New M2 13-inch MacBook Pro teardown shows it's just the old one in disguise

M2 Macbook Pro 13 Inch Hero (Image credit: Gerald Lynch / iMore)

What you need to know

The new M2 13-inch MacBook Pro has been given the iFixit teardown treatment.
Apple's new MacBook Pro looks very similar to the outgoing M1 version when taken apart.
People wanting something new should probably wait for the MacBook Air next month.

Apple's new M2 13-inch MacBook Pro is now on sale and people are doing what they tend to do with new things — they're taking the machine apart. The latest to take a screwdriver to Apple's new notebook is iFixit, and the result is further confirmation that this is essentially the M1 model but with some small tweaks and a new CPU.

The Apple M2 13-inch MacBook Pro has already proven to be a controversial release thanks to performance issues caused by odd SSD decisions, but what's it like in terms of taking it apart? iFixit confirms that the process for doing so is identical to that of the older M1 MacBook Pro, with the machines even carrying the same model number and overall construction.

Inside, it's much the same story. The hardware cooling the new M2 chip is effectively identical to the one that is in the M1 version bar what appears to be a slight cosmetic change. That might explain why new throttling issues are already being reported, but we still need more data to know for sure.

iFixit tried swapping an M2 chip into an old M1 MacBook Pro and found that it wouldn't work, as expected, but it appears that's all down to software locks applied to the trackpad of all things. In fact, iFixit believes that this machine could be one that allows for various parts to be easily replaced — if it wasn't for those software locks. It'll be interesting to see if the new 13-inch MacBook Pro is added to Apple's at-home repair program in the future.

Overall, in some ways, this is the best Mac that most people can buy right now thanks to that M2 chip, but the rest of the build is disappointing for all kinds of reasons. This video further confirms that people who don't want the Pro name should probably wait for the new M2 MacBook Air to arrive next month instead.

If reports are correct, that'll happen on July 15.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.