M2 Pro vs. M2 Max: Small differences have a big impact on your workflow and wallet)

The M2 Pro and Max are in some ways identical and in others very different.

- JASON SNELL

With the release of the 2023 MacBook Pro (page 50) W and the 2023 Mac mini (page 64), the shape of the second generation of Apple silicon on Mac has been revealed. It is, unsurprisingly, a bit of a replay of the first generation: Apple has segmented its chips into a few different varieties..

As with the M1 generation, the new M2 Pro and M2 Max chips are closely related to each other and to the M2 chip introduced last summer. They're all based on the same foundation, but each chip has some different characteristics. When it comes time to choose how much to pay for a Mac mini or a Mac-Book Pro, those differences matter.

ROUND 1: M2 VS. M1

Before I compare the M2 Pro and M2 Max, it's only right to discuss the M2, which debuted last June (fave.co/ 30YkQgb) with the Mac Book Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The CPU and GPU cores in the M2 are the same ones found in Apple's A15 chip, which formed the basis of the iPhone 13 line.

Apple's chips keep getting incrementally faster. In general, each M2 CPU core is about 12 to 15 percent faster than the equivalent M1 core. As a result, the M1-to-M2 transition can't provide the quantum leap offered by Apple's jump from Intel to its own processors. Instead, the Mac is now on the slow but steady progress path we see every year with the unveiling of a new iPhone processor.

However, Apple does keep tinkering around the edges from generation to generation. In the M2, Apple addressed one of the biggest failings of the M1 processor: limited RAM capacity. The M2 can support up to 24GB of unified memory, up from the 16GB limitation that made a lot of prospective M1 Mac buyers wince. Apple also increased memory bandwidth from 68GB to 100GB per second.