Apple recently released the latest addition to its Macbook Pro lineup, equipped with the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. This launch marks the second iteration of a design change that the company introduced in 2021, featuring a more industrial appearance, with the elimination of the Touch Bar and the return of function keys, added ports and an improved display with a new cutout.
In an exclusive interview with The Stalman Podcast, Apple’s Vice President of Hardware Engineering, Kate Bergeron, and Mac Product Marketing’s Doug Brooks shared their insights into the design process of the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. During the 30-minute discussion, photographer and YouTuber Tyler Stalman engaged with the Apple executives on the topic of professional workflows, the shift from Intel to custom silicon, and how new neural and media engines have improved Macs, as well as the appropriate Mac choice for users.
The M2 Pro and M2 Max chips are the latest innovations from Apple, following the release of the M2 chip a few months prior, ushering in the second generation of M processors. According to Apple, these chips offer significant enhancements over the previous iteration, while still utilizing a 5nm technology process.
The M2 Pro is equipped with 40 billion transistors, which is 20% greater than the M1 Pro and double the number of transistors in the M2. It boasts 200GB/s of unified memory bandwidth, which is twice that of M2 and supports up to 32GB of low-latency unified memory. The next-generation 10 or 12-core CPU is capable of up to eight high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, resulting in multithreaded CPU performance that is 20% faster than the 10-core CPU in M1 Pro.
The GPU in the M2 Pro can be configured with up to 19 cores, three more than the GPU in M1 Pro, and features a larger L2 cache. Graphics speeds are up to 30% faster than that of M1 Pro, leading to significant increases in image processing performance and enabling console-quality gaming.
The M2 Max is built with 67 billion transistors, 10 billion more than the M1 Max and over three times that of the M2. Its 400GB/s of unified memory bandwidth is twice that of M2 Pro, four times that of M2, and supports up to 96GB of fast unified memory. The M2 Max also features the same next-generation 12-core CPU as the M2 Pro and a more powerful GPU, with up to 38 cores, paired with a larger L2 cache. Graphics speeds rise up to 30% faster than M1 Max.
In conclusion, the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips bring significant improvements to the Macbook Pro, offering faster performance and improved graphics capabilities. The design changes to the Macbook Pro and the integration of the latest M processors make it a compelling choice for professionals and power users.
