Apple MacBook pro M2 16in review: Identical looks but unrivalled power

Design and display

There’s no difference, literally none, to the way the new MacBook pro looks, compared with the M1 models that launched in late 2021. This is no bad thing, as the aluminium casing (with its flat lid and base) caused a stir when first released, and it looks just as inviting now.

It’s worth noting Apple has stuck with the connectivity options it introduced, or re-introduced, on the 2021 MacBook pro models. That’s important, because it was a big step up from what had gone before. There was the return of the SD card slot beloved by creatives, especially photographers; the return of an HDMI socket and, most enjoyably, the return of MagSafe. The latter is the magnetic power connector that Apple invented, and it is sublime. It’s fast and, best of all, it means if anyone trips on your power cable, it’ll harmlessly detach rather than sending your machine flying.

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The words MacBook pro don’t any longer appear at the base of the display. Since 2021, they’ve moved to the underside of the case, where they’re stencilled in. After all, you know which kind of Mac you bought, don’t you?

Removing the wording helps give the impression the screen is bigger, too. Which it is. Just as with the 2021 model, the display squeaks right out into the corners of the laptop, with a much slimmer bezel around the screen. So much slimmer, in fact, there’s no room for the front-facing camera, so the display has a small cut-out to accommodate it. It’s not intrusive, because it’s where the menu bar sits, so you barely notice it’s there.

Not least because the screen itself is so immersive. It’s a high-resolution panel and very bright, helped along by the LCD screen, which has miniLED backlights that make the images shine, especially for video playback with HDR content, for instance.

The keyboard is what Apple calls the magic keyboard. Though there’s no discernible wizardry involved, it remains the most effective keyboard I’ve ever used. The keys have stability and are gently grooved, so your digits find them easily. There’s also great travel, so they feel sumptuously comfortable under-finger. The trackpad is big, again making it easier to use, with taps and strokes navigating you easily across a document or web page.

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At the sides of the display are large speakers. These sound unbelievable, especially if you’re listening to spatial audio content, which offers sound that almost seems to envelop you, adding a real immersive quality.

Like other Mac laptops, this is a beautifully crafted gadget that has a balanced, thoughtful feel to it. All these elements came with the last MacBook pro and are rightly retained here.

Performance

While the outside remains the same, the internals do not. The big update is the processor, and you get to choose, again, between a pro and a max option. A regular Mac such as the MacBook air is powerful, so you might argue that even the pro is overkill. That’s not quite how it works, though, because the pro models have added stamina, enabling power-hungry applications to run for longer. Part of the success of the pro range is that it, unlike the air, includes a fan that can cool things down when extreme performance requires it.

In testing this laptop, I have not heard the fan spin into life, so power-efficient is the processor. No matter how many programs were open, I could flip between them instantaneously, push each of them hard, and still find there was enough headroom that the MacBook pro performed in perfect silence.

Performance levels on this laptop are off the scale – and that’s for the M2 pro, not the even faster M2 max. But while it’s true these machines are built so the most demanding pros are never disappointed, there are still benefits to be had for the rest of us. Not only does everything happen at speed, with no lag, no dawdle, but the power of the MacBook pro means there’s enough headroom that your future needs are almost certainly catered for as well.

The laptop’s power is also reflected in the battery life – now up to 22 hours on the 16in MacBook pro, with no drop in performance when it’s working on battery rather than the mains.

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The 22 hours refers to video playback time but, even for regular use, this laptop goes on and on. So much so, you rarely need to think of plugging it in – it’s more like a smartphone that you would charge nightly, rather than while you’re using it. Which is a breakthrough in itself.

It changes your approach to the Mac, so you feel completely confident leaving your power brick and charging cable behind, even if you’re going to be out all day. This is something that most computers could not handle even a few years ago, and it offers a real sense of freedom. Again, it’s down to the efficient power management of the processor.

There’s also compatibility with wifi 6E, a faster standard that can speed-up connectivity. You need the right router, though, and these are not yet widespread. Think of this as future-proofing.