T​he M2 MacBook the MacBooks that split the Apple community. Is it worth it? Or is it a business move by apple?

L​ike all Apple products there was an insane amount interest and excitement for the release of the new M2 MacBook. The new M2 chip expected to bring new processing speeds never seen before in a computer. Yet as people began to get their hands on test models to run benchmark tests issues to arise. With Apple deciding to go fan less on the M2 Mac book air fear of performance drop and thermal throttling. Apple has also decided to go with one 256 NAND chip in the new M2 base models instead of two 128 NAND chips that the earlier M1 MacBooks does that mean that the M2 takes a hit in performance in SSD read and write speed? Does the higher price tag on the pro mean more “pro” capabilities and speed or is there not enough jump in performance to justify the new pro price tag? Let’s jump into some of these questions and issues that some of the new M2 might be having, and if it is worth it to upgrade to the M2 or whether it is better to get a slightly older M1 Mac book.

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T​he M2 Mac books have now all been released for public purchase, and use and with that a ton of questions people wondering whether upgrading is worth it, and a lot of nerves wondering whether the M2 MacBook air thermal throttling is something they should be worried about. So is fan less design causing thermal throttling issues, and should you as a consumer be worried about it? The short to thermal throttling is yes it is an issue with the M2 MacBook airs with this fan less design while new and unquie once the M2 air starts to receive stress from heavy workloads because of the lack fans to cool the system the performance will drop at about 25%. This is a lot considering how we have grown to expect high quality products from Apple. Because of this thermal throttling issue a lot of people are wondering if they will need to worry about their M2 air having performance issues, and the answer is it really depends on if you know that you do not use it for a lot of heavy lifting or heavy work than you will have nothing to worry about and will get the high performance that the laptop can offer when it is not under high stress. However if you know that your workload can vary from some to a lot than you will more than likely run into issues with thermal throttling and drops in performance which no one wants. If you are looking for a computer that will be reliable and have the same performance with high stress and lower stress than the M2 Air is not the computer for you. What if you do not need the pro though? Well if you know your workload is not heavy enough to justify the jump to a pro than the M1 MacBook air might be your best choice while yes you will not get as fast speeds as with an M2 air benchmarks show that M1 is still a high performance machine and the M1 is not fan less so there will be less of a drop in performance and when you get the high stress the fans will kick on and do their thing. Keeping in mind that the base model M1 will beat the base model M2 in SSD read and write speeds.

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T​his takes us to our next point is the drop in SSD performance on the base model a major issue? It definitely is not ideal Apple more than likely did it on purpose. For example if a consumer does not like the base model only having one 256 NAND chip they can simple solve this problem by upgrading the SSD storage to 512 which would mean their MacBook would now have two 256 NAND chips. How much will that upgrade cost you may wonder? As of now it will cost you $200 to upgrade you SSD storage. Now is that worth it? If you are considering it than it more than likely is worth it to get faster SSD speeds however some people might be fine with downgrading to the M1 saving some money and getting solid SSD speeds for less. However Apple does not stop there if you are considering this than Apple knows that your workload is at least fairly heavy so you can also upgrade your RAM to 16GB (for and extra $200) or 24GB (for an extra $400). So what if you were to get the highest upgrades on the M2 laptop (2TB SSD storage and 24GB of RAM) well that would run you $2,499.00. Which is not the cheapest however you will be getting incredibly speeds for that price, and with this price you will be getting two NAND chips so that will not longer be an issue. So you finally figured out the best option for you and it is the M2 Mac book pro with just a few upgrades to make it a littler more powerful, but wait as you are about to buy it something catches your eye the 14 or 16 inch MacBook pro with the M1 pro or the M1 Max chip, and you decide to take a look and notice that it a little more expensive, but you get better performance, and not to mention you get ports so great now there is another option to look into to.

