Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M2 Max, 2023) out-of-the-box measurement: It’s time to upgrade if you stick to Intel

Apple opened the prelude to 2023 with two enhanced versions of the second-generation Apple Silicon self-developed chips, M2 Pro and M2 Max. At the same time, it updated the two items of Mac Mini and MacBook Pro. The former has already evaluated the basic version. Everyone brings high-end laptop models. After the evaluation, especially the editor who is still stuck on the old Intel chip machine, I really don’t want to return the borrowed machine, because the upgrade from generation to generation is really impressive.However, after this article is published, the machine will print

Exterior

Although the current appearance of the MacBook Pro is updated when the M1 Pro / M1 Max version is launched in 2021, for the editor, this is the first time for an MBP that has used this design for a long time. The 14-inch M2 Max MBP is replaced with a notch screen and a built-in 1080p FaceTime camera. It looks like an iPhone, and there is an illusion of a very high screen-to-body ratio. This Liquid Retina XDR screen has bright colors and supports 120Hz adaptive ProMotion display. Users who use the iPhone Pro will feel equally comfortable.

The new body is boxier and slightly thicker than the full USB-C MBP 15, but that’s fine. The weight of the 14-inch version tested is 200g lighter than the 15-inch version I am using, and the battery life is sufficient, so there is no need to bring a charger, so the sum cannot be underestimated. For the editor who often puts the laptop in the backpack and takes it out, the pressure on the lower back has also been greatly reduced in the past few days.

Apple went too far in the past, leaving only the USB-C port on the MacBook Pro. As a result, it was “bleeding from seven holes”. The editor also spent a lot of money to buy a USB-C adapter. The new MBP finally makes up for the “seven holes”: 3 sets of USB-C Thunderbolt 4, 3.5mm headphone jacks, bringing back full-size HDMI and SDXC card readers, and the long-lost MagSafe 3 magnetic charger, which supports up to 140W charging ( charge half an hour). It’s just that after the baptism of the USB-C chaos, I’m used to it, and I feel that the USB-C charger is relatively easy to obtain, but there is only one exclusive MagSafe 3 cable. In any case, it is better to have a choice.

The HDMI port of the MacBook Pro is not as complicated as that of the Mac Mini, and it can support 8K/60p or 4K/240p output anyway. In addition, it is also compatible with WiFi 6E, so that consumers can also use the device when upgrading the router. The SDXC card reader supports the UHS-II standard, so that professional users who use high-end SLR cameras can avoid the need to buy and bring a card reader, and the built-in sufficient I/O is convenient.

Keyboard fighters are like Xiaobian, the feel of the keyboard is very important. The butterfly keyboard of the Intel version of the MBP is another original sin after USB-C, which is neither easy to use nor prone to failure. Therefore, Apple later changed to a new generation of scissor keyboard called Magic Keyboard. In addition, the Apple Silicon model no longer has a Touch Bar design, and replaced it with the traditional style of function keys, so that the resilience, key travel, and keyboard experience all returned to normal. usable level.

hardware specification

The M2 Max chip, 64GB unified memory MacBook Pro 14-inch is borrowed and tested, and the price is HK$27,499, which is much more expensive than the 2019 MacBook Pro 15-inch top configuration (i9 + independent display) that I bought at my own expense. But everyone can’t take the time machine to go back first, and the second is that this time the upgrade is really impressive, so that the users who have ruthlessly sprayed nearly 30,000 Hong Kong dollars will only feel distressed, but will not regret it.

Taking the editor’s work habits as an example, one of the most demanding links is exporting videos. It only takes 1 minute and 40 seconds to export a 4K video of 5 minutes and 49 seconds on the M2 Max MBP 14, but at this time the i9 + Radeon Pro 560X independent display MBP is still halfway, and it finally took 4 minutes and 22 seconds to complete. For other purposes such as opening a large number of Google Chrome browser tabs and playing 4K videos at the same time, the M2 Max MBP is of course easy and stress-free.

But the most surprising thing is that under this series of stress tests, the cooling fans of the M2 Max MBP are very quiet, and the machine does not heat up particularly. On the other hand, when the Intel version of the MBP just turns on the screen, there will be hot air blowing out from the back. I think it is finally broken and I can replace it with a new one (this is the saying: there is a kind of badness that you think is broken).

The following records the running scores of the M2 Max MacBook Pro:

Summarize

Many people have a myth about technology products that need to be upgraded every generation, especially computers, which really don’t need to be replaced every year like mobile phones (in fact, mobile phones don’t really need it?). It’s just that the upgrade of the M2 Max chip this time, coupled with the remodeling of the MacBook Pro, for the editor, who has continued experience and follow-up at any rate, can also experience a real improvement. Especially for everyone who still holds the Intel version and suffers from the butterfly keyboard, the editor understands you very well, and I also suggest that you can upgrade with confidence when you have spare energy.