Despite sticking with the same design as the 2021 models, the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro have plenty of upgrades that may encourage you to pick them up once they become available. Here, we discuss five of them and how they will change your mind about the 2023 lineup.
Longer battery life
The M2 Pro and M2 Max have been mass-produced on TSMC’s older 5nm architecture, and even then, Apple found a way to increase the battery life on both models. From what we have seen from reviewers, MacBooks with Apple Silicon last longer while running the same task compared to a Windows notebook, making it one of its biggest selling points.
The 2023 MacBook Pro models are no different, with Apple claiming that its newer machines can last up to 22 hours on a single charge. Of course, your mileage will vary significantly depending on what you are currently doing, but it should outlast the competition by a significant margin.
Increased CPU, and GPU cores, even for base models
The rumors turned out to be true, as Apple increased both the CPU and GPU core count, even on the base versions of the M2 Pro and M2 Max. With the M2 Pro, you now get a 10-core CPU (six performance and four power-efficiency cores) and a 16-core GPU, which are the same number of cores running on the base version of the M1 Max. If you choose the slightly upgraded M2 Pro version, which touts a 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU, it beats the M1 Max in compute performance, which is a significant step up.
As for the M2 Max, it starts with a 12-core CPU (eight performance and four power-efficiency cores) and 30-core GPU and can be configured with up to a 38-core GPU. With the M1 Max, you were limited to a 10-core CPU and 32-core GPU. Anyone who knows the advantage of multiple cores while using applications that benefit from these configurations is bound to upgrade to one of these models.
Wi-Fi 6E support, the first for any MacBook
With Wi-Fi 7 expected to be rolled out later this year, Apple is known for taking its sweet time catching up to the newest standard, but it has finally gravitated to Wi-Fi 6E (also known as 802.11ax) on the new 2023 MacBook Pro models. The 2021 versions support Wi-Fi 6, which might be plentiful for the majority of users, but keep in mind that Wi-Fi 6E operates on a third frequency, which is 6GHz, and is the only standard to do so at this time.
Wi-Fi 6 is currently limited to 2.4GHz and 5GHz, and the added benefit of Wi-Fi 6E operating on the third 6GHz spectrum means that there will be fewer devices interfering with the connection, resulting in a more reliable wireless reception for the new MacBook Pro models. Wi-Fi 6E also delivers increased speeds compared to Wi-Fi 6, but operating at 6GHz also means that your range will be limited, so keep that in mind.
Improved HDMI standard
Apple made the jump from HDMI 2.0 on the 2021 MacBook Pro models to HDMI 2.1 on the 2023 versions. While this might not mean much to many who are looking to upgrade, especially those who do not have another display to extend their screen real estate with the new 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro, here is what you will get. HDMI 2.1 can support 8K monitors at up to a 60Hz refresh rate or a 4K monitor at 240Hz. If that was not enough, the 2023 MacBook Pro can also be hooked up to multiple high-resolution displays through its Thunderbolt 4 ports, so there is plenty of connectivity bandwidth to go around.
No change to pricing compared to previous models
With the upgrades Apple incorporated in its 2023 MacBook Pro, it would have been safe to assume that the company would charge its customers a little more to experience these changes. Fortunately for you, pricing starts from $1999.99 ($1949.99 on Amazon, thanks to the latest discount) for the 14-inch model and goes up to $2,499.99 for the 16-inch MacBook Pro. In short, Apple’s pricing strategy has remained unchanged when comparing the launch price of the 2021 models, though these are still pretty expensive.
Looking at these upgrades, which one do you believe will make the most impact for you, assuming you wish to pick up one of these when they ship out? We have made a poll for our readers, so make you participate and let us know. For those interested in making the jump to the new 2023 MacBook Pro models, we have included links at the bottom too, but keep in mind that both the 14-inch and 16-inch versions will start shipping to customers from January 24.
