Apple launches new MacBook Pro, Mac Mini and chips

The tech giant has delivered what it claims to be the world’s most powerful and efficient chip in its new MacBook range.

Apple has launched its latest MacBook Pro featuring a new and improved M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, which the technology giant promises are up to 40 per cent faster with improved machine learning tasks including image processing and video analysis.

The new range, announced overnight, includes a 14 inch and 16 inch model, which boast a number of new features designed to be used in the fields of media production to science and mobile app development.

Some of the most impressive features include a battery which can last 22 hours on a single charge, the support of Wi-Fi 6E which is twice as fast as previous models and has advanced HDMI to support 8K displays.

The device also includes a liquid retina XDR display, it supports FaceTime HD at 1080p, includes a six-speaker sound system and what Apple has described as “studio-quality” microphones.

The new MacBook Pro. Picture: Supplied

The new range include Apple’s Silicon processor rather than an Intel processor, a move Apple marketing vice president Greg Joswiak described as a “game changer”.

“Today, the MacBook Pro gets even better. With faster performance, enhanced connectivity, and the longest battery life ever in a Mac, along with the best display in a laptop, there’s simply nothing else like it,” he said.

Like most consumer electronics manufacturers, Apple has this time brought in the use of recycled materials with 100 per cent recycled aluminium in the enclosure, gold-plated printed circuit boards and tin in the solder used on circuit boards. It also features 35 per cent or more recycled plastic in multiple components.

The packaging is also more sustainable, utilising 97 per cent fibre-based materials rather than plastic, part of a goal to remove plastic packaging by 2025.

Apple, led by Tim Cook, also announced the release of a new and improved Mac Mini which, much like the new MacBook Pro, can be purchased with the new M2 Pro chip but not the M2 Max.

The addition of the M2 chip to the Mac Mini has increased image editing in Adobe Photoshop by up to 50 per cent, according to Apple.

The Mac Mini with the M2 includes an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, up to 24GB of unified memory and 100GB/s of bandwidth. Meanwhile, the M2 Pro version includes a 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU, 32GB of unified memory and double the bandwidth at 200GB/s.

The new Mac mini from Apple. Picture: Supplied

The M2 Max chip, available in the MacBook Pro, features an impressive 38-core GPU, up to 96GB of unified memory and 400GB/s of unified memory bandwidth. Apple claims it’s the “most powerful and efficient chip for a pro laptop”.

Both the MacBook Pro and Mac mini are available to order from Wednesday and would start to arrive in stores and at customer’s addresses by February 3. The pricing begins at $2,959 and ranges up to $3999 for the laptop and from $999 for the mini.