- Despite the new M2, the M1 Pro is still superior, as it supports 32GB of memory and has up to four more processing cores.
- There are elements that the M2 is better at, such as having 4 “blizzard” cores and a quicker CPU clock speed.
- M1 Pro/Max/Ultra are better for professionals and businesses; M2 is great for consumers.
Comparing the M2 to the M1 Pro
We’ve already covered how the new M2 chip differs from the standard M1, but now it’s time to compare the M2 to the M1 Pro.
| M2 Chip | M1 Pro Chip |
| Made with TSMC’s enhanced 5nm process (N5P) | Made using TSMC’s 5nm process (N5) |
| 20 billion transistors | 33.7 billion transistors |
| C4 high-performance “Avalanche” cores | Up to 8 high-performance “Firestorm” cores |
| 4 energy-efficient “Blizzard” cores | 2 energy-efficient “Icestorm” cores |
| 3.49GHz CPU clock speed | 3.2GHz CPU clock speed |
| CPU cores first seen in the iPhone 13 lineup’s A15 Bionic chip | CPU cores first seen in the iPhone 12 lineup’s A14 Bionic chip |
| 10-core GPU | Up to 16-core GPU |
| Support for 8GB, 16GB, or 24GB unified memory | Support for 16GB or 32GB unified memory |
| 100GB/s memory bandwidth | 204GB/s memory bandwidth |
They both have a Neural Engine, a media engine for hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and a ProRes RAW, higher-bandwidth video decode engine so there’s nothing to sing about there.
The benefits for your business
The M1 Pro beats the M2 across the board.
While the M2 is a more modern chip, the M1 Pro is still more powerful due to its size. The M1 Pro remains a powerful processor for professionals with intensive workloads thanks to its increased transistor count, performance CPU cores, GPU cores, unified memory size, and memory bandwidth.
The M2 is a consumer-focused processor designed to provide exceptional performance for common applications while maintaining low temperatures and long battery life.
Struggling to choose? Book a call with our team now to discuss which Mac is right for your business.
