Update: More M2 Max benchmarks have emerged, and they're even better than before.
The computing power of the supposedly upcoming MacBook Pro with M2 Pro may have just been exposed, thanks to a newly posted Geekbench 5 benchmark result shared by ShrimpApplePro on Twitter.
The entry for a "Mac14,6", perhaps referencing the new 14-inch MacBook Pro, contains an M2 Max chip within, rather than the M2 Pro chip we believe will come as standard. This Max chip contains a 12-core CPU (up from 8 cores in the basic Apple M2 chip) and a staggering 96GB of RAM, posting scores of 1,853 in the single-core test and 13,855 in the multi-core test.
The single-core result beats both the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max, Apple's most powerful current laptop, and the Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, the most powerful Apple M-series device overall. The alleged new MacBook's multi-core result bests the existing MacBook Pro too, even if it can't match up with the Ultra chip in the Studio.
MacBook Pro M2 Max vs M1 Max: Leaked benchmarks
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Geekbench 5 single-core score | Geekbench 5 multi-core score |
| MacBook Pro with M2 Max/96GB RAM(alleged) | 1,853 | 13,855 |
| 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max/64GB RAM | 1,781 | 12,683 |
| Mac Studio with M1 Ultra/128GB RAM | 1,794 | 24,215 |
More power is naturally a good thing for users who want a MacBook Pro for work purposes like image and video editing or music production. But having a 96GB RAM option will likely also prove useful to serious pro users, as it will improve the laptop's multitasking capabilities. Currently the max RAM in a MacBook is 64GB with an M1 Max chip, although Apple's desktops can still go higher. You can spec up to 128GB RAM in an M1 Ultra Mac Studio, while the Mac Pro can go up to 1.5TB of RAM.
As much as we expect to love the next generation of MacBook Pro laptops with upgraded M2 chips, it's likely we'll still end up recommending the less powerful MacBook Air M2 or 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 for average users. These machines are a fair bit cheaper than the current 14-inch MacBook Pro, while still offering plenty of power for everyday tasks.
We had thought the next-gen 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros may arrive at an event last month, similar to the time the M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pros arrived in 2021. While we did get a new 10.9-inch iPad and iPad Pro, there were no Macs to be seen, which now has us suspecting the new laptops will instead arrive at Apple's customary spring product launch next year. Hopefully, the most power-hungry laptop buyers can hold out until then.
