don’t change that. But it’s interesting to see how much better it is at running premium games than the M1.

RAM

All the M1 MacBooks – both Pro and Air – come with 8GB of Unified Memory at their base configuration. The M2 chip brings an option to upgrade to 24GB RAM while the M1 is limited to 16GB RAM.

You may be thinking that 8GB RAM won’t be enough for your needs, but you should note that this RAM – which Apple calls Unified Memory – is part of the M2 (or M1) chip. As a result, it is accessible to both the CPU and the GPU, which brings performance benefits that means the 8GB RAM in these models isn’t really comparable to 8GB in an Intel-powered Mac.

If you are concerned though you can update your MacBook Air or 13in MacBook Pro to 16GB or 24GB RAM at the point of sale – and we do recommend that you get 16GB if you can afford to.

If you feel that you need more than 24GB memory then you will need to turn to the M2 Pro (which ships with 16GB Unified Memory and is upgradable to 32GB), or the M2 Max (which ships also with 16GB Unified Memory, but is upgradable to 64GB or 96GB). It is even possible to get 128GB RAM, but for that you will need the M1 Ultra in the Mac Studio.

Storage

The Air and 13in Pro both come with 256GB of storage at the entry-level, with an additional model offering 512GB. You can also add a larger SSD at point of sale, but the M1 MacBook Air and Pro models are capped at 2TB. 

There are some concerns about the 256GB SSD in the entry-level M2 MacBook Air with reports that its SSD is up to 50 percent slower on read speeds and 30 percent on write speeds. We found that these observations were indeed true when we ran our own set of tests using Blackmagic Disk Speed Test. This may matter if you are using apps that access the SSD often, but it may not make a difference in typical use.

The 256GB Air showed read speeds that were 47.9 percent slower than the 1TB MacBook Air we also tested. While write speeds were a staggering 50.2 percent slower, far worse than expected. Unfortunately, the entry-level Air was also considerably slower than the 2020 model.

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Battery life and charging

When it comes to battery life nothing has changed since the M1 Macs, but these Macs are still miles ahead of the old Intel MacBook models. According to Apple, the M1 and both M2 MacBook Air models offer 18 hours, while the 13in MacBook Pro offers an amazing 20 hours. This makes the discontinued 2.0GHz 13in MacBook Pro’s 10 hours battery life look appalling.

In our own testing, the 13.6-inch MacBook Air battery lasted 17.5 hours, outstripping the M1 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Pro by almost an hour and a half. The 15-inch MacBook Air battery lasted an even better 19 hours in our tests.

In regular daily use, battery life is just as great. It’s a weird feeling, opening up your laptop and doing work for 20 minutes and seeing that the battery percentage hasn’t changed even a single percent, but that’s how it is with Apple silicon. Obviously, battery life varies based on what you’re doing, but for this laptop’s target market–the everyday home and productivity user–it’s hard to think that you’ll ever have to charge up before the day is done.

These numbers are certainly impressive, although not the most hours of battery life on offer from an Apple MacBook, which is 22 hours for the 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro.

It’s not just battery life that is better on the newer MacBook Air though. Apple has improved charging speed if you use a good USB-C power adapter. A standard 35W dual-port adapter (which comes with all models of the Air aside from the entry-level model) can achieve a 10 percent charge in 10 minutes (30 percent in 30 minutes). Apple’s 61W USB-C Power Adapter increases this to 72 percent charge in 30 minutes. See our comparison test of Apple’s new M2 MacBook Air chargers as well as the best USB-C charger for your MacBook.

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Ports and expansion

Over the years it’s felt like Apple has been on a mission to remove ports from Macs in order to make them slimmer and slimmer. This has been a disadvantage for many, although generally if you need more or different ports you can just plug in an adapter or a dock (read: Best USB-C hubs and adapters for Mac).

With the arrival of the 2022 MacBook Air Apple did add a MagSafe charging port, which means that those two USB ports are still free when you are charging (the same applies to the 15-inch model). This puts the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the older MacBook Air at a disadvantage since they both offer only two USB 4 ports two USB/Thunderbolt ports, so one of those will also be used for charging.

If you do feel that you need more ports the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro have a number of ports available including three Thunderbolt 4 (USB‑C) ports, an HDMI port, and a SDXC card slot. (If you are wondering what the difference between USB-C and USB 4 is, USB 4 should be able to offer 40Gb/s, which is what Thunderbolt 3 already offers. USB-C offers 10 to 20Gb/s.)

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Audio and camera

The 15-inch MacBook Air has one other benefit over the 13.6-inch model: if features a six-speaker sound system with force-canceling woofers, compared to a four-speaker sound system. The M2 MacBook Pro and M1 MacBook Air only offer stereo speakers. All Mac laptops offer a 3.5mm headphone jack. 

You’ll also find a better 1080p FaceTime camera on the newer M2 MacBook Air models. The M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro have only 720p FaceTime cameras, which really aren’t good enough in this day and age.

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Price

Regardless of the features, the decision of whether to buy the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro may just come down to price. You might be looking for the cheapest option – in which case the $999/£999 M1 MacBook Air would appear to be the clear winner. But in June 2023 Apple reduced the price of the M2 MacBook Air, meaning that it only costs $100/£100 more to buy that model. Our advice is to spend the extra money if you can afford to or look for a deal that reduces the M2 MacBook Air to a price you can afford.

We recommend getting the best machine you can afford at the time of purchase because you won’t be able to upgrade down the line. Normally we’d suggest that you upgrade the RAM before the storage, but given the issues with the storage in the entry-level M2 MacBook Air we’d suggest that you opt for more storage if you think you will benefit from it. An M2 MacBook Air with 8-core GPU and 512GB SSD costs $200/£200 more at $1,299/£1,349.

You’ll find the pricing for the different models below, including the best offers right now for new MacBooks (because you don’t have to pay Apple’s price). We also recommend checking the Apple Refurbished Store to see if you could pick up a discounted MacBook.

MacBook Air prices

The
MacBook Air is available in two default configurations:

• 13.3-inch, M1 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 7‑Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $999/£999.
• 13.6-inch, M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 8‑Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,099/£1,149.
• 13.6-inch, M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 10‑Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $1,399/£1,449.
• 15-inch, M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 10‑Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,299/£1,399.
• 15-inch, M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 10‑Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $1,499/£1,599.

Buy directly from Apple, or look below for the best prices right now:

15-inch MacBook Air, M2, 8-core GPU (MSRP: $1,299/£1,399)

15-inch MacBook Air, M2, 8-core GPU (MSRP: $1,499/£1,599)

13.6-inch MacBook Air, M2, 8-core GPU (MSRP: $1,099/£1,149)

13.6-inch, MacBook Air, M2, 10-core GPU (MSRP: $1,399/£1,449)

13.3-inch MacBook Air, M1, 7-core GPU (MSRP: $999/£999)

For even more MacBook Air deals check out our best MacBook Air deals article for discounts available elsewhere.

