Video Comparison: M2 MacBook Pro vs. M1 MacBook Pro

The first Mac to feature an updated M2 chip is an updated version of the MacBook Pro. We thought we'd compare the M2 MacBook Pro to the M1 MacBook Pro to see what's new, as it's using a brand new chip.

For the video comparison, we're using the entry-level 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro with 8 gigabytes of unified memory and a 512 gigabytes of solid state drive, and the entry-level 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro with 8 gigabytes of unified memory and a 128 gigabytes of solid state

The design is the same as before with the update limited to the internal chips. The MacBook Pro doesn't have a MagSafe port, it still has a Touch Bar, and it uses the same design as before.

The M2 chip in the MacBook Pro has an 8-coreCPU, 10-coreGPU, and support for up to 24GB unified memory, while the M1 chip has an 8-coreCPU, 8-coreGPU, and up to 16GB unified memory. It's a good idea to go up to at least 16GB for improved performance if you want the base machine to ship with 8GB.

The M2 beats out the M1 in terms of performance. A single-core Geekbench score can be up to 12 percent faster than the M1 and a multi-core score can be up to 20 percent higher. There was an eight percent improvement in single-core performance and a 12 percent improvement in multi-core performance in our tests.

The M2 is more powerful than the M1 because it has two more cores. The Geekbench metal scores were 35 percent better with the M2 than with the M1.

Video export times were the same for a basic timeline and improved on the M2 when adding more effects.

There has been some debate over the performance of the MacBook Pro, which has seen slower speeds on disk speed tests. The M2 MacBook Pro had a single chip, while the M1 had two. The M1 MacBook Pro's memory is larger than the M2 MacBook Pro's because of multiple chips. The issue is limited to the 512GB models and not the other way around.

Slow overall performance speeds are something to be aware of when using a machine with just 8 gigabytes of memory. We did some real-world tests transferring large files and did see faster speeds on the M2 but other performance testing like Max Tech have had different results and have seen performance hits on the M2 compared to the M1

If you're going to get the M2 MacBook Pro, it's a good idea to upgrade the SSD to 512GB and pick up more memory because it's not possible to upgrade later. The base model is the subject of controversy, so those considering the machine might want to wait for the M2 MacBook Air.

If you want to watch our full comparison of the M1 MacBook Pro and the M2 MacBook Pro, you can do it above. Are you a fan of the M2 MacBook Pro? We would love to hear what you think in the comments.