New Macbook Pro and Air announced with M2 chipset: Price, release date, specifications, and more

The Apple MacBook Pro has been the first choice for designers, musicians, content creators, and businessmen ever since it launched in 2006. Two years later, the MacBook Air was launched. This budget-oriented, light-weight version of the MacBook instantly caught the attraction of writers, students, and working professionals who require less computing power.

Both versions of MacBooks have gone through radical changes over the years. In November 2020, Apple introduced their first series of MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and the Mac Mini that used their in-house Apple M1 chip.

Apple's revolutionary M1 series processors became the most powerful processor lineup of 2020 and continued to dominate until June 6, 2022. At the recent Apple World Wide Developers Conference, Apple released its next-gen MacBook Air and 13” MacBook Pro with the M2 processor. This article briefly discusses the new M2 series processor and the latest MacBooks.

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Latest lineup of Apple Macbook Pro and MacBook Air

M2 processor

The M2 series processors are Apple's in-house series of mobile and desktop processors. Built on an ARM-based SoC designed by Apple, these processors have a powerful CPU and integrated GPU.

In WWDC 2022, Senior Vice-President of Apple Hardware and Technologies Johny Srouji provided an in-depth look at the new M2 processor. The M2 is built with second generation 5 nm architecture consisting of 20 billion transistors (25% more than the M1). It comes with 100GB/s unified memory bandwidth, making it 50% faster than the M1.

It features an 8 core CPU, with 4 high-performance cores and 4 energy-efficient cores. This processor offers 18% greater CPU performance than the M1. As for the GPU, the M2 has a 10 core integrated GPU that delivers 25% more performance than M1's 8 core GPU.

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MacBook Pro 13” M2

• Apple M2 chip
• 13.3” 2560x1600p Retina display
• 58.2 Wh battery
• 8GB unified memory
• 256GB/512GB SSD
• Backlit Magic keyboard

Apple has launched their new lineup of MacBook Pro 13” with M2 processors. The MacBook Pro has a 13.3” 2560x1600p native resolution IPS Retina display, with up to 500 nits of brightness, True Tone technology, and a wide P3 color gamut. It has a 58.2 Wh battery with a 67 watt power adapter. The 8GB unified memory is configurable up to 24GB. The MacBook Pro 13” comes in 256GB and 512GB SSD variants and can be upgraded up to 2TB.

Apple's Backlit Magic Keyboard has a Touch Bar, Touch ID, and an ambient light sensor. It also has a Force Touch trackpad for precise control, force clicks, pressure‑sensitive drawing, and multi‑touch gestures. The Thunderbolt 3, USB 4, and USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports add versatility to the MacBook.

The expected prices for the new MacBook Pro 13” are $1,299.00 for the 256GB version and $1,499.00 for the 512GB version. The new MacBook Pro 13” will be available on the market from July 2022.

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MacBook Air M2

• Apple M2 chip
• 13.3” Liquid Retina display
• 8GB unified memory
• 256GB/512GB SSD
• MagSafe 3 charging port
• Magic keyboard

The new Apple MacBook Air with the M2 processor is 1.4 times faster than the MacBook Air with the M1 processor and 15 times faster than a MacBook Air with Intel processors when considering video editing workload. The 13.6” 2560x1664p Liquid Retina display has up to 500 nits brightness, a wide P3 color gamut, and True Tone Technology. The new MacBook Air weighs only 2.7 pounds and is 0.44” thin. It is even lighter than the 2.8 pound MacBook Air M1.

This year's MacBook Air series comes with four minimalistic color options: Midnight, Starlight, Silver, and Space Grey. Each variant comes with its own color-matched charging cable. The 18 hour battery can be charged using MagSafe 3 port. Compared to the previous year's 720p webcam, the new 1080p webcam produces sharper images. The MacBook Air M2 has 8GB of unified memory that can be upgraded up to 24GB.

It comes with 256GB and 512GB SSD storage options that can be upgraded to 2TB. The four-speaker sound system, consisting of two tweeters and two ultrathin woofers, supports Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos for the ultimate surround sound experience. The Magic Keyboard now comes with a full‑height function key row, and it also has Touch ID for easy unlocking and next-level security.

The expected prices for the MacBook Air M2 are $1,199.00 for the 256GB version and $1,499.00 for the 512GB version. The MacBook Air M2 will be available on the market from July 2022.

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With the M2 processor released, the future of Apple MacBooks looks interesting. Millions of fans are looking forward to the launch of the MacBook Pro 15” and 16”, along with the M2 Pro, Max, and Ultra series chipsets.