We’re a loyal Apple household with iPads, iPhones, an Apple Watch, and several computers. That loyalty developed over the years as our devices outlasted those owned by friends, family, and colleagues.
How many laptops last six, seven, or even eight years? How many desktop computers remain useful for a decade? When we divide the cost of a computer by the number of months it remains useful, the Apple computers we’ve owned cost less per month than similar Windows systems.
On June 20, 2023, I upgraded from an Intel-based MacBook Pro to a new M2 Max model.
The 15-inch Intel i7-based MacBook Pro remains useful. I passed it along to our oldest daughter, who will use it for middle school. I wouldn’t be surprised if the MBP lasts the three years of middle school. A computer purchased in 2018 could be chugging along in May of 2026. It’s already five years old; that’s sixty months of intense use for a system initially purchased for $4000, including AppleCare service coverage. The MBP met all my needs for $67/month and probably could for another year or two at least.
The new MacBook Pro M2 Max was $4238 with AppleCare. Though AppleCare is now $319 for three years, it’s an expense I wouldn’t skip. The computer itself was $3769 after the educational and AppleCard discounts. So, the computers had comparable prices. I expect to get five years or more out of this new system.
Comparing the Systems
The technical specifications of the two systems suggest how impressive the M2 Max might be. However, technical specs aren’t always the lived experiences of computer users.
| MacBook Pro 16 M2 Max | MacBook Pro 15 i7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Date Introduced | Jan 2023 | Jul 2018 |
| Processor Type | Apple M2 Max | Intel Core i7 |
| CPU Cores | 12 | 6 |
| Geekbench 4 MC | 43211 | 21264 |
| Geekbench 5 SC | 1964 | 989 |
| Geekbench 5 MC | 14660 | 4855 |
| Processor Speed | 3.68 GHz | 2.6 GHz |
| Turbo Boost | N/A | 4.3 GHz |
| Architecture | 64-Bit | 64-Bit |
| L1 Cache | 192k+128k x8, 128k+64k x4 | 32k/32k x6 |
| L2 Cache | 32 MB x8, 4 MB x4 | 256k x6, 9 MB |
| RAM Type | Unified LPDDR5 | DDR4 SDRAM |
| RAM Speed | 400GB/s | 2400 MHz |
| Standard RAM | 32 GB | 16 GB |
| Maximum RAM | 96 GB | 32 GB |
| Installed RAM | 64 GB | 32 GB |
| Video Card | 38-Core GPU | Radeon Pro 560X |
| VRAM Type | Integrated | GDDR5 |
| Standard VRAM | Integrated | 4 GB |
| Maximum VRAM | Integrated | 4 GB |
| Display | 16.2-inch, 16:10 ratio | 15.4-inch, Widescreen |
| Resolution | 3456×2234 | 2880×1800 |
| 2nd Max Res | 6016×3384 (6K) x3 | 5120×2880 x2 |
| Video Port | 3 (Thunderbolt 4/USB-C), 1 HDMI 2.1 | 4 (Thunderbolt 3/USB-C) |
| Standard SSD | 1 TB SSD | 512 GB SSD |
| Installed SSD | 2 TB | 2 TB |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6E) | 802.11ac |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.0 |
| USB/Thunderbolt | 3 (4.0) | 4 (3.1) |
| Expansion Slots | SDXC | None |
| Battery Type | 100 W h Li-Poly | 83.6 W h Li-Poly |
| Battery Life | 15-22 Hours | 6-10 Hours |
| Dimensions | 0.66 x 14.01 x 9.77 | 0.61 x 13.75 x 9.48 |
| Weight | 4.8 lbs (2.16 kg) | 4.02 lbs (1.83 kg) |
First Impressions: Heavy, Convenient, Fast
Surprisingly, my first thought was, “Wow, this is one heavy laptop!” The M2 Max is not quite a pound heavier, but that 20 percent extra weight makes a difference. The system is slightly thicker, wider, and deeper. All the little differences contribute to what I consider a significant weight gain. I’d probably prefer the 14-inch MacBook Pro if I had to carry this system. User reports suggest the 14-inch runs a bit slower and runs out of battery charge much sooner, so you make sacrifices for the more convenient travel size.
What struck me next was the screen. Though I had no complaints with the i7 model’s 15.4-inch screen, the M2’s 16.2-inch screen represents a stunning leap forward. The images are sharper, the colors deeper, and every on-screen motion looks better. Apple describes the 16.2-inch screen as a Liquid Retina display with ProMotion, supporting the P3 wide color gamut. The mini-LED backlighting helps the display achieve the best contrast I’ve seen on any laptop.
As a college instructor, I have to shout “Thank you!” for the HDMI 2.1 video port and the integrated SDXC card reader. About darn time Apple returned some convenience to the MacBook Pro line. It was annoying to carry a video dongle and card reader with me. (A tiny little USB-C adapter solves the problem of reading thumb drives students often use for projects.)
I’m glad Apple retains a dedicated headphone jack, too. Yes, the new speakers are good, but I edit audio and video while wearing high-end, over-the-ear headphones. I have USB “gaming” headphones, but they’re more for convenience than sound quality.
Also, MagSafe is back! In a house with kids and cats, my power cords get unplugged far too often. Thankfully, the Thunderbolt/USB charging of the 15-inch i7 MacBook Pro was forgiving enough to come unplugged without taking the laptop down to the floor. In a house with hardwood and tile floors, that would have been disastrous.
