MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Max, 2023) vs MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021)
Quick look
| Figure | MacBook Pro M2 Max1 | MacBook Pro M1 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,7493launch price | £2,3994launch price |
| Chip | M2 Max5chip | M1 Prochip |
| CPU | 12-coreCPU | 10-coreCPU |
| GPU | 38-core5GPU | 16-coreGPU |
| Memory | 32GBunified memory, base | 16GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 1TBstorage, base | 512GBstorage, base |
| Battery life | Up to22 hrsvideo playback, claimed | Up to21 hrsvideo playback, claimed |
| Released | 24 January 20236ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 17 January 2023. | 26 October 20214ReleasedIn select Apple Stores; orderable online from 18 October 2021. |
| Security updates | Not available7Security updates | Not available8Security updates |
- Price
- The MacBook Pro M2 Max is £3,749 at launch, per Apple UK Store (archived 22 January 2023); the MacBook Pro M1 Pro is £2,399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
True to scale
Footprints from above, from Apple’s published dimensions, drawn to one scale and superposed. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
Each figure is from the source marked by its Mac’s name unless it carries its own small number, which links to where that figure was read.
Body
| Specification | MacBook Pro M2 Max1 | MacBook Pro M1 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 16.8 x 355.7 x 248.1 mm | 16.8 x 355.7 x 248.1 mm |
| Weight | 2.16 kg | 2.1 kg |
| Colours | Silver, Space Grey | Silver, Space Gray |
| Ports | Three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 port, 3.5mm headphone jack | Three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, MagSafe 3 port, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, 3.5 mm headphone jack |
| Thunderbolt ports | 3 | 3 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 4 |
| USB-A ports | No USB-A ports.9 | No USB-A ports.10 |
| HDMI | HDMI port | HDMI port |
| SD card slot | Yes | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| MagSafe | Yes | Yes |
| Keyboard | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID |
| Touch ID | Yes | Yes |
| Touch Bar | No Touch Bar.11 | No Touch Bar.12 |
Display
| Specification | MacBook Pro M2 Max1 | MacBook Pro M1 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | 16.2 in | 16.2 in |
| Resolution | 3456 x 2234 | 3456 x 2234 |
| Pixel density | 254 ppi | 254 ppi |
| Display type | Liquid Retina XDR display | Liquid Retina XDR display |
| Brightness | 500 nits | 500 nits |
| Peak brightness (HDR) | 1,600 nits | 1,600 nits |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Wide colour (P3) | Yes | Yes |
| Nano-texture option | No nano-texture display option.11 | No nano-texture display option.12 |
Chip and memory
| Specification | MacBook Pro M2 Max1 | MacBook Pro M1 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M2 Max chip5 | Apple M1 Pro chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 12 | 10 |
| Performance cores | 8 | 8 |
| Efficiency cores | 4 | 2 |
| GPU cores | 385 | 16 |
| Neural Engine cores | 16 | 16 |
| Chip options | M2 Max with 12-core CPU and 30-core GPU, or M2 Max with 12-core CPU and 38-core GPU | M1 Pro with 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU13 |
| Memory (base) | 32GB | 16GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 96GB | 32GB13 |
| Memory options | 32GB, 64GB or 96GB (96GB with 38-core GPU) | 16GB or 32GB13 |
| Memory upgradeable by user | No, as Apple documents14 | No, as Apple documents14 |
| Memory bandwidth | 400 GB/s | 200 GB/s |
| Storage (base) | 1TB | 512GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 8TB | 8TB13 |
| Storage options | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB13 |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginetwo video encode enginestwo ProRes encode and decode engines | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engine |
Battery and power
| Specification | MacBook Pro M2 Max1 | MacBook Pro M1 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery capacity | 100 Wh | 100 Wh |
| Rated charge cycles | 1,000 cycles15 | 1,000 cycles15 |
| Video playback (claimed) | 22 h | 21 h |
| Wireless web (claimed) | 15 h | 14 h |
| Included power adapter | 140 W | 140 W |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
Connectivity
| Specification | MacBook Pro M2 Max1 | MacBook Pro M1 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax) | 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.0 |
| Ethernet | No Ethernet port.11 | No Ethernet port.12 |
| External displays (base) | 4 | 2 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | MacBook Pro M2 Max1 | MacBook Pro M1 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | 1080p FaceTime HD camera | 1080p FaceTime HD camera |
| Speakers | High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers | High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers |
| Microphones | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming16 | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming |
Platform
| Specification | MacBook Pro M2 Max1 | MacBook Pro M1 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Shipped with | Not available17 | macOS Monterey18 |
| Newest macOS | macOS 27 Golden Gate19 | macOS 27 Golden Gate20 |
| Model identifier | Mac14,6, Mac14,1021 | MacBookPro18,1, MacBookPro18,222 |
| Model year | 2023 | 2021 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications ·
↩- ↩
Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils game-changing MacBook Pro ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Max, 2023): No USB-A ports.
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021): No USB-A ports.
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Max, 2023): No Touch Bar. No nano-texture display option. No Ethernet port.
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021): No Touch Bar. No nano-texture display option. No Ethernet port.
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils game-changing MacBook Pro ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model ·
↩
Not published by Apple
MacBook Pro M2 Max. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023) - Tech Specs; Identify your MacBook Pro model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max, read 9 Oct 2026.
MacBook Pro M1 Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart's only 16-inch (2021) M1 Pro entry lists 10 GPU cores, not the 16 this Mac has, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications, read 9 Oct 2026.
If you own one of them
Whether to move is a different question from which is better. Each Mac has a page on it: what its successor changes (the newest Mac in its line where Apple sells one, otherwise the Mac this site treats as its replacement, which can be in another line), what it fetches and whether it still gets updates. Should I upgrade my MacBook Pro M2 Max (16-inch, 2023)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Pro M1 Pro (16-inch, 2021)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.