Spoiler alert: the results are unsurprising, but I’ll let our charts just below show you that. Alongside this, we’ll compare these results to the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro and the M2 MacBook Air too, so you’ve got some context of where these lie.
M2 Max drinks your milkshake
With the M1 Pro and M1 Max 14-inch MacBook Pros, everyone noticed one thing — the Max is a thirsty chip. It’s no different this time round, as you’re seeing over an hour less battery life for the M2 Max model compared to the M2 Pro (give or take a few minutes extra for the M1 Pro machine). Unsurprisingly, given the more even balance between performance and efficiency cores, the 13-inch MacBooks far outlast this with the bigger battery in the 13-inch Pro giving you well over 18 hours. But with what you can do on the beastier pros, it’s always surprising to see just how long they last. It’s a bit hyperbolic to say this, but they really are in a league of their own.
Outlook
It comes as no surprise that the far more power hungry M2 Max is going to drain that battery faster than the M2 Pro. The additional cores soak up some more of that juice, so if you’re keen to “go pro,” but care a lot about the battery, the M2 Max may not be the right choice for you. If battery is the sole deciding factor for an Apple laptop, the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro is still the clear champion with 18 hours and 20 minutes of worry-free stamina on one charge. But with nearly 13 hours out of the M2 Max and over 14 hours out of the M2 Pro, the beefy systems are not as bad as you may have imagined.