13-inch MacBook Pro prices

There are two 13-inch configurations of the MacBook Pro sold by Apple:

• 13.3-inch, M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 8‑Core GPU, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,299/£1,349
• 13.3-inch, M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 10‑Core GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $1,499/£1,549

Buy directly from Apple, or look below for the best prices right now:

M2 MacBook Pro, 10-core GPU, 256GB SSD (MSRP: $1,299/£1,349)

M2 MacBook Pro, 10-core GPU, 512GB SSD (MSRP: $1,499/£1,549):

We also recommend that you take a look at our round-up of the best MacBook Pro deals right now.

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Buying advice

If a low price is the most important factor in your decision then the M1 MacBook Air might look like the best option, but the entry-level M2 model doesn’t cost much more and has a raft of new features including a bigger screen and better FaceTime camera.

The MacBook Pro does have better battery life and better cooling though. So if those things matter to you then the decision is clear, although, if you really need the ultimate in power then you really should be considering the 14-inch MacBook Pro or its larger sibling. Those Pros offer more graphics cores and support more RAM. They also offer a bunch of ports that will benefit many.

Aside from those benefits, the M2 MacBook Pro has little going for it, other than the Touch Bar, which isn’t really a benefit at all in our opinion.

If you want a bigger screen then the MacBook Air offers that in the form of a 13.6-inch or 15-inch display. The latter finally providing Mac users an option for a large screen that won’t cost around $2,000/£2,000.

On which basis, the M2 MacBook Air is our clear winner, your only decision being whether you need the big screen or the biggest screen.

Decided to get a MacBook, Pro or Air? Check out the best accessories for MacBooks.

Still not sure? We also look at how the MacBook Air compares to the iMac and how the MacBook Air and Mac mini compare separately. We also help you choose the Best Mac in our buying guide.

MacBook

When Apple introduced the Mac Studio in March 2022 we were impressed by its processing power and excellent value combined. Now the Mac Studio has been updated with Apple’s M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips it is still a superb deal for content creators of any level, but Apple’s offering has changed over the months since the original Mac Studio launched. Now the Mac Studio has competition from an M2 Pro Mac mini on one side and the M2 Ultra Mac Pro on the other.

As long as you don’t need the expansion options of the Mac Pro, the M2 Ultra Mac Studio, which shares the same specs as the Mac Pro, will meet the needs of all but the most demanding creative. But not everyone needs all the power of a Mac Studio with M2 Ultra, and some don’t even need the power of the M2 Max, for those the M2 Pro Mac mini could be more than sufficient.

In this article, we are concerned with how the M2 Pro Mac mini compares with the M2 Max Mac mini. We will discuss the Mac Pro vs the M2 Ultra Mac Studio elsewhere.

Mac Studio vs Mac mini M2 Pro: Price

In January 2023, Apple introduced the M2 Pro Mac mini. This Mac filled a gap in Apple’s lineup: while the MacBook Pro offered an M1 Pro and now the M2 Pro chip, there was no desktop Mac with such a chip, until the arrival of this Mac mini. Starting at $1,299/£1,399 the Mac mini with M2 Pro is also a lot cheaper than the equivalent MacBook Pro at $1,999/£2,149 (that leaves plenty to buy a nice monitor to use with your Mac).

How does the price of the Mac mini M2 Pro compare with the Mac Studio though? Starting at $1,999/£2,099 the Mac Studio costs $700/£700 more than the Mac mini with M2 Pro, which is quite a leap, but you do get a 30-core GPU in the Mac Studio, while the M2 Pro Mac mini only offers a 16-core GPU as standard.

For another $300 you can get a 19-core GPU option for the Mac mini. In that case, the 10-core CPU in the Mac mini is updated to a 12-core CPU, which is identical to the 12-core CPU in the M2 Max Mac Studio. So you can match the CPU in the Mac Studio in a $1,599 Mac mini, which might be an option to consider if you don’t need the extra GPU cores. If you add 32GB unified memory to that Mac mini to match that of the Mac Studio then you almost have the same Mac, bar the GPU cores, for the same price of $1,999/£2,099.

Incidentally, the M2 Max MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 (that’s a build-to-order option) making the Mac Studio, at almost $1,000 less, look even more attractive.

The Mac mini M2 Pro also represents a bargain when compared to a similarly specced MacBook Pro. The M2 Pro Mac mini with a 10-core CPU and 16-Core GPU costs $1,299/£1,399 compared to the $1,999/£2,149 14-inch MacBook Pro with the same chip. We understand that these are very different machines, but it illustrates just how much you can save by buying one of Apple’s desktop Macs. The Mac mini and Mac Studio are the most cost-effective way to get Apple’s most powerful processors.

Comparing desktops, let’s take a closer look at what you get for your money:

• Mac Studio: M2 Max (12-core CPU, 30-core GPU), 32GB unified memory, 512GB SSD, $1,999/£2,099
• Mac mini: M2 Pro (10-core CPU, 16-core GPU), 16GB unified memory, 512GB SSD, $1,299/£1,399
• Build-to-order Mac mini: M2 Pro (12-core CPU, 19-core GPU), 32GB unified memory, 512GB SSD, $1,999/£2,099

If you are going to buy either Mac take a look at our round-up of the best Mac mini deals and the best Mac Studio deals.

Mac Studio vs Mac mini M2 Pro: Design

The Mac Studio takes its design inspiration from the Mac mini. Both Macs are silver (there is no Space Gray version) and feature a big Apple logo on top. The Mac Studio measures 7.7 inches square, the same as the Mac mini, but it’s 3.7 inches tall, nearly three times the height of the Mac mini.

That extra space inside the Mac Studio means it benefits from a more efficient cooling system. The Mac Studio also offers a handy collection of ports on the front, including two USB-C ports and an SDXC card slot.

Mac Studio vs Mac mini M2 Pro: Specs

When considering the CPU cores there isn’t a huge leap between the M2 Pro and M2 Max: the exact same CPU is available for both. However the standard Mac mini M2 Pro ships with a 10-core CPU, compared to the 12-core CPU in the Mac Studio with M2 Max. As we said above when discussing the price, you can opt for the 12-core CPU M2 Pro at the point of sale if you want that in your Mac mini.

There are two key differences between the two models. One is the amount of RAM supported: the M2 Pro can support up to 32GB unified memory, while the M2 Max can support up to 96GB memory (if you opt for the 28-core GPU option).

The other major difference is the number of GPU cores, with the Mac mini shipping with 16-cores, but maxing out at 19-cores, and the Mac Studio with M2 Max offering 30-cores as standard, and a 38-core GPU as a build-to-order option. And that’s not even considering the M2 Ultra, which offers a 60-core GPU as standard and 74-cores as a build-to-order option.

