Hands-On With the New M2 Max MacBook Pro

New 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with the latest M2 Pro and ‌M2‌ Max chips are available in Apple retail stores and are already in the hands of customers, and we picked up one of the new ‌M2‌ Max machines to answer all of the questions MacRumors readers considering a purchase might have.


Yesterday, we asked MacRumors fans on Twitter what they wanted to know about the new ‌M2‌ Pro and ‌M2‌ Max ‌MacBook Pro‌ machines, and we got all kinds of questions about whether it's worth the upgrade, how the SSD performs, what RAM choices might be best based on usage needs, how hot it runs, and more.

MacRumors videographer Dan answers all of those questions and more in the video up above, so make sure to watch it. Have another question we didn't cover? Let us know in the comments.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

Nugget Avatar
25 months ago

The M-series MacBook Pros are so thick it's almost comical. I remember the first time I saw one I couldn't believe I was actually looking at the latest Mac laptop. They're as thick as the MacBooks Apple made in the early 2000s.
I know! it's great, isn't it?
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adamw Avatar
25 months ago
Thanks for this informative video, especially dealing with the SSD speed issue between the different models, so customers can buy the right one that they are happy with! Glad you were using the 1TB model, which do not exhibit the SSD slower issue that the 512GB MacBook Pro M2 Pro and 512GB MacBook Max M2 Max models seem to have.

This video may help explain the SSD speed issue for many MacBook Pro M2 Pro models. Very informative. He expresses the frustration that Pros and Creators feel with this nand SSD speed issue in a lighthearted video:

The MacBook M2 Pro SSD Downgrade/Issue? - I'm Frustrated:

Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wando64 Avatar
25 months ago

The M-series MacBook Pros are so thick it's almost comical. I remember the first time I saw one I couldn't believe I was actually looking at the latest Mac laptop. They're as thick as the MacBooks Apple made in the early 2000s.
I can only assume you were not yet born in the early 2000.
The iBook G3 and later the G4 where 3.4cm thick.
The 2006 MBP was 2.54cm thick.
The current model is 1.55cm
Even the 2020 MBP is thicker at 1.56cm
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IncreasinglyFrustrated Avatar
25 months ago

So tempted, but I need my Intel VM for things that have no ARM equivalent.
I ran into the same issue. Bought the M2 Max 12/38/96GB (just arrived this morning, woot!) and a 13900K/4090/256GB windows box (arrived 2 days ago). I added a monitor emulator to the win box, stuffed it in the closet, and now I can connect to it via Moonlight. Feels like the world's best version of VMWare.

Both machines together came out considerably less than what I paid for my iMac Pro 5 years ago.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
25 months ago
Thank you for posting a great video. Honest and transparent review! ??

Sometimes it's not just all about the performance and benchmarks. Basically, these are M1S Macbook Pros. Really wish Apple had released the M2 MacBook Pro 14" - 16" in (Midnight).
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macos9rules Avatar
25 months ago
It looks like an amazing laptop. I wonder if it's best to buy a refurbished M1 Pro/Max?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)