MacBook Pro 13 M2 vs MacBook Air M2: Is the MBP 13 still worth the extra?

Announced at the same time at the WWDC 2022, the new MacBook Pro 13 and MacBook Air are the first laptops to carry the new generation Apple M2 chip. But, the MacBook Air M2 is more of an upgrade than the MacBook Pro 13. When comparing MacBook Pro 13 M2 vs MacBook Air M2, is the MBP 13 M2 worth the extra?

The MacBook Air M2 had a whole new chassis, re-designed from ground up around the M2 chip. However, the same cannot be said for the MacBook Pro 13 M2.

The MacBook Air is Apple’s best selling laptop. Simply because it is the most affordable and is a favourite in the Educations sector. As its design hasn’t changed much since its inception in 2008, it warranted an upgrade and that is what it got. It received a much needed redesign and it now takes on the new MacBook Pro 14 and 16’s design DNA.

On the flip side, the same cannot be said about the new MacBook Pro 13, Apple’s best selling PRO laptop. This is again due to its affordable price tag and being the next favourite in the education sector. Apart from the Apple M2 chip, it retained everything from its predecessor. Let’s take a look at how these two MacBooks compare and is the MacBook Pro 13 M2 worth the extra money it is asking for.

• Save

What’s New in the MacBook Air M2

In two words, “a lot”. A completely redesigned chassis, new Liquid Retina display, 1080p FullHD web cam, quad firing speakers, fast charging and more while retaining a slim and lightweight design. Measuring only 11.3mm thin and weighing less than the MBA with M1 by 50grams, it again redefines the ultra portable laptop. Here’s a list of what is new:

• Completely redesigned chassis – aluminium unibody with design cues taken from new MacBook Pro 14 and 16.
• Powered by Apple M2 chip with 8-core CPU and up to 10-core GPU
• New Media Engine with ProRes Acceleration
• Bigger unified memory configurable up to 24GB
• Bigger memory bandwidth 100Gbps vs 68Gbps
• Faster memory LPDDR5 vs LPDDR4
• Faster Neural Engine 15.8TOPS vs 11TOPS

Beyond the design and the Apple M2 chip, here’s what else it brings to the table:

• Bigger 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with notch.
• Brighter display at 500nits.
• More powerful adapter at 35W with dual USB-C output with higher model (8-Core CPU/10-core GPU).
• Convenient MagSafe connector, also frees up Thunderbolt4 USB-C ports.
• Full HD 1080p Face Time camera, much improved from 720p HD.
• Supports fast charging with optional 67W adapter. Able to charge up to 50% in half an hour.
• Four speakers now support Spatial Audio on top of Wide Stereo and Dolby Atmos.
• Magic Keyboard with full height function keys and full size Touch ID sensor.
• Bigger capacity battery at 52.4Whr offering the same battery life than before.
• Slimmer overall at 11.3mm, previous M1 model is 4.1-16.1mm thin in a tapered body
• Slightly lighter at 1.24 kg
• Slightly bigger footprint, 2.5mm bigger in depth
• 4 Colour options (Silver, Starlight, Space Grey, Midnight)

What’s New in the MacBook Pro 13 M2

Apple is well known for keeping the design of their devices for generations. Think iPhone 6 to 8 and now iPhone SE and the entry level iPad. The new MacBook Pro 13 unfortunately falls into the same category. Still using the same design since the third generation MacBook Pro introduced back in 2012 with the Touch Bar and Touch ID first introduced in 2016 and Magic Keyboard first introduced in 2019. Overall, the chassis hasn’t changed since 2012. That’s a decade ago.

Fast forward to today, the MacBook Pro 13 M2 is no different from the MacBook Pro 13 M1 it replaced. Yes, the keyword here is “replaced”. Unlike the MacBook Air M2 which is sold alongside the now entry level MacBook Air M1, the MacBook Pro M2 is the new entry level Pro laptop with 13-inch display. With the new M2 chip, it shares the following with MacBook Air M2 apart from its design.

• The same design as its predecessor the MacBook Pro 13 with M1 chip.
• Powered by Apple M2 chip with 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU
• New Media Engine with ProRes Acceleration
• Bigger unified memory configurable up to 24GB
• Bigger memory bandwidth 100Gbps vs 68Gbps
• Faster memory LPDDR5 vs LPDDR4
• Faster Neural Engine 15.8TOPS vs 11TOPS

Beyond the design and Apple M2 chip here’s what else that is brings to the table (not a lot):

• a slightly higher rated USB-C power adapter at 67W vs 61W
• Spatial Audio support from its stereo speakers

It was even played down at the WWDC 2022 event, with only a quick mention as the main focus was on the new MacBook Air M2 above.

• Save

What are the differences between the MacBook Air M2 and the MacBook Pro 13 M2 and is the MacBook Pro 13 M2 worth the extra:

YOU WILL GAIN

The MacBook Air M1 starts from 999, the MacBook Air M2 from $1199 and the MacBook Pro M2 from $1299. For $100 more when comparing the MacBook Pro 13 M2 to the MacBook Air M2, you will gain the following:

• The full, ‘un-crippled’ M2 chip with all 10 GPU cores firing unlike the MacBook Air M2 with either 8 or 10-core GPU. The latter costing more with double the storage at 512GB SSD.
• An uninterrupted albeit older 13.3-inch display with no notch insight.
• Active Cooling with onboard fan allowing you to push the CPU and GPU further and taking on bigger workload.
• 2 hours more battery life with up to 20 hours on video playback and up to 17 hours on wireless browsing.
• Touch Bar: while some might consider it a gimmick, the context derived menu offers more than just your standard function keys and it supports cool features like live emojis, predictive text and more app based. shortcuts.

YOU WILL MISS

Some of you might wonder, what will you miss out on with the MacBook Pro 13 M2. This is where you can decide if the list above is worth forgoing, saving yourself some money at the same time going instead for the MacBook Air M2. Here is what you will miss if you pick for the MacBook Pro 13 M2 over the MacBook Air M2.

• no fancy new design based on the MacBook Pro 14 and 16
• no fancy notched  13.6-inch Liquid Retina display
• no 1080p Full HD web cam, just the old 720p HD FaceTime camera
• no quad firing speakers, just stereo speakers even though it still supports Spatial Audio.
• no MagSafe charging port so one less Thunderbolt port when charging
• no dual USB-C charging adapter (only with higher model)
• no fast charging, even though it comes with 67W USB-C adapter, fast charge is not a feature on the MacBook Pro 13 M2
• no slim and lightweight design
• no fancy colour options, just the standard silver or space grey.

So what will it be? Stick to the old MacBook Pro 13 design with Apple M2 chip OR go with the new MacBook Air M2. Tell us what you think.

• Save