Forget The New MacBook Pro, Apple Has Something Much Better

Updated May 15th: article originally posted May 13th.

Apple’s MacBook Air is a great all-round consumer laptop, and its Apple Silicon chipset offers more power than the equivalent Intel-based model could ever off. For those looking for a touch more power on a budget, the only choice is the curiously awkward 13-inch MacBook Pro.

Now there’s another option, and it will make you forget about the smallest MacBook Pro if you want a balance of budget and performance.

Detail of a 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro laptop computer (with M1 chip), taken on January 20, 2021. ... [+] (Photo by Phil Barker/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Update: Monday May 15th. It’s important to remember that Apple Silicon has lifted the bar on what the MacBook range can do. The MacBook Air has the power needed for consumers to unlock a huge amount of potential from multimedia editing through app development, and beyond. If Apple follows its existing conventions, the next generation of MacBook Air will be the first to sport the M3 chipset; a chipset that lifts the specs high water mark once more. Omar Moharram reports:

“The M3 chip and its derivatives will be built on a new 3-nanometer manufacturing process, which allows Apple to build denser chips that pack extra CPU and GPU cores. Gurman expects the first M3-based Macs to be unveiled by the end of this year or in early 2024. A new 24-inch iMac alongside updated MacBook Air and entry-level MacBook Pro are all expected to feature the M3 chip.

It’s worth noting that the M1 Pro chipset is configured in such a way that it outperformed the M2. It would be fair to assume that the M2 Pro will offer more power than the M2, and if that’s the case, finding more power while on a budget will have a winner… and it won’t be the new MacBook Air.

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 06: Brand new redesigned MacBook Air laptops are displayed during the ... [+] WWDC22 at Apple Park on June 06, 2022 in Cupertino, California. Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off the annual WWDC22 developer conference. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Apple Silicon powered 13-inch MacBook Pro was launched in 2020, alongside the similarly specced MacBook Air and mac Mini. The latter offered the M1 chipset for developers and those looking to start with Apple Silicon on the desktop. The former was the key consumer offering of a macOS laptop and remains its audience today.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro? Launching it felt like replicating the Intel portfolio in ARM, so nobody was scared away - but the key Pro advantage over the Air was the power differential. Yet Apple Silicon offers a significant power advantage, and the MacBook Air - first with M1 and now with M2 - is more than competent for consumers.

If power was your true calling, you were going for the newly launched M1 Pro and M1 Pro Max MacBook Pro laptops. If budget were key, then the MacBook Air would be more than sufficient.

Let’s assume there is a slight market for a ‘slightly more expensive and slightly more powerful’ macOS laptop. Apple is now offering a far more attractive balance of price and power.

Apple is now offering the M2 Pro and M2 Pro Max versions of the larger MacBook Pros in its refurbished stores for a significant discount, initially in the US, but expect this to expand to several key countries, including the UK, over the summer.

Broadly speaking Apple’s refurbished equipment carry a ten to twenty percent discount, but prices can vary. Stock levels on these laptops will be variable, so if you have a specific model and spec choice, keep checking back if it’s not immediately available.

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