June 19, 2022 at 6:50 am | Author: zahidmir | Technology
The first machine with Apple’s second-generation M2 system-on-a-chip is now available to order. Though it won’t arrive until June 24, you can buy the new 13-inch MacBook Pro today. Apple is also now selling its new dual-port USB-C charger through its online store.
The 2022 refresh of the 13-inch MacBook Pro uses the same design and has all the same features as its 2020 predecessor, which used the M1 chip. The only significant difference is the inclusion of the M2, which Apple says can be up to 40 percent faster at some tasks than the M1.
The laptop starts at $1,299 for a configuration with 256GB of solid-state storage, and there’s also a $1,499 configuration with 512GB. Beyond those base configs, you can further customize the 13-inch MacBook Pro with 8GB, 16GB, or 24GB of memory, and you can upgrade to 1TB or 2TB of storage. You cannot upgrade later, so those choices have to be made at the time of purchase.
While this is Apple’s first M2-based computer, it’s likely the harbinger of many more to come. Next up will be the newly redesigned 13-inch MacBook Air, which is due sometime next month. That computer will adopt some of the design language of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, with a taller screen, a screen notch, and no Touch Bar.
Apple hasn’t yet announced any other M2 machines beyond that, but it’s a safe bet that the M2 may come to the 24-inch iMac, Mac mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro, based on the devices that shipped with the M1 in the previous generation. Further, Apple will probably develop faster cousins to the M2 for higher-end machines like the MacBook Pro and Mac Studio, as seen in the previous rollout’s M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Studio. We don’t have a timeframe for those launches, however.
Below: One of the designs of Apple’s new dual-port USB-C charger.
As noted already, today also marks the first day of availability for Apple’s new dual-port USB-C charger. That was announced alongside the MacBook Air, but Apple is already selling two variants of the charger, even though the MacBook Air is still weeks away. Both variants are 35 W chargers with identical specifications, and both cost $59. One has a design identical to the MacBook chargers we’ve seen over the past few years, while the other has the new collapsible design we saw at WWDC 2022—that’s the only difference as far as we can tell.
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Listing image by Apple