13-inch MacBook Pro (M2, 2022) under review (2023)

the 13 inchesMacBook Pro 2022(starting at $1,299) is one of the first Apple M2-powered laptops to hit the market. While the design hasn't changed, Apple promises a jump in performance, whether you're editing photos or videos, or running multiple apps at the same time.

mibased on our tests, om2 microprocessordelivers, delivers performance that destroysThe best Windows laptops. The M2 also beats thatM1 microprocessorwith a clear advantage over several benchmarks. Plus, the new 2022 MacBook Pro offers the longest battery life we've ever seen at over 18 hours.

Although this laptop features a new piece of silicone from Apple, the design is showing its age. You get the same form factor, ports, display, and webcam. meanwhile the newMacBook Air 2022It offers a larger screen with thinner bezels, a 1080p webcam, and a thinner, lighter design.

It would be easy to say that the new MacBook Pro isn't worth the money and that its modern cousin, the MacBook Air, is better. There is some truth to that sentiment, but it would be unwise to dismiss this product, which remains one of thebest laptopsfor advanced users.

And while the 13-inch MacBook Pro is currently the most durable laptop we've tested, the one we just announced is14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro available in 2023 with M2 Pro and M2 Max powercould possibly take longer.

Read the rest of our full 2022 MacBook Pro review to see if it's worth the investment.

MacBook Pro 2022 review: Price and configurations

• Ab 1,299 US dollar
• Expandable to 24 GB of memory and 2 TB of storage
• Includes 67W USB-C charger

The M2-powered MacBook Pro is now available, starting at $1,299Apple website(opens in a new tab). It's identical to its predecessor, though it costs $100 more than the 2022 MacBook Air's starting price of $1,199.

If you're looking to save money, we've seen thatMacBook Pro 2022 $150 Off Black Friday Deals(opens in a new tab)but we don't expect it to last long.

The base model has a 13.3-inch display (2560 x 1600), M2 processor with 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, 8GB of unified memory, and 256GB of storage. You can upgrade to 24GB of unified memory and 2TB of storage if you're willing to shell out $2,499. Our review unit came with 16GB of unified storage and 1TB of storage, and retailed for $1,899 depending on configuration.

All configurations come with a 67W USB-C power adapter. You can opt for a silver or space gray finish.

MacBook Pro 2022 in the test: design and connections

• Same design as the MacBook Pro 2020 M1
• inclusive touch bar
• Only two Thunderbolt ports

The 2022 MacBook Pro features the same unibody aluminum design that has been around for nearly a decade. The laptop isn't attractive, but the thick bezels and infamous Touch Bar make this new laptop look dated compared to the contemporary one.macbook pro 14 inch,macbook pro 16 inchy MacBook Air 2022.

Port selection is minimal, with just two Thunderbolt/USB4 ports on the left and a headphone jack on the right. There are no configurations with additional ports.

To be fair, the new MacBook Air has the same number of ports as the MacBook Pro. However, since the Air has MagSafe charging, you could argue that it has more ports available than the 2022 MacBook Pro.

@tomguide(opens in a new tab)♬ Damn time x Let's start with altego - ALTÉGO(opens in a new tab)

MacBook Pro 2022 in the test: display

• Crisp 13.3-inch Retina display
• can be quite bright

As with the design, the MacBook Pro has the same 13.3-inch Retina display as its predecessor. The screen offers sharp images and vivid colors. if you look at thatFinal Fantasy VII RebirthTrailer on YouTube or enjoy Prehistoric Planet onAppleTV+, You won't be disappointed with the overall image quality.

This Retina display lacks the stunning image quality of the 14-inch MacBook Pro's beautiful Liquid Retina XDR Mini-LED display, which is disappointing. Maybe it's unfair of me to ask, but it would have been nice to see a machine with "Pro" in its name with an improved control panel.

Based on our lab tests, the 2022 MacBook Pro averaged 474.6 nits of standard brightness and 490 nits of HDR brightness. While lower than the advertised 500 nits of brightness, it's brighter than the M1 MacBook Pro's 439-nit average.

According to our colorimeter, the 13-inch MacBook Pro display produces 109.4% of the sRGB color gamut (the closer to 100%, the better). Interestingly, that figure is slightly less than the 111% produced by its M1-powered predecessor. On the DCI-P3 color space test, the 2022 MacBook Pro scored 77.5%, down from 79.2% for the MacBook Pro M1.

MacBook Pro 2022 in test: audio

• powerful speakers
• Good enough to listen to music.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro's stereo speakers are as good as ever, delivering clear, punchy sound that fills the entire room.