Here’s how the specs compare:

Mac mini M2 Pro

• Base model: 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16GB unified memory, 512GB SSD, $1,299/£1,399
• Additional options: 12-Core CPU, 19-Core GPU ($300/£300), 32GB memory ($400/£400), 1TB/2TB/4TB8TB SSD (up to $2,400)

Mac Studio M2 Max

• Base model: 12-core CPU, 30-Core GPU, 32GB unified memory, 512GB SSD, $1,999/£2,099
• Additional options: 38-Core GPU ($200/£200), 64GB memory ($400/£400), 96GB memory (+$800/£800), 1TB/2TB/4TB8TB SSD (up to $2,400/£2,400)

CPU

You can get an idea of how the CPUs compare from our benchmarks below. We’ve tested the M2 Pro 12-core and the M2 Mac 12-core CPU and can confirm there is not a huge difference.

We ran the new Geekbench 6.1 benchmarks on the processor. Because our earlier benchmarks were made using Geekbench 5 we don’t have the benchmarks for the Mac mini in question, but we have run Geekbench 6.1 on the equivalent chip in the MacBook Pro and as you can see the results are similar, as you would expect from such closely matched CPUs.

We also ran the Cinebench R23 benchmarks on the Mac Studio, in that case, we do have the Mac mini M2 Pro to compare to. Here you can also see how similar the two CPUs are.

GPU

When it comes to GPU cores things are a bit different. The standard Mac mini M2 Pro offers 16 graphics cores (up to 19), but the standard Mac Studio with M2 Max has a 30-core GPU (up to 38-core GPU).

To get an idea of how this plays out in testing, in Geekbench 6.1 Compute benchmarks the 38-core GPU Mac Studio scored a lot more than the M2 Pro in the MacBook Pro (we don’t have the Geekbench 6.1 scores for the Mac mini, but it is the same chip in question here).

If you are a gamer you can also expect much better performance from the Mac Studio, as per our video game benchmarks.

See how the M2 Pro and M2 Max compare here: M2 Pro vs M2 Max.

RAM

There are other ways in which the Max beats the Pro, whichever generation. The M2 Max has more memory bandwidth (400 GB/sec vs 200 GB/sec) and can offer more RAM than the M2 Pro can (96GB vs 32GB). Note that there is a catch with the 96GB RAM option for the M2 Max–it is limited to the version of the M2 Max with 38 GPU cores, while the less expensive option with 30 GPU cores still tops out at 64GB.

Mac Studio vs Mac mini M2 Pro: Ports

The Mac Studio has the most ports, with two USB-C ports and one SDXC card slot on the front and four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, one HDMI 2.0 port, a 10Gb Ethernet jack, and one 3.5mm headphone jack on the back. The M2 Pro Mac mini has four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, Gigabit Ethernet (10Gb ethernet costs an extra $100), and a headphone jack. Of course, there are plenty of USB-C hubs available if you want even more options.

The M1 Max Mac Studio was held back by its HDMI port, which was HDMI 2.0 rather than the Mac mini’s newer HDMI 2.1 standard. HDMI 2.1 brings support for 4K at 240Hz and 8K at 60Hz. The 2023 Mac Studio offers HDMI 2.1, so there is no longer a limitation (HDMI 2.0 can only connect one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz.) This means that the M2 Max Mac Studio can now support up to eight 4K displays, six 6K displays, or three 8K displays, where previously it was limited to four Pro Display XDRs and one 4K display. The Mac mini with M2 Pro supports three displays.

The 2023 Mac Studio also gains the new WiFi 6E standard and Bluetooth 5.3 as the Mac mini M2 Pro did earlier in 2023. The older Mac Studio only offered Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.

Mac Studio vs Mac mini M2 Pro: Buying Advice

Now that the M2 Max has arrived in the Mac Studio it is certainly a more attractive option than it was, but even with the M1-series chips the Mac Studio was still a great option for those looking for a powerful Mac that didn’t break the bank.

The Mac mini with M2 Pro is certainly a contender though. The main differences between the two machines as the support for more RAM and the additional graphics cores in the Mac Studio. It costs more, but you certainly get your money’s worth compared to the M2 Max expipped MacBook Pro. When you consider that to spec a Mac mini up to a similar allocation of RAM and CPU cores, would cost the same as the Mac Studio, and still lack the extra GPU cores, it’s clear which is the best value for money machine.

But if you don’t need as much power, and you don’t use the most graphics-intensive apps, then the Mac mini with M2 Pro will be more than sufficient and represents a good saving on the cost of the Mac Studio. You can now save $700/£700 by buying a Mac mini with M2 Pro, rather than the Mac Studio, and still get a machine that is plenty powerful enough for your needs.

The Mac Studio offers much more though, aside from the extra RAM and GPUs, you’ll find more ports (including some that are front-facing) and support for more displays.

For more Mac mini accessory options, read our feature on How to upgrade the M2 and M2 Pro Mac mini.

For more help deciding which Mac to buy read our Best Mac buying guide.

Mac

The Mac Studio had a splashy debut last year, a new desktop design with speed that filled the needs of the most demanding professionals. But it also raised a few questions at the time: Does it replace the Mac Pro? And if it doesn’t, will Apple continue the Mac Studio line once the Apple silicon Mac Pro arrives? Would the Mac Studio end up just like iMac Pro, a model that got little attention after its release and eventually was discontinued?

We now have answers that give the Mac lineup some much-needed clarity. Apple showed at WWDC that it is dedicated to upgrading and maintaining the high-end desktop Mac as a platform with the release of the M2 Max/Ultra Mac Studio and the M2 Ultra Mac Pro. The Mac Studio is Apple’s primary offering for customers looking for a high-performance Mac, while the Mac Pro addresses a niche that needs hardware expansion.

However, the M2 Pro Mac mini that Apple released back in January provides an interesting comparison with the M2 Max Mac Studio. Whether that Mac mini or the M2 Max Mac Studio is the Mac for you depends on the kind of work you do.

This review looks at the Mac Studio with an M2 Max chip, a 38-core GPU, 64GB of memory, and a 2TB SSD. It has several upgrades over the entry-level $1,999/£2,099 M2 Max Mac Studio, which puts the price of our review unit at $3,199/£3,299. Apple also sells a $3,999/£4,199 Mac Studio with an M2 Ultra, 64GB of memory, and a 1TB SSD.

Update 6/13: The M2 Max Mac Studio is now shipping from Apple.com and other retailers.

From M1 Max to the M2 Max

The Mac Studio debuted in March of last year with M1 Max and M1 Ultra models. The M1 chip series has had its time (there are only two Macs left with the entry-level M1 chip), and the M2 series is in full swing. The Mac Studio now comes with an M2 Max or M2 Ultra for the same price.

New chips mean, of course, boosted performance. The M2 Max has a 12-core CPU, which is split between eight performance cores and four efficiency cores. Its predecessor, the M1 Max, had two fewer efficiency cores (10 total CPU cores). Apple claims an improvement of up to 25 percent over the M1 Max.

We always start off our reviews with a look at general-purpose performance with the Geekbench benchmark. In our multi-core testing, the M2 Max was 18 percent faster than the M1 Max it replaces–not the 25 percent Apple claims, but Apple does hedge it by saying “up to 25 percent.” The M2 Max’s single-core result provides a 19 percent improvement.