Because my computers travel and get jostled about, hard shells from Mosiso protect the MacBook Pros. My daughter has a new rose quartz shell; I have again opted for a red wine shell. The shells come with keyboard and screen protectors, as well.
I highly recommend a keyboard skin. The MacBook Pro keys get oily smears. The trackpad does, too, but the smears particularly annoy me on the keys. I like the “grip” of the skins; it’s a personal quirk. The skins hold my fingers in place much better than the naked keys do.
Most of my computer use involves typing, and one thing I disliked about the 15-inch i7 was its keyboard. The infamous butterfly keys had little travel, no tactile feedback, and often repeated keystrokes. After only a week, I cannot testify to the reliability of the M2’s keyboard, but it feels like the best keyboard I’ve used since my 12-inch PowerBook. I really loved the PowerBook keyboard; this keyboard might be better than that classic design. The keys travel, with a noticeable “pop” as the switches trigger. It seems like I’m typing faster and making fewer corrections.
Finally, there’s the speed.
Specs rarely suggest what a real-world workflow might be. Yes, the Apple M2 Max has a nearly 1000-point better Geekbench single-thread score and a 10,000-point leap in multicore performance over the Intel i7, but does real work in audio and video production live up to the hype?
Yes, the M2 Max lives up to the Apple marketing hype.
When I processed audio files for podcasts on the 15-inch i7, a one-hour recording was taking 40 minutes to filter and refine using an automated Adobe Audition workflow. This weekend, I processed four sets of audio files, each with two, one-hour-long tracks. Each workflow completed its audio processing in less than 15 seconds.
I’m not paid as a podcast producer, but if you’re a professional and time is money, cutting 40 minutes down to 30 seconds makes the M2 Max a clear winner.
The raw audio is generally recorded via Zoom, Zencstr, or Descript. Sometimes, I record in-person with a Zoom H4n digital recorder with the highest possible settings. (Zoom is not the video conferencing tool, but the audio hardware company.)
The audio process: normalize to -3 dB, apply the speech volume leveler, match the loudness to the “ITU-R BS.1770-3” standard, and apply a noise gate to remove some minor sounds. A few additional fine-tuning steps are applied before exporting the final audio as lossless WAV files.
The first time I processed audio on the M2 Max, I exported the same file two times. I didn’t believe the WAV file had been processed properly and exported.
I cannot explain why the audio workflow tests were consistently 70-80 times faster on the M2 Max, but they were. This speed will save me at least two hours per podcast episode.
Then, there’s video processing. Exporting animations from Adobe After Effects leaps ahead on the M2 Max. I cannot compare the speeds properly because I used to walk away from the i7 while it chugged along, fans at full speed. I know it could take at least two hours to generate a 30-minute animation segment with many keyframes. On the M2 Max? Rendering and exporting are almost 1:1, with a test project taking slightly less time to render and export than the length of the final video.
Assuming 30-minute videos require 30 minutes instead of two hours to render and export, that’s a sixth of the time. I’m still trying to process that performance difference. Though the M2 Max MacBook Pro isn’t going to beat the performance of a dedicated Intel-based desktop with the best video card, it’s no slouch.
I conducted some video tests while running on battery power, with a 70 percent charge. The charge dropped to 65 percent after nearly two hours of creating animation sequences.
Great Value for Content Producers
The MacBook Pro M2 Max is not for everyone. If anything, it’s a horrible choice for 95 percent of laptop buyers. If you spend time typing documents and crunching spreadsheets, with the occasional slide presentation, the MacBook Pro M2 Max is a ludicrous choice. Even the M2 Pro is likely overkill for most users.
I’d recommend a MacBook Air to most of my students. For $1300, a student can buy a good 13-inch M2 MacBook Air. As a bonus, there are actual color choices beyond two shades of gray.
The 16.2-inch MacBook Pro M2 Max meets the needs of media content producers, especially those working with audio and video. Even running on battery for several hours, the M2 Max performs well. I’ve yet to hear the cooling fans of the M2 Max. I worked with the system on my lap and it was never too hot to handle.
The M2 Max is not going to beat a $10,000 Windows workstation on any benchmark. It’s unlikely to beat a $7,000 PC carefully pieced together for video editing. As long as you’re not going on the road and have access to a wall outlet, and you have an extra $3000 or so, I’d go with a Windows desktop system for media work.
However, no Windows-based laptop can run entirely on battery for 20 hours (or more) while editing media projects.
A comparable Windows laptop might be the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 18, which costs $4000, with less RAM than the MacBook Pro and a screen that doesn’t impress me, despite its specs. The combination of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU and Intel i9-13980HX CPU offers impressive capabilities. Sadly, the ASUS feels “cheap” with a plastic case.
The ASUS weighs almost 7 pounds! You’ll need the power supply since it chews through battery time. The power brick weighs as much as a MacBook Air. So much for my complaints about 4.8 pounds. Plus, the ASUS runs less than 10 hours on battery. In battery mode, the performance is also reduced significantly, so you do not want to edit video on the road.
Read the PC Magazine review, for another (and equally disappointed) perspective on the ASUS ROG Strix series. I don’t want to be lugging around 10 pounds (a high-end Windows laptop and power brick) to have slightly better performance and it seems I’m not alone.
The MacBook Pro M2 Max makes sense for me. It should still make sense in four or five years.