Audio on shows like Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast or UrAvgConsumer's YouTube videos sounds clean and clear, making you feel like you're in the same room with those shows' respective hosts and guests. Songs like Dio's "Egypt" (chains are on) and Arch Enemy's "Sunset Over the Empire" lack bass, but sound much better than on most laptop speakers.

Although the 14-inch MacBook Pro's speakers sound better, the MacBook Pro M2's audio is still pretty impressive. However theLenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7With its Bowers and Wilkins speaker system, it beats both in the audio department.

MacBook Pro 2022 in the test: performance

• M2 processor has stronger performance than M1
• Handles video transcoding with ease
• Solid for daily work.

Apple promised better performance from the M2 chip that powers the new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. Although the new processor is not as powerful as theM1 professionalmiChip M1 max.It's a huge improvement over the original.M1 microprocessor. To this day, this is the most powerful entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro the company has ever released.

On Geekbench 5.4, which measures overall performance, the 2022 MacBook Pro scored 8911 in the multicore portion of the test. That's well above the M1 MacBook Pro's 7571 score in Geekbench 5.3. However, the wicked 14-inch M1 Pro-powered MacBook Pro scored a whopping 12,477 points.

Apple's new laptop is all about itThe best Windows laptops, defeating notebooks like thisAsus Zenbook 13 OLED(6.411)zDell XPS 13 OLED(5,420) in the same performance test. The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7 (7140) nearly matched the previous MacBook Pro's score, but it can't even match the heights of the new M2 laptop.

The MacBook Pro delivered impressive results on our Handbrake video editing test, transcoding a 4K clip to 1080p. It transcoded a video in 6 minutes and 51 seconds, while the MacBook Pro M1 completed the same task in 7 minutes and 46 seconds.

The Dell XPS 13 OLED took 18 minutes and 12 seconds and the Yoga 9i over 12 minutes. Note that we haven't yet tested the new Dell XPS 13 with a 12th-gen Intel chip, so expect better performance.

On our PugetBench test, running 21 tasks (three times per run) in PhotoShop, the MacBook Pro achieved a score of 817 and a time of 4 minutes, 54 seconds. By contrast, the M1 MacBook Pro scored 576.6 and took 7 minutes and 3 seconds. That's a definite improvement.

For my own purposes, which mostly involve word processing, web browsing, watching YouTube videos, and Slack messaging, the MacBook Pro was more than capable. Laptop never crashed even when I had 20+ chrome tabs open while textingdiscordand run YouTube.

I haven't heard of laptop fans either. Admittedly, I'm not a video or audio editor who pushes laptop productivity to its limits, but it's still nice to work on a laptop that stays quiet, something I learned from old Intel-powered MacBooks I couldn't say.

A strange quirk has been detected in the entry-level MacBook Pro M2 SSD:it's actually slower than the old M1 MacBook Pro, whichalso affects overall performance.

MacBook Pro 2022 in the test: graphics and games

• Game performance is lacking
• Titles tested failed to hit 60 frames per second

The M2 chip is a monster when it comes to video and audio editing. However, when it comes to gaming, it's a huge disappointment, even for Mac-optimized titles.

At 1920x1200 resolution and very high graphics settings, Rise of the Tomb Raider averaged just 25 frames per second. The MacBook Pro M1 achieved similar results at a 1440 x 900 resolution. While the 14-inch MacBook Pro fell short of 60 fps, it managed an acceptable 39 fps average. Lara Croft deserves better.

Even with Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm running at 51 frames per second compared to the M1 MacBook Pro's 38 fps average, it's clear that Macs still aren't high-performance gaming machines. Possiblymetallic 3could be the ace up Apple's sleeve for gamesmacOS is coming, but as it is, gaming on Mac isn't over yet.

if you want oneThe best gaming laptopswith the portability of the MacBook Pro, then you would do well to consider devices like thisAlienware x14oAsus ROG Zephyrus G14.

MacBook Pro 2022 in review: Keyboard, trackpad and Touch Bar

• Magic Keyboard offers a comfortable typing experience
• The touch panel is smooth and responsive.
• Do you have a touch bar? Actually?

The Magic Keyboard on the 2022 MacBook Pro is spacious enough for comfortable typing for long periods of time. I wrote and edited this entire review on my laptop without missing a beat.

The backlit keys offer good resistance when pressed. I type a lot, but I didn't feel like the keys were flimsy for work. I wish the keys made a real "click" sound instead of a dull pop, but that's a minor complaint frequent laptop users won't have. After all, I am a fan of mechanical keyboards.

