MacBook Pro M2 14-inch review: A portable powerhouse

The MacBook Pro is back with another powerful upgrade. Although this year’s reboot doesn’t offer a new design or changes to the display you do now get Apple’s best and fastest processor to date.

The M2 Pro and Pro Max bring unrivalled performance to these portable PCs and it could be just what professionals have been wanting as it’s now possible to perform some seriously memory-hungry tasks on the move.

So should you invest over £2,000 on a new MacBook Pro? Here is Express.co.uk’s full MacBook Pro 14-inch M2 review.

The new MacBook Pro 14-inch has two options when it comes to the processor under the bonnet with both now taking Apple’s M-series chip technology, which launched back in 2020, to a whole new level. Firstly there’s the M2 Pro which is ludicrously capable and offers graphics performance that’s around twice as fast as its M1-powered predecessor and a whopping 80 percent quicker than ageing Intel machines.

For those wanting the ultimate power, there’s the M2 Max which can be configured to include a 38-core GPU making it around 30 percent quicker than the 2021 models.

The M2 Max can also be boosted to include a whopping 96GB of unified memory that delivers up to 400GB/s of memory bandwidth – that’s twice as fast as M1 Pro and 6 times faster than M1.

For our review, we took delivery of the standard 14-Inch M2 Pro and even though this is not Apple’s top-spec machine it’s still ludicrously quick.

This upgraded brain can be pushed to new limits with 8K video editing, audio mixing and photo retouching all performed without the hint of a stutter. As well as being supremely powerful, the M2 Pro is also much more efficient meaning the battery doesn’t take such a hammering.

As owners of Intel-powered MacBooks will be well aware, battery life has been a real issue in the past with these older machines often running low after just a few hours of usage.

Those previous machines also have a terrible habit of getting uncomfortably hot but there’s no sign of these issues on the new Pro.

We’ve been powering through memory-intensive tasks with the 14-inch laptop lasting over 10 hours on average.

If you lower the brightness a little and simply perform a bit of web browsing you’ll get around 17 hours which is seriously impressive and means you’ll no longer need to keep finding places to charge when out on the road.

Things are even better for anyone upgrading to the 16-inch Pro with that machine boasting a whopping 22-hour battery life.

When the power pack does finally run flat there’s more good news as MagSafe is back again.

Just like the original MacBooks, it snaps in place with a satisfying click and you then get a charging light that glows to show you that things are being refilled. Apple has also boosted the charging times via this connection with the MacBook Pro going from flat to full in around an hour.

One final beauty of MagSafe is that the charger pings straight out of the Mac if someone wanders past and trips on the cable. That means the laptop stays firmly rooted to your lap and you’re not left with a £3,000 PC flying across the room. If you happened to walk out without the MagSafe charger in your bag then don’t panic as the USB-C ports on either side can still be used to boost the battery – that’s a really nice touch.

Apple went back to basics when designing its latest MacBook Pros and its most recent laptops actually looks a little reminiscent of the models released all the way back in 2012.

In years before the latest releases, a vast amount of attention was paid to making the Pro thinner and more visually appealing but with the launch of the M1 laptops in 2021 Apple finally admitted that it needed a laptop that could keep up with its professional users.

The M2 Pro looks identical to its M1 sibling and that means it is now a little thicker and heavier than the older Intel-powered machines.

There’s no getting around the fact that this new design doesn’t look as svelte as before but we’re almost certain MacBook users will be happy with the trade-off when they begin using this machine.

Lift up the screen and chunkier design is instantly forgotten with users being treated to a gorgeous screen that now pushes closer to the edge of the aluminium chassis.

This 14-inch panel is a thing of absolute beauty with it producing rich colours, bright whites and deep blacks. Apple also now includes its ProMotion technology on the MacBook which offers a silky smooth experience when whizzing through websites and checking your emails.

It’s also capable of producing up to 1600 nits of peak brightness which means you shouldn’t have any worries using the Pro in the great outdoors.

There is now an iPhone-style notch in the middle of the screen but you don’t really notice it as it hides neatly in the menu bar at the top of the display.

Yes, the new Pro has put on a bit of weight and has lost some of its supermodel looks but we think the payoff is worth it.

That bulkier appearance means users get a bigger battery, massively improved performance and a bunch of ports, including HDMI and an SD Card slot. There’s simply no question that professional users would rather have all that tech rather than a slimline machine that can’t cope with what’s being thrown at it.