A data point that sticks out is the multi-core result of the M2 Pro–this chip has the same 12-core CPU as the M2 Max. The M2 Pro that I tested in the 16-inch MacBook Pro is about 5 percent slower than the M2 Max Mac Studio, a difference you’ll barely notice, so it basically has the same CPU performance. The M2 Pro is a $300 option on the $1,299 Mac mini; if your work involves a lot of CPU processing and less graphics processing (which we’ll get to in a bit), the Mac mini can be a more affordable option over the Mac Studio.

We also ran Cinebench R23 to gauge CPU performance, and these are the results that matter most to buyers of the Mac Studio since Cinebench mainly uses 3D rendering and is a better performance gauge for creative professionals. We saw a 20 percent improvement of the M2 Max over the M1 Max–still not 25 percent, but closer.

We also again saw that the M2 Max Mac Studio and the M2 Pro Mac mini had the same performance. It’s important to reiterate here that even though Cinebench is a CPU-focused 3D rendering test and doesn’t rely on the chip’s GPU.

HandBrake is a video converter app that stresses the CPU or specialized video hardware, depending on how it is configured. In this test, we transcoded the 4K version of the royalty-free Tears of Steel video to H.265 using the CPU and the video encoders (the “VideoToolbox” framework version).

In the CPU encode test, the M2 Max blew by the M1 Max, improving performance by 32 percent. Our results also showed that the M2 Max has a slight edge over the M2 Pro, which is likely due to the amount of memory available. The Mac mini in our tests had 16GB of RAM, while the Mac Studio has 64GB.

The M2 Max’s boost over the M1 Max was a more modest 18 percent when using the video encoders. It also posted the same speed as the M2 Pro Mac mini.

With the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, we saw a small 5 percent improvement in the M2 Max Mac Studio’s SSD over the M1 Max. That’s a noticeable difference when dealing with large files. The Read results are basically similar. The M2 Max Mac Studio’s SSD also posted moderate boosts over the M2 Pro Mac mini’s SSD.

The GPU gets a boost, too

The M2 Max in this review has a 38-core GPU, which is an upgrade from the 30-core GPU in the $1,999 Mac Studio. The 32-core GPU in the M1 Max Mac Studio that we reviewed last year was also an upgrade option. So in our GPU comparisons, we’re looking at the new 38-core GPU versus the old 32-core GPU.

The Geekbench 6 Compute benchmark tests the GPU performance using OpenCL or Metal APIs. Metal is developed by Apple and it’s the API the company wants developers to use to get the best performance. OpenCL is an open-standard API that’s more widely used because of its cross-compatibility.

With both the Metal and OpenCL benchmarks, the M2 Max’s 38-core GPU provides speed that is over 21 percent faster than the M1 Max’s 30-core GPU. The M1 Ultra is included in this testing for your reference–with either 48 or 64 GPU cores, it zooms past the M2 Max. The M2 Ultra is available with 60 or 76 GPU cores.

I made it a point to call out the M2 Max’s similar CPU performance against the M2 Pro, but here’s where the M2 Max Mac Studio separates itself from the M2 Pro Mac mini, which comes with either 16 or 19 GPU cores. If your work involves GPU processing, get a Mac Studio with as many GPU cores as you can afford.

Apple says it wants to bring more games to the Mac, and at WWDC, the company revealed some efforts to get more developers on board. It’s going to take some time before we can get some modern games to benchmark with, so in the meantime, we’re sticking to what we have: Tomb Raider and Civilization 6. The M2 Max Mac Studio posted some impressive framerates.

Resident Evil Village is a more recent game that features MetalFX Upscaling, which can boost graphics performance in software that uses Apple’s MetalFX API. It’s the type of graphics upscaling that AMD and Nvidia have done on the Windows PC.

To see it in action on the Mac Studio, I activated a Metal Performance HUD, which displays the frame rate. (You can do this in the Terminal by entering at the prompt defaults write -g MetalForceHudEnabled -bool yes and then hit Return. To turn it off, enter the same code in Terminal but replace yes with no.) I set the game display settings with the Prioritize Graphics preset and the screen resolution at 2560×1440. Then I ran the game twice.

The first time, I did not use MetalFX Upscaling and I had frame rates between 130 and 160 fps when moving around the game. The second time, I activated MetalFX Upscaling to the Quality setting, and the frame rates jumped up between 160 to 195 fps. What a sweet boost! Hopefully, Apple will do more to promote this technology to game developers so we can see the Mac gaming library grow and, more importantly, become more current.

Apple chips have video encoding engines, and we use iMovie to test them out. In our export tests, we didn’t see a difference between the M2 Max and the M1 Max, which isn’t that surprising since the engines between the two are very similar. The iMovie Stabilze test that we do puts pressure on the chip’s Neural Engine, and we see a 20 percent difference between the two chips.

The M2 Max has twice as many ProRes engines as the M2 Pro, which explains why it is so much faster in our tests.

A big difference with display support

The main thing that’s new about the 2023 Mac Studio is the system on a chip–almost everything else is the same as last year. Apple didn’t introduce any design modifications or change the number of ports, though there are some upgrades. The headphone jack now has advanced support for high-impedance headphones and you get Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 as with Apple’s other recent Macs.

However, there is a big change in the display support. The 2023 Mac Studio has an “enhanced HDMI” port instead of HDMI 2.0, and this enhanced HDMI implementation supports features in the HDMI 2.1 specification. This upgrade fixes the major flaw in the original Mac Studio: its HDMI port has a maximum resolution of 4K at 60Hz. Now, you can connect a display with 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 240Hz. And there’s support for variable refresh rate, HDR, and multichannel audio.

That’s not all! If you also use Thunderbolt, the M2 Max Mac Pro still supports four displays with 6K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, and one display with 4K at 60Hz over HDMI. The new feature is that you can now connect two displays with 6K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, and one display with 8K at 60Hz or 4K at up to 240Hz over HDMI. Did you get all that? Cool!

If you need to go hog wild with the displays, you’ll need to upgrade to the M2 Ultra Mac Studio. Since this is a review of the M2 Max Mac Studio, I’m not going to go over all the M2 Ultra display configurations. You can check out Apple’s website, but here’s a little teaser: you can connect up to eight 4K at 60Hz displays. Yowza!

You can read my review from, last year if you want a deep dive into the Mac Studio’s design, find out the details about the external ports, or get the nitty-gritty on Apple’s mouse, trackpad, and keyboard offerings. Here’s a quick bullet-point summary if you want the gist.

