Apple refreshes the MacBook Pro 13 with a more powerful M2 chip

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At WWDC yesterday, Apple showed off a new $1,299 MacBook Pro 13. That’s perhaps not that surprising, but what is surprising was the processor powering it. The new Apple M2 processor is here, and it’s coming next month.

The new MacBook Pro 13 hasn’t changed in design from the existing model. What has changed is the processor, which is now the M2. Apple says this is 39-percent faster than the M1 at both gaming performance and image processing performance.

The other cool thing about the new MacBook Pro 13 is the claimed 20-hour battery life. That’s very cool if that battery life is maintained in real-world testing.

My M1 MacBook Pro 13 had the same claimed battery life, and I’ve never come close to needing a charge after a full day of work, including video calling.

READ MORE: The M2 MacBook Pro is reportedly 20% faster than the M1 version

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The Apple M2 chip itself is an 8-core CPU with 10-core GPU, and it bumps the maximum unified memory up to 24GB, from 16GB on the M1. That’s a decent boost and will please video editors, coders, or anyone else who uses their MacBook Pro for work.

Starting with 256GB of storage, you can add up to 2TB, but you’ll pay nearly $2500 for the fully specced-out model.

The cheaper MacBook Air is still the better choice for most users, who won’t need the sustained power that the fan-cooled MacBook Pro can provide.

The new MacBook Pro 13 with the Apple M2 chip starts from $1,299 and is available next month according to Apple’s ordering site.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.