P​ros of the M2

1. B​etter overall processing speed
2. l​ighter design
3. longer battery life
4. M​agsafe is back (Fast charging in now an option)
5. N​ew colors for the MacBooks (which includes cool new color matching cables)

N​egatives of the M2

1. S​lower SSD speeds without the 512 SSD upgrade
2. T​o get the most out of the M2 you have to get upgrades
3. L​ack of ports
4. S​till can only connect to one external monitor
5. T​hermal Throttling and temperature issues (mainly on the air)
6. M​ore expensive laptop with not a ton of new things
7. t​he M2 pro is a weird middle ground
8. F​ast charging cost extra

N​ow you might be thinking right now that I am an Apple hater and I despise all Apples products and that could not be further from the truth so before we start looking at what model might be their best for you lets talk a little more in depth about the positives for the M2. The M2 CPU preforms about 18% better than the M1 while using almost the same amount of power. In terms of GPU the M2 performs 35% better than the M1 all while again consuming the same amount of power. The M2 does also come with a new ISP (image signal processor.) Now lets get out of the chip improvements and look at some other improvements. The Mac Book air did get some slight improvements to the screen (the screen will now be about 25% brighter as opposed to last years model) and the camera will also be seeing some added upgrades, however this is just on the Airs. The M2 pros will not be seeing any of these upgrades. This does not mean that the Airs have a better screen and camera than the pro however it just means that the air has now caught up. We can not take about the good additions to this without talking about the re addition of Magsafe on the M2s and the insane 20-hour battery life you will be getting with this model. Fast charging is also now an option but like mentioned above it does cost extra however if you are charging your MacBook a lot than this might be worth it for you. Unfortunately other than this most Apple testers have not noticed any other major changes to the new MacBook.

S​o we have now looked at the differences and the pros and cons of the new M2 now it is time to decided which one is right for you? Should you upgrade to the M2 or keep your current MacBook. Obviously the choice is up to you in the end, but if you are not sure where to start than look no further. The first thing that plays into deciding which MacBook to get is one how old is the one you have now? If you have an M1 and it is still working fine than there is really no reason to upgrade. If you have an older Mac book air than a new M1 or M2 could be the best choice for you. So which should you go with an M1 or an M2 well a few factors play into this. Firstly how much do you use your current MacBook if you use it daily, but you are not putting too much strain on it than the base level M1 or M2 is good for you. If you use it a lot with a ton of heavy use, and the fans kick in for cooling a lot than the M1 air is probably your best choice. What if you do want a slight performance boost than well the M2 air is your best choice. It will offer faster processing speeds than the M1 and faster SSD speeds (if you get the upgraded 512SSD) than the M1 you will just have to be cautious to not throw too much at it at once. Now what about the pros? Apples base level MacBook pros have always been hard to recommend especially this years 13" M2. The pro this year is just such a weird middle ground chances are if you are getting a pro you need more power so you will be upgrading and by the time it is all said and done it is better to spend a little more and get the 14" or 16" M1 MacBook pro you will get faster speeds than the M2 with the 14" or 16" and you will get tons of port options as well. The M2 mac book pro is such a weird middle ground that very few people will need that odd amount of power. If you are one of those people though that needs a little more power than the air, but not quite as much as the 14" or 16" M1 Mac Book pro than the M2 Mac Book pro is for you unfortianlty it is really a waste of money for anyone else. If you think you need more power than it is better to be safe and spend a little more than buy the cheaper one and regret it when it can not keep up.

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S​o is the M2 a bad computer? Yes and no. Performance wise it is great, but if you are looking at just getting a base model you will more than likely run into issues, and you will not be able to enjoy all the M2 chips power with a base model so upgrading is kind of a must. The M2 air (with upgrades or without) will definitely be a good choice for most because while yes there can be some temperature elated issues most people who would be considering getting the air will probably never push the M2 chip to that level of stress. Now the M2 MacBook Pro this is the one that again like stated earlier is very hard to recommend not because it is bad, but because if you need this kind of power you will need to upgrade, and at that point the 14 or 16" M1 Mac book pro is the better option for you the performance will be better and you get more ports. So while the M2 is not bad it is just a weird middle where most people do not need that specific amount of power, but if you do need that amount of power than it is definitely a phenomenal laptop to purchase. In summery look into what you need now what you want do not go spending extra money on something you do not need. Both the M1 and M2 are great options in their own ways, but in all honesty the M1 will work just as well as the M2 for most people, and in some cases the M1 will be the better option.

S​o did Apple purposely make the M2 the way that they did in order to push people who are considering the M2 pro to just bite the bullet and buy the more expensive 14" or 16" M1 Mac book pro? Or could apple really just not find any other good additions to the new model? We will leave that up to you to decide, but most speculate that Apple is using it to push people to the more expensive M1 model.