What’s Changed? The Apple 16" MacBook Pro with M2 Pro Chip (Early 2023) is more of an incremental update over its predecessor- physically, it looks and feels the same as the 2021 Macbook Pro, but inside, the M2 Pro processor brings even more power to the party.

M2 Pro. As with all Apple-made processors, the M2 Pro is a fully integrated processor including the CPU, GPU, Neural Engine, and more in a single chip. At 40 billion transistors, 20% more than the M1 Pro, the M2 Pro is faster and more efficient. The CPU features eight performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, and the onboard GPU boasts 19 cores. All this makes the M2 Pro 20% faster than the M1 Pro, and it delivers that performance whether plugged in or not.

16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR. When people describe high-end displays, fancy words like “XDR” and “Liquid Retina” can say a lot, but mean very little to most people. What does matter is the 3456 × 2234 resolution (that’s nearly 8 million pixels!), the 1000 nits of sustained brightness (or up to 1600 nits at peak brightness), a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, over a billion colors, and ProMotion, a technology that enables a 120Hz variable refresh rate. Colors look vibrant, blacks are truly black, video runs flawlessly, and everyday tests feel fluid and easy, everything a pro user would want out of a MacBook Pro. Video editors can lock in a refresh rate that works for their workflow, and HDR content can be viewed and edited without needing a separate high-end display.

Pro Ports. Just like its predecessor, the M2 Pro MacBook Pro includes a wide range of inputs and outputs: three Thunderbolt 4 ports, all supporting 100 W power delivery; one HDMI output that supports 8K displays at 60 Hz or 4K displays at 240Hz; MagSafe 3, a magnetic charging port that, when used for power, charges the MacBook to 50% in just 30 minutes; a 3.5mm headphone jack; and a UHS-II SD card slot.

Display Support. The M2 Pro MacBook Pro supports up to two external displays at 6K resolution and 60 Hz over thunderbolt, or one external display at 6K 60 Hz via thunderbolt and one display at 4K 144 Hz via HDMI, or one external display at 8K 60 Hz, or one display at 4K 240 Hz via HDMI. Each of these options retain the ability to operate the built-in display at its full native display with a billion colors.