• The Mac Studio measures 7.7 inches square and is 3.7 inches tall. The M2 Max model is 5.7 pounds, while the M2 Ultra model is two pounds heavier because of the thermal system it needs.
• The back of the Mac Studio has four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10Gb ethernet port, two USB-A ports, enhanced HDMI, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack
• The front of the Mac Studio has either two USB-C ports (M2 Max model) or two Thunderbolt 4 ports (M2 Ultra model), and an SDXC Card slot
• The Mac Studio does not include a mouse, trackpad, or keyboard. You can provide your own but know that the Mac Studio works with the Magic Keyboard Touch ID and Numeric Keypad ($199). Touch ID is handy to have.

Mac Studio or M2 Pro Mac mini?

As shown by our testing, the M2 Max Mac Studio and the M2 Pro Mac mini have similar CPU performance. That makes sense since both CPUs have 12 cores, split into 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. With that being the case, if you know that the apps you work in the most are CPU dependent, the M2 Pro Mac mini could be a money-saving consideration–if you don’t customize it beyond the CPU upgrade.

To get the 12-core M2 Pro Mac mini, customers take the $1,299 standard configuration 10-core M2 Pro Mac mini and upgrade the CPU. That brings the price up to $1,599 on a model with 16GB of memory. If you then decide to also upgrade to 32GB of memory, the price is $1,999–the same price as a base model M2 Max Mac Studio with a 12-core CPU, 30-core GPU, 32GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD. For the same price, the Mac Studio provides more GPU performance, front ports, and expanded display support.

If you use a lot of pro-level software that is GPU dependent, then the Mac Studio is the definite choice with its better graphics performance. The M2 Pro Mac mini’s GPU tops off at 19 cores, while the M2 Max Mac Studio GPU starts at 30 cores and has an upgrade to 38 cores (which we tested here). If you need more, you can upgrade to an M2 Ultra with 60 or 76 GPU cores.

The M2 Pro Mac mini has other limitations that could sway you towards a Mac Studio. Its maximum memory configuration is 32GB, while the M2 Max Mac Studio can have up to 64GB, or 96GB if you upgrade to the 38-core GPU. Also, the M2 Pro Mac mini supports up to three 4K 60Hz displays, while the M2 Max Mac Studio can handle up to five, and the M2 Ultra Mac Studio can support up to eight.

Still a worthy investment

Thanks to the internet, everyone is a media creator nowadays, whether you’re tending to social media, making your own movies, producing music, shooting and editing photos, creating works of art, or developing software. The Mac Studio is the ideal Mac–it’s powerful, priced appropriately, has lots of ports for connecting devices, and it won’t take up a lot of desk space.

If you bought a Mac Studio last year, there’s little reason to upgrade, unless processing power is a never-ending search for you, or you need to connect more displays than what the 2022 Mac Studio can handle. If you can hold off until later 2024 or early 2025, we could get the M3 Max/Pro by then, and the M3’s new 3nm process promises to take Apple silicon beyond the 25 percent incremental improvement we usually get.

If you’ve been holding off on the Mac Studio all this time, what are you waiting for? The Mac Pro? Well, it’s here, have fun with it! Seriously, if the Mac Studio fits the bill when it first came out but you waited, you could keep waiting for the M3 I just mentioned. Or you can get one now and get some work done faster than ever before.

The Mac Studio starts at $1,999 with an M2 Max–you get a great number of features and power, especially if you compare it to the M2 Pro Mac mini. The Mac Studio with Apple’s most powerful chip, the M2 Ultra, starts at $3,999.

Mac

The Mac Studio had a splashy debut last year, a new desktop design with speed that filled the needs of the most demanding professionals. But it also raised a few questions at the time: Does it replace the Mac Pro? And if it doesn’t, will Apple continue the Mac Studio line once the Apple silicon Mac Pro arrives? Would the Mac Studio end up just like iMac Pro, a model that got little attention after its release and eventually was discontinued?

We now have answers that give the Mac lineup some much-needed clarity. Apple showed at WWDC that it is dedicated to upgrading and maintaining the high-end desktop Mac as a platform with the release of the M2 Max/Ultra Mac Studio and the M2 Ultra Mac Pro. The Mac Studio is Apple’s primary offering for customers looking for a high-performance Mac, while the Mac Pro addresses a niche that needs hardware expansion.

However, the M2 Pro Mac mini that Apple released back in January provides an interesting comparison with the M2 Max Mac Studio. Whether that Mac mini or the M2 Max Mac Studio is the Mac for you depends on the kind of work you do.

This review looks at the Mac Studio with an M2 Max chip, a 38-core GPU, 64GB of memory, and a 2TB SSD. It has several upgrades over the entry-level $1,999/£2,099 M2 Max Mac Studio, which puts the price of our review unit at $3,199/£3,299. Apple also sells a $3,999/£4,199 Mac Studio with an M2 Ultra, 64GB of memory, and a 1TB SSD.

Update 6/13: The M2 Max Mac Studio is now shipping from Apple.com and other retailers.

From M1 Max to the M2 Max

The Mac Studio debuted in March of last year with M1 Max and M1 Ultra models. The M1 chip series has had its time (there are only two Macs left with the entry-level M1 chip), and the M2 series is in full swing. The Mac Studio now comes with an M2 Max or M2 Ultra for the same price.

New chips mean, of course, boosted performance. The M2 Max has a 12-core CPU, which is split between eight performance cores and four efficiency cores. Its predecessor, the M1 Max, had two fewer efficiency cores (10 total CPU cores). Apple claims an improvement of up to 25 percent over the M1 Max.

We always start off our reviews with a look at general-purpose performance with the Geekbench benchmark. In our multi-core testing, the M2 Max was 18 percent faster than the M1 Max it replaces–not the 25 percent Apple claims, but Apple does hedge it by saying “up to 25 percent.” The M2 Max’s single-core result provides a 19 percent improvement.

A data point that sticks out is the multi-core result of the M2 Pro–this chip has the same 12-core CPU as the M2 Max. The M2 Pro that I tested in the 16-inch MacBook Pro is about 5 percent slower than the M2 Max Mac Studio, a difference you’ll barely notice, so it basically has the same CPU performance. The M2 Pro is a $300 option on the $1,299 Mac mini; if your work involves a lot of CPU processing and less graphics processing (which we’ll get to in a bit), the Mac mini can be a more affordable option over the Mac Studio.

We also ran Cinebench R23 to gauge CPU performance, and these are the results that matter most to buyers of the Mac Studio since Cinebench mainly uses 3D rendering and is a better performance gauge for creative professionals. We saw a 20 percent improvement of the M2 Max over the M1 Max–still not 25 percent, but closer.

We also again saw that the M2 Max Mac Studio and the M2 Pro Mac mini had the same performance. It’s important to reiterate here that even though Cinebench is a CPU-focused 3D rendering test and doesn’t rely on the chip’s GPU.

HandBrake is a video converter app that stresses the CPU or specialized video hardware, depending on how it is configured. In this test, we transcoded the 4K version of the royalty-free Tears of Steel video to H.265 using the CPU and the video encoders (the “VideoToolbox” framework version).