If we had one niggle it would be that Apple still refuses to bring touchscreen technology to its MacBooks. It’s no deal-breaker but it is one area where Windows-powered laptops do have an advantage.

Apple has kept the same keyboard that was refreshed back in 2021. That means there’s no magic Touch Bar in sight.

Apple clearly felt it was time to go back to basics with the new keyboard returning to physical function keys which makes it much easier to ramp up the brightness, control volume and search your hard drive.

There’s also that much bigger escape button in the top left-hand corner.

Although we still kind of miss the Touch Bar, there’s no denying that this keyboard is better for most to users and should help professionals get things done faster with simple access to those all-important quick function keys.

The Touch ID fingerprint scanner remains a breeze to use and along with unlocking the screen, you can make speedy purchases online using Apple Pay.

Another visual change is that there’s now a black panel that the keys sit on which looks great and makes it better to focus on the keys as you bash out emails or endless Word documents.

Just like all of Apple’s previous MacBooks, you’ll find the simply brilliant Force Touch trackpad which is still the best in the business and makes most Windows laptops look like they are stuck firmly in the past.

If you hate carrying around a bag full of dongles then you’ll be pleased to know that Apple hasn’t changed things from the 2021 models with the new Pro machines getting plenty of useful ports. On the sides of the case are three USB-C sockets plus there’s an SD Card reader and an improved HDMI port, more on that below. There’s even a headphone jack that automatically modulates voltage levels to drive high-impedance cans plus that MagSafe charging.

The only thing that missing is a standard USB-A port which is something still included on some Windows PCs.

Along with all those headline features, there’s plenty more tucked inside the latest MacBook Pros including speedy Wi-Fi 6E technology which offers faster and more stable broadband speeds.

If you want to plug this laptop into an external screen there’s also more advanced HDMI, to support 8K displays up to 60Hz and 4K displays up to 240Hz.

Just like the previous 2021 Pros, users are treated to six mind-blowing speakers which have to be heard to be believed. The rich sound they produce is magical and anyone travelling with the new Pro can forget about needing to take a Bluetooth speaker with them as this laptop can easily fill a small room with sound.

If you need to record your voice or any other audio there are also some impressive studio mics that do a good job of filtering out background noise.

Anyone spending endless hours on Zoom calls will also be pleased to hear that Apple has boosted the webcam with it now including a 1080p FaceTime HD camera.

It’s a big upgrade over its predecessor with your face appearing brighter and much clearer when making calls.

It’s worth noting that Apple hasn’t included the clever new centre stage technology found in its iPads which is a real shame. This feature allows the lens to track you so you always stay in focus when making calls.

And, despite the notch looking very similar to the iPhone, there’s no Face ID tech tucked inside so don’t expect the screen to magically unlock when it spots your face.

MacBook Pros have never been cheap but upgrading to the 14-inch model will make a sizeable dent in your bank balance. Prices start from £2,149 and can push beyond £6,000 if you start adding more memory, storage and that Max processor.

If you want to most powerful laptop Apple has ever made you’ll have to bite the bullet and spend the money but before you splash the cash just make sure you really need this ultimate laptop.

Although Apple no longer sells the older M1 machines, some UK retailers still have stock with prices that are over £400 cheaper. That 2021 machine is still immensely powerful and will handle most things thrown at it. In fact, we’ve been using a 16-inch M1-powered MacBook for the past 18 months and still highly rate this laptop.

Of course, the older machine is not as good as the latest and greatest M2 model but, if you can find one at a discounted price, it’s definitely worth considering if your budget can’t stretch that far.

The MacBook Pro is back with an almighty bang. No, there’s not a big design refresh this year or pixel-packed upgrade to the display but what’s tucked under the hood makes this one mightily powerful machine.

The M2 Pro chip breezes through tasks like a hot knife through butter and professional users are sure to love that additional grunt. For those that want to feel even more force, there’s the option to add the ludicrously quick M2 Max brain which, dare we say it, almost offers too much power for most.

The latest Apple laptops also get Wi-Fi 6E and an improved HDMI port along with all of the upgrades added in 2021 such as an edge-to-edge screen, MagSafe charging and an SD Card slot.

The M1 MacBook Pro was already good but the M2 now makes it even better.

Yes, at over £2,000 it is ludicrously expensive and there are some missing features such as Face ID, Center Stage and a touch screen. We’d also say it’s worth keeping an eye out for M1 MacBook Pro deals as we seriously love that cheaper PC.

That said, if you want the most powerful Apple laptop ever made, the new Pro can’t be beaten. It’s undeniably awesome!