Even so, there are some meaningful differences between the M2 MacBook Pro and the 14- and 16-inch models that are worth highlighting, including design, chip options, battery life, and display brightness.
The 13-inch and 14-inch MacBook Pro are very similar in size, so the dimensions of these two machines should not heavily influence your decision.Instead, you may wish to consider that the 13-inch MacBook Pro features a much older design with a tapered look, compared to the rounder appearance of the high-end models.
The high-end MacBook Pro's design has since spread to the M2 MacBook Air and offers a more modern look, while the 13-inch MacBook Pro uses a design from 2016.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro features the Touch Bar, while the 14- and 16-inch models simply have full-sized function keys.The entry-level MacBook Pro's display is exactly 13.3 inches in size, which is considerably smaller than the 14.2 inches and 16.2 inches of the high-end models.While the notch containing the webcam does eat into the display space very slightly, both high-end MacBook Pro displays are larger than previous models, so there is still more display area overall.
The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models also have ProMotion displays, allowing them to vary their refresh rate up to 120Hz.
It will be worth getting the high-end MacBook Pro models for viewing and editing HDR content, as well as watching high-framerate video such as sports.The 13-inch MacBook Pro has the M2 chip, while with the 14-inch and 16-inch models, you can choose between the M1 Pro or M1 Max chip.The high-end MacBook Pro has a considerably better 1080p webcam compared to the 13-inch model's 720p camera.With the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, Apple completely redesigned its speakers with a new six-speaker system that supports spatial audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos.
Both speaker setups are very capable for a laptop, but if you rely heavily on the built-in speakers, you will have a better experience with the high-end MacBook Pro models.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro offers three extra hours of battery life over the 14-inch MacBook Pro, but one hour less than the 16-inch MacBook Pro.One the other hand, the 14-inch MacBook Pro can deliver 17 hours of battery life and the 16-inch model can deliver 21 hours of battery life.
The high-end MacBook Pros feature MagSafe 3 for easily connecting and disconnecting the charging cable from the machine using magnets.The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros are also capable of fast charging.
These high-end MacBook Pros are not targeted at everyday consumers, being clearly tailored to creatives and professionals who rely heavily on the capabilities of their machines.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999, which is $700 more than the $1,299 starting price of the 13-inch MacBook Pro.