In the CPU encode test, the M2 Max blew by the M1 Max, improving performance by 32 percent. Our results also showed that the M2 Max has a slight edge over the M2 Pro, which is likely due to the amount of memory available. The Mac mini in our tests had 16GB of RAM, while the Mac Studio has 64GB.

The M2 Max’s boost over the M1 Max was a more modest 18 percent when using the video encoders. It also posted the same speed as the M2 Pro Mac mini.

With the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, we saw a small 5 percent improvement in the M2 Max Mac Studio’s SSD over the M1 Max. That’s a noticeable difference when dealing with large files. The Read results are basically similar. The M2 Max Mac Studio’s SSD also posted moderate boosts over the M2 Pro Mac mini’s SSD.

The GPU gets a boost, too

The M2 Max in this review has a 38-core GPU, which is an upgrade from the 30-core GPU in the $1,999 Mac Studio. The 32-core GPU in the M1 Max Mac Studio that we reviewed last year was also an upgrade option. So in our GPU comparisons, we’re looking at the new 38-core GPU versus the old 32-core GPU.

The Geekbench 6 Compute benchmark tests the GPU performance using OpenCL or Metal APIs. Metal is developed by Apple and it’s the API the company wants developers to use to get the best performance. OpenCL is an open-standard API that’s more widely used because of its cross-compatibility.

With both the Metal and OpenCL benchmarks, the M2 Max’s 38-core GPU provides speed that is over 21 percent faster than the M1 Max’s 30-core GPU. The M1 Ultra is included in this testing for your reference–with either 48 or 64 GPU cores, it zooms past the M2 Max. The M2 Ultra is available with 60 or 76 GPU cores.

I made it a point to call out the M2 Max’s similar CPU performance against the M2 Pro, but here’s where the M2 Max Mac Studio separates itself from the M2 Pro Mac mini, which comes with either 16 or 19 GPU cores. If your work involves GPU processing, get a Mac Studio with as many GPU cores as you can afford.

Apple says it wants to bring more games to the Mac, and at WWDC, the company revealed some efforts to get more developers on board. It’s going to take some time before we can get some modern games to benchmark with, so in the meantime, we’re sticking to what we have: Tomb Raider and Civilization 6. The M2 Max Mac Studio posted some impressive framerates.

Resident Evil Village is a more recent game that features MetalFX Upscaling, which can boost graphics performance in software that uses Apple’s MetalFX API. It’s the type of graphics upscaling that AMD and Nvidia have done on the Windows PC.

To see it in action on the Mac Studio, I activated a Metal Performance HUD, which displays the frame rate. (You can do this in the Terminal by entering at the prompt defaults write -g MetalForceHudEnabled -bool yes and then hit Return. To turn it off, enter the same code in Terminal but replace yes with no.) I set the game display settings with the Prioritize Graphics preset and the screen resolution at 2560×1440. Then I ran the game twice.

The first time, I did not use MetalFX Upscaling and I had frame rates between 130 and 160 fps when moving around the game. The second time, I activated MetalFX Upscaling to the Quality setting, and the frame rates jumped up between 160 to 195 fps. What a sweet boost! Hopefully, Apple will do more to promote this technology to game developers so we can see the Mac gaming library grow and, more importantly, become more current.

Apple chips have video encoding engines, and we use iMovie to test them out. In our export tests, we didn’t see a difference between the M2 Max and the M1 Max, which isn’t that surprising since the engines between the two are very similar. The iMovie Stabilze test that we do puts pressure on the chip’s Neural Engine, and we see a 20 percent difference between the two chips.

The M2 Max has twice as many ProRes engines as the M2 Pro, which explains why it is so much faster in our tests.

A big difference with display support

The main thing that’s new about the 2023 Mac Studio is the system on a chip–almost everything else is the same as last year. Apple didn’t introduce any design modifications or change the number of ports, though there are some upgrades. The headphone jack now has advanced support for high-impedance headphones and you get Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 as with Apple’s other recent Macs.

However, there is a big change in the display support. The 2023 Mac Studio has an “enhanced HDMI” port instead of HDMI 2.0, and this enhanced HDMI implementation supports features in the HDMI 2.1 specification. This upgrade fixes the major flaw in the original Mac Studio: its HDMI port has a maximum resolution of 4K at 60Hz. Now, you can connect a display with 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 240Hz. And there’s support for variable refresh rate, HDR, and multichannel audio.

That’s not all! If you also use Thunderbolt, the M2 Max Mac Pro still supports four displays with 6K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, and one display with 4K at 60Hz over HDMI. The new feature is that you can now connect two displays with 6K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, and one display with 8K at 60Hz or 4K at up to 240Hz over HDMI. Did you get all that? Cool!

If you need to go hog wild with the displays, you’ll need to upgrade to the M2 Ultra Mac Studio. Since this is a review of the M2 Max Mac Studio, I’m not going to go over all the M2 Ultra display configurations. You can check out Apple’s website, but here’s a little teaser: you can connect up to eight 4K at 60Hz displays. Yowza!

You can read my review from, last year if you want a deep dive into the Mac Studio’s design, find out the details about the external ports, or get the nitty-gritty on Apple’s mouse, trackpad, and keyboard offerings. Here’s a quick bullet-point summary if you want the gist.

• The Mac Studio measures 7.7 inches square and is 3.7 inches tall. The M2 Max model is 5.7 pounds, while the M2 Ultra model is two pounds heavier because of the thermal system it needs.
• The back of the Mac Studio has four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10Gb ethernet port, two USB-A ports, enhanced HDMI, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack
• The front of the Mac Studio has either two USB-C ports (M2 Max model) or two Thunderbolt 4 ports (M2 Ultra model), and an SDXC Card slot
• The Mac Studio does not include a mouse, trackpad, or keyboard. You can provide your own but know that the Mac Studio works with the Magic Keyboard Touch ID and Numeric Keypad ($199). Touch ID is handy to have.

Mac Studio or M2 Pro Mac mini?

As shown by our testing, the M2 Max Mac Studio and the M2 Pro Mac mini have similar CPU performance. That makes sense since both CPUs have 12 cores, split into 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. With that being the case, if you know that the apps you work in the most are CPU dependent, the M2 Pro Mac mini could be a money-saving consideration–if you don’t customize it beyond the CPU upgrade.

To get the 12-core M2 Pro Mac mini, customers take the $1,299 standard configuration 10-core M2 Pro Mac mini and upgrade the CPU. That brings the price up to $1,599 on a model with 16GB of memory. If you then decide to also upgrade to 32GB of memory, the price is $1,999–the same price as a base model M2 Max Mac Studio with a 12-core CPU, 30-core GPU, 32GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD. For the same price, the Mac Studio provides more GPU performance, front ports, and expanded display support.

If you use a lot of pro-level software that is GPU dependent, then the Mac Studio is the definite choice with its better graphics performance. The M2 Pro Mac mini’s GPU tops off at 19 cores, while the M2 Max Mac Studio GPU starts at 30 cores and has an upgrade to 38 cores (which we tested here). If you need more, you can upgrade to an M2 Ultra with 60 or 76 GPU cores.