The touchpad is just as spacious and responsive as the keyboard. Its smooth surface makes it easy to slide and perform gestures. I'm not a fan of the hollow sound made when clicking on the trackpad, but enabling "Tap to Click" in System Preferences fixed that. Who says Apple doesn't let you customize anything?

I have mixed feelings about the Touch Bar. While I don't necessarily hate the OLED touchscreen over the number keys, I would have liked the proper function keys. Considering how last year's Pro models got rid of the Touch Bar, it's strange to see it on the 2022 MacBook Pro. This is another design aspect that makes this new machine feel dated.

MacBook Pro 2022 in test: webcam

• 720p webcam quality is reasonable at best

Speaking of remnants from the past, let's take a look at your average laptop webcam. In a world where so many people rely on video conferencing to work and stay in touch with loved ones, a 720p camera isn't ideal. That's doubly true when the 2021 MacBook Pro and new MacBook Air come with 1080p cameras.

Other than that, the image quality isn't terrible. The image is a bit grainy and washed out, but you still look presentable to whoever you're talking to. Apple has said that the M2 helps improve overall 720p webcam image quality, and based on my experience, I have to say that's true. Acceptable or not, it's hard to pass a 720p webcam.

MacBook Pro 2022 in the test: battery life and heat

• Epic battery life
• Stays cool even after long sessions

The MacBook Pro M1 was a durable laptop that didn't produce a lot of heat. Fortunately, the same goes for its M2-powered replacement. In fact, it's one of the most durable laptops we've tested.

In our Tom's Guide battery test, which includes continuous web browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of screen brightness, the 2022 MacBook Pro lasted 18 hours and 20 minutes. It's not quite the 20 hours of battery life Apple promised, but it's still hugely impressive. By contrast, the new Pro outperforms its predecessor, the M1 (16:25) and the 14-inch MacBook Pro (14:08). Simply put, the MacBook Pro can last a full work day and more.

By comparison, the Lenovo Flex 5G with Snapdragon 8cx lasted 17 hours and 28 minutes in 2020. And among current laptops according to Laptop MagLaptops with the best battery life(opens in a new tab), the closest competitor is the Dell Latitude 9510 with a runtime of 18:17.

Like the MacBook Pro 2020 M1, this laptop doesn't get very hot. Its bottom reached a maximum temperature of 85 degrees, ten degrees below what we consider unbearable heat for a laptop. Likewise, the touchpad never went above 79 degrees.

This is one of the coolest and quietest laptops I've ever used.

MacBook Pro 2022 im Test: Software

• macOS 12 Monterey works fine with the M2 chip

macOS 13 arrivesshould be on the market in fall 2022. As such, the M2 MacBook Pro comes with the currentmacOS 12 Monterrey. If you want to know what this operating system is about, read ourmacOS 12 Monterrey Review.

I'm still relatively new to macOS, but as a long-time Windows user, I find Apple's operating system easy to use and navigate. Apps open instantly when I click on them and I can keep a large number on the screen without noticeable slowdown. This is not only because macOS is a well-thought-out operating system, but also because of the M2 chip under the hood. It will be interesting to see what macOS Ventura can do for M2-powered Macs.

MacBook Pro 2022 in the test: conclusion

I was initially skeptical of the 2022 MacBook Pro when it was introducedWWDC 2022. Despite the M2 processor, the design of the "new" laptop felt archaic compared to the sleek and modern 2022 MacBook Air.

While I hold the new MacBook Air to be the best deal overall, extensive hands-on testing has changed my feelings about the Pro. The new 13-inch Pro is a very capable laptop for professionals. Objectively, it's one of the best laptops you can buy.

The 13-inch Pro's active cooling system, 10 GPU cores as standard, and incredibly long battery life make this laptop a worthwhile investment. And while the M2 chip may not be as powerful as the M1 Pro and M1 Max processors, it's miles ahead of the M1. Like I said, this is the most powerful entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro Apple has ever made.

Design aside, the 2022 MacBook Pro is a significant improvement over its predecessor. He even drives the mistress away from him.MacBook Air con M1. That's why the new MacBook Pro earned a spot on ourbest laptopsList.

When you need a laptop that offers sustained performance and unmatched battery life, the 2022 MacBook Pro is a worthwhile investment. This is especially true for those who still carry around an Intel-powered Apple laptop. But if you don't need a machine for creative projects, you can opt for the new Air orwaiting for a macbook pro m2 pro.