Apple unveils next-generation MacBook Pro, Mac mini with new M2 series silicon; India price, availability details

The new MacBook Pro and Mac mini with M2 silicon series will be available for purchase from January 24 onwards in India

To everyone’s surprise, Apple on Tuesday (January 17) dropped a pre-recorded event video on its official website and YouTube channel to reveal the new generation MacBook Pro and Mac mini with M2, M2 Pro and M2 Max silicons.

All-new M2 Max and M2 Pro come with big upgrades in terms of speed and performance over not just on predecessor but also powerful compared to current crop of rival PC chipsets.

M2 Pro supports up to 12-core CPU and up to 19-core GPU, together with up to 32GB of fast unified memory. On the other hand, M2 Max supports up to 38-core GPU, double the unified memory bandwidth, and up to 96GB of unified memory. It is touted to be the most powerful and power-efficient chip for a pro laptop. Both chips come with faster 16-core Neural Engine and Apple’s powerful media engine.

The new M2 Pro and M2 Max silicons. Credit: Apple

The M2 Pro is said to be 40 per cent faster than the M1 Pro and the M2 Max is said to deliver 30 per cent better GPU performance compared to the M1 Max.

With Apple’s next-generation 16-core Neural Engine, both the M2 Pro and M2 Max are capable of doing 15.8 trillion operations per second. Rest assured, the PCs running the latest M2 series silicon will be able to deliver smoother video editing and better gaming experience than most of the competitors.

Apple MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and Max silicon series

The MacBook Pro with M2 Pro supports 10- or 12-core CPU with up to eight high-performance and four high-efficiency cores for up to 20 percent greater performance over M1 Pro. Also, it supports up to 200GB/s of unified memory bandwidth (double that of M2) and up to 32GB of unified memory.

With M2 Pro, compiling in Xcode on the MacBook Pro is up to 2.5x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro and nearly 25 percent faster than the previous generation M1 Pro.

The image processing will be 80 per cent faster for Intel-based devices and up to 40 per cent faster when compared to the M1 Pro.

The new MacBook Pro with M2 Max has a next-gen 12-core CPU with up to eight high-performance and four high-efficiency cores that deliver up to 20 percent greater performance than the predecessor. It supports 400GB/s of unified memory bandwidth (2X that of M2 Pro) and up to 96GB of unified memory.

The new MacBook Pro. Credit: Apple

With the M2 Max, effects rendering in Cinema 4D is up to 6x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro and up to 30 percent faster6 than the previous generation.

And, colour grading in DaVinci Resolve is said to be up to 2x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro and up to 30 percent faster than the previous generation.

Apple is offering the new MacBook Pro in two screen sizes— 14-inch and 16-inch-- with a high-resolution Liquid Retina XDR display. The former can deliver up to 18 hours of battery life and the latter can last for close to 22 hours.

They come with Wi-Fi 6E for faster wireless connectivity, as well as more advanced HDMI, to support 8K displays up to 60Hz and 4K displays up to 240Hz. They also feature three Thunderbolt 4 ports for high-speed connection to peripherals, an SDXC card slot, and MagSafe 3 charging.

The14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro starts at Rs 1,99,900, and Rs 1,84,900 for students (via education plan) and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro starts at Rs 2,49,900 and Rs 2,29,900 for students (via education plan).

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Max starts at Rs 3,09,900 and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Max starts Rs 3,49,900.

Apple Mac mini with M2 silicon series

The new Mac mini with M2 features a 8-core CPU with four high-performance and four high-efficiency cores, along with a 10-core GPU.

With the new M2 CPU, the new Mac mini can deliver up to 2.4x faster ProRes transcode in Final Cut Pro, up to 50 per cent faster filter and function performance in Adobe Photoshop and up to 35 per cent faster gameplay in Resident Evil Village.

And, the Mac mini with M2 Pro features 12-core CPU with eight high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, along with up to a 19-core GPU. The M2 Pro supports 200GB/s of memory bandwidth — double the amount in M2 — and supports up to 32GB of memory.

With M2 Pro onboard, the Mac mini will be able to deliver 2.5x faster graphics performance in Affinity Photo, up to 4.2x faster ProRes transcode in Final Cut Pro and up to 2.8x faster gameplay in Resident Evil Village.

The new Mac Mini. Credit: Apple

The M2-based Mac mini model features two Thunderbolt 4 ports and support for up to two displays.

And, the M2 Pro model includes four Thunderbolt 4 ports and support for up to three displays.

Additionally, the M2 Pro model can support one 8K display, a first for the Mac.

Both models feature two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, a Gigabit Ethernet port with a 10GB option, and an upgraded headphone jack to support high-impedance headphones. For wireless connectivity, both new models also feature the latest standards with Wi-Fi 6E for up to 2x faster throughput than before, as well as Bluetooth 5.3.

The Mac mini with M2 starts at Rs 59,900 and Rs 49,900 for students (via education plan).

Whereas the M2 Pro Mac mini starts at Rs 1,29,900 and Rs 1,19,900 for students (via education).

Both the new MacBook Pro and the Mac mini are available for pre-order in India and shipping starts on January 24.

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