The M2 Pro Mac mini has other limitations that could sway you towards a Mac Studio. Its maximum memory configuration is 32GB, while the M2 Max Mac Studio can have up to 64GB, or 96GB if you upgrade to the 38-core GPU. Also, the M2 Pro Mac mini supports up to three 4K 60Hz displays, while the M2 Max Mac Studio can handle up to five, and the M2 Ultra Mac Studio can support up to eight.

Still a worthy investment

Thanks to the internet, everyone is a media creator nowadays, whether you’re tending to social media, making your own movies, producing music, shooting and editing photos, creating works of art, or developing software. The Mac Studio is the ideal Mac–it’s powerful, priced appropriately, has lots of ports for connecting devices, and it won’t take up a lot of desk space.

If you bought a Mac Studio last year, there’s little reason to upgrade, unless processing power is a never-ending search for you, or you need to connect more displays than what the 2022 Mac Studio can handle. If you can hold off until later 2024 or early 2025, we could get the M3 Max/Pro by then, and the M3’s new 3nm process promises to take Apple silicon beyond the 25 percent incremental improvement we usually get.

If you’ve been holding off on the Mac Studio all this time, what are you waiting for? The Mac Pro? Well, it’s here, have fun with it! Seriously, if the Mac Studio fits the bill when it first came out but you waited, you could keep waiting for the M3 I just mentioned. Or you can get one now and get some work done faster than ever before.

The Mac Studio starts at $1,999 with an M2 Max–you get a great number of features and power, especially if you compare it to the M2 Pro Mac mini. The Mac Studio with Apple’s most powerful chip, the M2 Ultra, starts at $3,999.

Mac

The Mac Studio had a splashy debut last year, a new desktop design with speed that filled the needs of the most demanding professionals. But it also raised a few questions at the time: Does it replace the Mac Pro? And if it doesn’t, will Apple continue the Mac Studio line once the Apple silicon Mac Pro arrives? Would the Mac Studio end up just like iMac Pro, a model that got little attention after its release and eventually was discontinued?

We now have answers that give the Mac lineup some much-needed clarity. Apple showed at WWDC that it is dedicated to upgrading and maintaining the high-end desktop Mac as a platform with the release of the M2 Max/Ultra Mac Studio and the M2 Ultra Mac Pro. The Mac Studio is Apple’s primary offering for customers looking for a high-performance Mac, while the Mac Pro addresses a niche that needs hardware expansion.

However, the M2 Pro Mac mini that Apple released back in January provides an interesting comparison with the M2 Max Mac Studio. Whether that Mac mini or the M2 Max Mac Studio is the Mac for you depends on the kind of work you do.

This review looks at the Mac Studio with an M2 Max chip, a 38-core GPU, 64GB of memory, and a 2TB SSD. It has several upgrades over the entry-level $1,999 M2 Max Mac Studio, which puts the price of our review unit at $3,199. Apple also sells a $3,999 Mac Studio with an M2 Ultra, 64GB of memory, and a 1TB SSD.

From M1 Max to the M2 Max

The Mac Studio debuted in March of last year with M1 Max and M1 Ultra models. The M1 chip series has had its time (there are only two Macs left with the entry-level M1 chip), and the M2 series is in full swing. The Mac Studio now comes with an M2 Max or M2 Ultra for the same price.

New chips mean, of course, boosted performance. The M2 Max has a 12-core CPU, which is split between eight performance cores and four efficiency cores. Its predecessor, the M1 Max, had two fewer efficiency cores (10 total CPU cores). Apple claims an improvement of up to 25 percent over the M1 Max.

We always start off our reviews with a look at general-purpose performance with the Geekbench benchmark. In our multi-core testing, the M2 Max was 18 percent faster than the M1 Max it replaces–not the 25 percent Apple claims, but Apple does hedge it by saying “up to 25 percent.” The M2 Max’s single-core result provides a 19 percent improvement.

A data point that sticks out is the multi-core result of the M2 Pro–this chip has the same 12-core CPU as the M2 Max. The M2 Pro that I tested in the 16-inch MacBook Pro is about 5 percent slower than the M2 Max Mac Studio, a difference you’ll barely notice, so it basically has the same CPU performance. The M2 Pro is a $300 option on the $1,299 Mac mini; if your work involves a lot of CPU processing and less graphics processing (which we’ll get to in a bit), the Mac mini can be a more affordable option over the Mac Studio.

We also ran Cinebench R23 to gauge CPU performance, and these are the results that matter most to buyers of the Mac Studio since Cinebench mainly uses 3D rendering and is a better performance gauge for creative professionals. We saw a 20 percent improvement of the M2 Max over the M1 Max–still not 25 percent, but closer.

We also again saw that the M2 Max Mac Studio and the M2 Pro Mac mini had the same performance. It’s important to reiterate here that even though Cinebench is a CPU-focused 3D rendering test and doesn’t rely on the chip’s GPU.

HandBrake is a video converter app that stresses the CPU or specialized video hardware, depending on how it is configured. In this test, we transcoded the 4K version of the royalty-free Tears of Steel video to H.265 using the CPU and the video encoders (the “VideoToolbox” framework version).

In the CPU encode test, the M2 Max blew by the M1 Max, improving performance by 32 percent. Our results also showed that the M2 Max has a slight edge over the M2 Pro, which is likely due to the amount of memory available. The Mac mini in our tests had 16GB of RAM, while the Mac Studio has 64GB.

The M2 Max’s boost over the M1 Max was a more modest 18 percent when using the video encoders. It also posted the same speed as the M2 Pro Mac mini.

With the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, we saw a small 5 percent improvement in the M2 Max Mac Studio’s SSD over the M1 Max. That’s a noticeable difference when dealing with large files. The Read results are basically similar. The M2 Max Mac Studio’s SSD also posted moderate boosts over the M2 Pro Mac mini’s SSD.

The GPU gets a boost, too

The M2 Max in this review has a 38-core GPU, which is an upgrade from the 30-core GPU in the $1,999 Mac Studio. The 32-core GPU in the M1 Max Mac Studio that we reviewed last year was also an upgrade option. So in our GPU comparisons, we’re looking at the new 38-core GPU versus the old 32-core GPU.

The Geekbench 6 Compute benchmark tests the GPU performance using OpenCL or Metal APIs. Metal is developed by Apple and it’s the API the company wants developers to use to get the best performance. OpenCL is an open-standard API that’s more widely used because of its cross-compatibility.

With both the Metal and OpenCL benchmarks, the M2 Max’s 38-core GPU provides speed that is over 21 percent faster than the M1 Max’s 30-core GPU. The M1 Ultra is included in this testing for your reference–with either 48 or 64 GPU cores, it zooms past the M2 Max. The M2 Ultra is available with 60 or 76 GPU cores.

I made it a point to call out the M2 Max’s similar CPU performance against the M2 Pro, but here’s where the M2 Max Mac Studio separates itself from the M2 Pro Mac mini, which comes with either 16 or 19 GPU cores. If your work involves GPU processing, get a Mac Studio with as many GPU cores as you can afford.

