A laptop that looks exactly like the one released two years earlier has arrived again, and the reviewer treats its sameness as a kind of virtue. Apple has chosen refinement over reinvention, keeping a design that restored useful ports and a loved keyboard, and adding a faster chip and a newer HDMI standard. For those coming from older machines the change is substantial, while for those already holding the 2021 model the wise choice may be patience.
Apple's 2023 MacBook Pro Refines a Near-Perfect Laptop With a Meaningful Performance Boost
Apple doesn't reinvent the wheel — it iterates on what may be the best laptop ever
Mark
So what actually changed from the 2021 model?
Mimi
Mostly the chip. The M2 Pro has more CPU and GPU cores, and the HDMI port moved from 2.0 to 2.1. The design, keyboard, touchpad, speakers and display are the same.
Mark
And the reviewer thinks that's fine?
Mimi
He does. His point is that the 2021 design was already excellent, so leaving it alone is a feature.
Luke
Worth noting this is one reviewer's opinion, and he tested one configuration, the 14-inch with M2 Pro and 32GB of RAM. The M2 Max wasn't tested.
Mark
What about the performance claims?
Mimi
He gives Geekbench 5 and Cinebench R23 scores and says they're a marked improvement over the M1 Pro model BGR reviewed before.
Luke
But the review doesn't print the M1 Pro numbers next to them, so we can't see the size of the gain. 'Meaningful' is his word, not a measured percentage.
Mark
Battery?
Mimi
Roughly on par with last generation. Over 40 percent left after an eight-hour heavy day, over 50 with lighter use.
Luke
Those are his own usage patterns, not a standardized test. Treat them as one person's experience.
Mark
So who should buy it?
Mimi
People coming from older laptops. 2021 owners can skip it, and the review says most people would do fine with an M2 MacBook Air.
Der Puls
- A familiar silhouette returns, and the question hanging over it is whether anything has truly changed.
- The M2 Pro chip hums through editing and multitasking without a stutter, its fans silent until benchmarks force them awake.
- Battery life holds steady through a full workday, refusing to pay the price for all that new speed.
- Buyers stand at a crossroads: 2021 owners can stay put, older-laptop users will leap forward, and the lighter Air waits as a tempting alternative.
A laptop that looks exactly like the one released two years earlier has arrived again, and the reviewer treats its sameness as a kind of virtue. Apple has chosen refinement over reinvention, keeping a design that restored useful ports and a loved keyboard, and adding a faster chip and a newer HDMI standard. For those coming from older machines the change is substantial, while for those already holding the 2021 model the wise choice may be patience.
BGR's reviewer, Christian de Looper, picked up a silver 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 Pro chip and 32GB of RAM, and he found it looks almost identical to the model Apple released two years earlier. He counts that sameness in its favor. The 2021 redesign had turned Apple away from obsessing over thinness and brought back ports and an excellent keyboard, and this refresh does not try to reinvent any of it.
Almost everything carries over: the notch, the keyboard with its distinct click, the touchpad he calls the best on any laptop, the six-speaker system, and the Mini-LED display at 120Hz. The one visible change is the HDMI port, now upgraded to 2.1. The performance is where the new machine pulls ahead. The M2 Pro handled video editing, audio work, and everyday tasks without a hitch, and its benchmark scores marked a clear gain over the M1 Pro, though they still trail the M1 Ultra Mac Studio.
Battery life did not give ground to that speed. Under heavy use, the reviewer still had over 40 percent left after a workday. His advice is divided: owners of 2021 models have no reason to rush, anyone upgrading from something older will feel a big step up, and most buyers may be better served by the lighter M2 MacBook Air. For those who need heavier power, his verdict is a plain yes, earning the laptop 4.5 stars with price as its only listed drawback.
The unit BGR reviewed is a Silver 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 Pro chip and 32GB of RAM, priced at $1,949 on Amazon. It looks identical to the model Apple released two years earlier, and the reviewer, Christian de Looper, treats that as a point in its favor.
The 2021 MacBook Pro, in the review's telling, changed how Apple approached laptops. It dropped the habit of putting thinness and minimalism above everything else, and brought back useful ports and an excellent keyboard. The 2023 refresh is less dramatic. BGR's argument is that Apple is iterating on what may be the best laptop ever released rather than reinventing it. The verdict: 4.5 stars, with the one listed con being the price.
The design and hardware carry over almost entirely. The laptop comes in Silver and Space Gray. On the left side are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a headphone jack, and a MagSafe charging port; the Thunderbolt ports can also charge the machine, which is useful with a dock. On the right are an SD card slot, a third Thunderbolt 4 port, and an HDMI port. That port is the one visible change, upgraded from HDMI 2.0 to HDMI 2.1. The notch in the display remains, and the reviewer, after more than a year with notched laptops, says he doesn't mind it, though he wishes it came with Face ID.
The keyboard and touchpad are unchanged as well. The keyboard has good travel and a distinct click, and a Touch ID sensor sits at the top right. The reviewer calls the touchpad the best on any laptop, large, responsive and precise, and notes that others have come close but Apple keeps its lead. The six-speaker system also carries over, with more bass and high-end clarity than most laptops, though good headphones or external speakers will still sound better.
The display is a Mini-LED panel at 3024 x 1964 resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate. BGR describes it as crisp and smooth, bright enough for outdoor use, with color reproduction suited to photo and video editing. The 1080p webcam is fine for video calls, though anyone live-streaming or recording media professionally is advised to buy an external one.
Performance is where the 2023 model differs from the 2021. Apple introduced the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips this cycle, both with more CPU and GPU cores than their predecessors. The reviewer tested the M2 Pro, arguing most people don't need the M2 Max. He used it for basic video editing, audio production, email and word processing, and reports never hitting a stutter or skip. The fans only spun up during benchmarking. The scores were 1955 single-core and 14906 multi-core on Geekbench 5, and 1616 single-core and 14690 multi-core on Cinebench R23 CPU. That is a marked improvement over the M1 Pro MacBook Pro BGR reviewed earlier, though short of the M1 Ultra Mac Studio.
Battery life did not suffer for the extra speed. It appears roughly on par with the previous generation. Under heavy workloads and high screen brightness, the reviewer finished an eight-hour workday with more than 40 percent left, and with lighter use and lower brightness, more than 50 percent.
The buying advice is split. Owners of a 2021 model have no need to upgrade. Anyone coming from something older gets a big step up. BGR also says most buyers would be better served by the M2 MacBook Air, which is thinner and lighter and still offers strong performance and battery life. For those who need to handle heavier workloads, the review's answer to whether to buy the MacBook Pro is a flat yes.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
You don't need the 2023 model if you own a 2021 one, but coming from anything older it is a huge upgrade.— Christian de Looper, BGR (paraphrased)
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