Apple says it wants to bring more games to the Mac, and at WWDC, the company revealed some efforts to get more developers on board. It’s going to take some time before we can get some modern games to benchmark with, so in the meantime, we’re sticking to what we have: Tomb Raider and Civilization 6. The M2 Max Mac Studio posted some impressive framerates.

Resident Evil Village is a more recent game that features MetalFX Upscaling, which can boost graphics performance in software that uses Apple’s MetalFX API. It’s the type of graphics upscaling that AMD and Nvidia have done on the Windows PC.

To see it in action on the Mac Studio, I activated a Metal Performance HUD, which displays the frame rate. (You can do this in the Terminal by entering at the prompt defaults write -g MetalForceHudEnabled -bool yes and then hit Return. To turn it off, enter the same code in Terminal but replace yes with no.) I set the game display settings with the Prioritize Graphics preset and the screen resolution at 2560×1440. Then I ran the game twice.

The first time, I did not use MetalFX Upscaling and I had frame rates between 130 and 160 fps when moving around the game. The second time, I activated MetalFX Upscaling to the Quality setting, and the frame rates jumped up between 160 to 195 fps. What a sweet boost! Hopefully, Apple will do more to promote this technology to game developers so we can see the Mac gaming library grow and, more importantly, become more current.

Apple chips have video encoding engines, and we use iMovie to test them out. In our export tests, we didn’t see a difference between the M2 Max and the M1 Max, which isn’t that surprising since the engines between the two are very similar. The iMovie Stabilze test that we do puts pressure on the chip’s Neural Engine, and we see a 20 percent difference between the two chips.

The M2 Max has twice as many ProRes engines as the M2 Pro, which explains why it is so much faster in our tests.

A big difference with display support

The main thing that’s new about the 2023 Mac Studio is the system on a chip–almost everything else is the same as last year. Apple didn’t introduce any design modifications or change the number of ports, though there are some upgrades. The headphone jack now has advanced support for high-impedance headphones and you get Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 as with Apple’s other recent Macs.

However, there is a big change in the display support. The 2023 Mac Studio has an “enhanced HDMI” port instead of HDMI 2.0, and this enhanced HDMI implementation supports features in the HDMI 2.1 specification. This upgrade fixes the major flaw in the original Mac Studio: its HDMI port has a maximum resolution of 4K at 60Hz. Now, you can connect a display with 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 240Hz. And there’s support for variable refresh rate, HDR, and multichannel audio.

That’s not all! If you also use Thunderbolt, the M2 Max Mac Pro still supports four displays with 6K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, and one display with 4K at 60Hz over HDMI. The new feature is that you can now connect two displays with 6K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, and one display with 8K at 60Hz or 4K at up to 240Hz over HDMI. Did you get all that? Cool!

If you need to go hog wild with the displays, you’ll need to upgrade to the M2 Ultra Mac Studio. Since this is a review of the M2 Max Mac Studio, I’m not going to go over all the M2 Ultra display configurations. You can check out Apple’s website, but here’s a little teaser: you can connect up to eight 4K at 60Hz displays. Yowza!

You can read my review from, last year if you want a deep dive into the Mac Studio’s design, find out the details about the external ports, or get the nitty-gritty on Apple’s mouse, trackpad, and keyboard offerings. Here’s a quick bullet-point summary if you want the gist.

• The Mac Studio measures 7.7 inches square and is 3.7 inches tall. The M2 Max model is 5.7 pounds, while the M2 Ultra model is two pounds heavier because of the thermal system it needs.
• The back of the Mac Studio has four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10Gb ethernet port, two USB-A ports, enhanced HDMI, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack
• The front of the Mac Studio has either two USB-C ports (M2 Max model) or two Thunderbolt 4 ports (M2 Ultra model), and an SDXC Card slot
• The Mac Studio does not include a mouse, trackpad, or keyboard. You can provide your own but know that the Mac Studio works with the Magic Keyboard Touch ID and Numeric Keypad ($199). Touch ID is handy to have.

Mac Studio or M2 Pro Mac mini?

As shown by our testing, the M2 Max Mac Studio and the M2 Pro Mac mini have similar CPU performance. That makes sense since both CPUs have 12 cores, split into 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. With that being the case, if you know that the apps you work in the most are CPU dependent, the M2 Pro Mac mini could be a money-saving consideration–if you don’t customize it beyond the CPU upgrade.

To get the 12-core M2 Pro Mac Studio, customers take the $1,299 standard configuration 10-core M2 Pro Mac mini and upgrade the CPU. That brings the price up to $1,599 on a model with 16GB of memory. If you then decide to also upgrade to 32GB of memory, the price is $1,999–the same price as a base model M2 Max Mac Studio with a 12-core CPU, 30-core GPU, 32GB or memory, and a 512GB SSD. For the same price, you can get more GPU performance, front ports, and expanded display support.

If you use a lot of pro-level software that is GPU dependent, then the Mac Studio is the definite choice with its better graphics performance. The M2 Pro Mac mini’s GPU tops off at 19 cores, while the M2 Max Mac Studio GPU starts at 30 cores and has an upgrade to 38 cores (which we tested here). If you need more, you can upgrade to an M2 Ultra with 60 or 76 GPU cores.

The M2 Pro Mac mini has other limitations that could sway you towards a Mac Studio. Its maximum memory configuration is 32GB, while the M2 Max Mac Studio can have up to 64GB, or 96GB if you upgrade to the 38-core GPU. Also, the M2 Pro Mac mini supports up to three 4K 60Hz displays, while the M2 Max Mac Studio can handle up to five, and the M2 Ultra Mac Studio can support up to eight.

Still a worthy investment

Thanks to the internet, everyone is a media creator nowadays, whether you’re tending to social media, making your own movies, producing music, shooting and editing photos, creating works of art, or developing software. The Mac Studio is the ideal Mac–it’s powerful, priced appropriately, has lots of ports for connecting devices, and it won’t take up a lot of desk space.

If you bought a Mac Studio last year, there’s little reason to upgrade, unless processing power is a never-ending search for you, or you need to connect more displays than what the 2022 Mac Studio can handle. If you can hold off until later 2024 or early 2025, we could get the M3 Max/Pro by then, and the M3’s new 3nm process promises to take Apple silicon beyond the 25 percent incremental improvement we usually get.

If you’ve been holding off on the Mac Studio all this time, what are you waiting for? The Mac Pro? Well, it’s here, have fun with it! Seriously, if the Mac Studio fits the bill when it first came out but you waited, you could keep waiting for the M3 I just mentioned. Or you can get one now and get some work done faster than ever before.

The Mac Studio starts at $1,999 with an M2 Max–you get a great number of features and power, especially if you compare it to the M2 Pro Mac mini. The Mac Studio with Apple’s most powerful chip, the M2 Ultra, starts at $3,999.

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