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Apple M2

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Apple M2
Information
Type System on a chip
Developer Apple
Operating System macOS, iPadOS, visionOS
Devices MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, Mac mini, iPad Air, Apple Vision Pro (2024 model)
Release Date Announced June 6, 2022


The Apple M2 is a system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple. Apple announced it on June 6, 2022, as the start of the second generation of its M-series chips, built with what the company called second-generation 5-nanometer technology.[1] It first shipped in the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Apple later put it in the iPad Pro, the Mac mini and the iPad Air.[2][3][4][5]

For VR and AR, the M2 is notable as the main processor of the first Apple Vision Pro, which went on sale in the United States on February 2, 2024.[6] In that headset the M2 works alongside a second Apple chip, the Apple R1, which handles camera, sensor and microphone input.[7] Apple replaced the M2 with the M5 in an updated Vision Pro announced on October 15, 2025, and the M2 model was discontinued.[8][9]

Reviewed 27 September 2026. Checked every date, spec, price, quote and product attribution against the cited Apple Newsroom releases, Apple Vision Pro tech specs, TidBITS, TechSpot, UploadVR and Road to VR pages. About review dates.

History

Announcement

Apple introduced the M2 on June 6, 2022, together with a redesigned MacBook Air and an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro.[1] Johny Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Technologies, said in the announcement that "M2 starts the second generation of M-series chips and goes beyond the remarkable features of M1."[1] Apple stated that the chip has 20 billion transistors, 25 percent more than the M1.[1] TidBITS reported on the day of the announcement that both laptops were due the following month.[2]

Later devices

The iPad Pro with M2 was announced on October 18, 2022, and reached stores on October 26, 2022.[3] A Mac mini with M2 followed on January 17, 2023, with availability from January 24, 2023, at a starting price of US$599.[4] On May 7, 2024, Apple announced an 11-inch and a 13-inch iPad Air with the M2, available from May 15, 2024.[5]

M2 Pro, M2 Max and M2 Ultra

The base M2 was later joined by larger chips in the same generation. Apple announced the M2 Pro and M2 Max on January 17, 2023, for the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro and for the Mac mini, with CPUs of up to 12 cores.[10] On June 5, 2023, Apple announced the M2 Ultra, which joins two M2 Max dies with its UltraFusion packaging technology and is used in the Mac Studio and Mac Pro.[11] The Apple Vision Pro uses the base M2, not these larger variants.[12]

Features

Apple's launch announcement describes the chip's main blocks as follows. The comparisons with the M1 are Apple's own claims.[1]

Block Apple's description at announcement
CPU Faster performance cores with a larger cache, plus enhanced efficiency cores; 18 percent greater multithreaded performance than the M1[1]
GPU Up to 10 cores, two more than the M1; up to 35 percent higher graphics performance than the M1 at maximum power[1]
Neural Engine Up to 15.8 trillion operations per second, over 40 percent more than the M1[1]
Memory Up to 24GB of unified memory; 100GB/s of memory bandwidth, 50 percent more than the M1[1]
Media engine Higher-bandwidth video decoder supporting 8K H.264 and HEVC video; ProRes video engine for 4K and 8K playback[1]
Security Secure Enclave[1]
Transistors 20 billion, 25 percent more than the M1[1]

The M2 has an 8-core CPU, and its GPU was offered in 8-core and 10-core versions; according to TidBITS, the standard MacBook Air configuration at launch used the 8-core GPU.[2] Apple's specification page for the Vision Pro lists the CPU as 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, and the Neural Engine as 16 cores.[12]

Use in Apple Vision Pro

Dual-chip design

Apple announced the Apple Vision Pro on June 5, 2023, describing its processing as "Apple silicon in a unique dual-chip design". In Apple's words, "M2 delivers unparalleled standalone performance, while the brand-new R1 chip processes input from 12 cameras, five sensors, and six microphones to ensure that content feels like it is appearing right in front of the user's eyes, in real time." Apple said the R1 streams new images to the displays within 12 milliseconds.[7] Apple rates the R1 at 12-millisecond photon-to-photon latency and 256GB/s of memory bandwidth.[12]

Apple opened pre-orders on January 19, 2024, and started US sales on February 2, 2024, at a starting price of US$3,499 with 256GB of storage.[6] TechSpot's report on the full specifications, published on the day pre-orders opened, confirmed the 8-core CPU (four performance and four efficiency cores), 10-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine, with 16GB of unified memory in every storage configuration.[13]

Configuration in the headset

Component Apple Vision Pro (M2, 2024)
CPU 8-core, 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores[12]
GPU 10-core[12]
Neural Engine 16-core[12]
Memory 16GB unified memory[12]
Storage 256GB, 512GB or 1TB[12]
Companion chip Apple R1: 12-millisecond photon-to-photon latency, 256GB/s memory bandwidth[12]
Display Micro-OLED, 23 million pixels; supported refresh rates 90Hz, 96Hz and 100Hz[12]
Battery life Up to 2 hours of general use; video watching up to 2.5 hours[12]

Replacement by the M5

On October 15, 2025, Apple announced an updated Vision Pro with the M5 chip, with pre-orders from that day and store availability from October 22, 2025, at the same US$3,499 starting price.[8] Apple said the new model renders 10 percent more pixels on the micro-OLED displays, can raise the refresh rate up to 120Hz, runs AI-powered system features up to 50 percent faster, and lasts up to two and a half hours of general use and up to three hours of video playback.[8] UploadVR described the chip being replaced as the "5nm M2 chip from 2022" and noted that the battery life gain is 30 minutes over the original.[14] Road to VR reported the M5 headset's CPU and GPU as 10-core parts with hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading.[15] The M5 model is covered in Apple Vision Pro M5.

UploadVR reported on October 22, 2025, that the original M2 Vision Pro had been discontinued the week before and that Apple did not accept it for trade-in against the M5 model.[9] Apple's current Vision Pro specification page lists only the M5 configuration.[16]

Software support

The M2 Vision Pro still receives visionOS updates. When visionOS 27 was released in September 2026, UploadVR reported that it is available for both the M2 and M5 models, and that the LLM-based Siri rolling out in beta runs on both. UploadVR also noted one difference: on the M5 model, Siri has a more realistic and expressive voice that users can customize.[17]

Supported devices

Device Announced Availability
MacBook Air June 6, 2022[1] July 2022, as reported at announcement[2]
13-inch MacBook Pro June 6, 2022[1] July 2022, as reported at announcement[2]
iPad Pro October 18, 2022[3] October 26, 2022[3]
Mac mini January 17, 2023[4] January 24, 2023[4]
Apple Vision Pro (first model) June 5, 2023[7] February 2, 2024 (United States); discontinued October 2025[6][9]
iPad Air (11-inch and 13-inch) May 7, 2024[5] May 15, 2024[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 "Apple unveils M2 with breakthrough performance and capabilities". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2022-06-06. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/06/apple-unveils-m2-with-breakthrough-performance-and-capabilities/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Adam Engst (2022-06-06). "Apple Unveils M2-Powered MacBook Air and Updated 13-Inch MacBook Pro". TidBITS. https://tidbits.com/2022/06/06/apple-unveils-m2-powered-macbook-air-and-updated-13-inch-macbook-pro/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Apple introduces next-generation iPad Pro, supercharged by the M2 chip". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2022-10-18. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/10/apple-introduces-next-generation-ipad-pro-supercharged-by-the-m2-chip/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Apple introduces new Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro, more powerful, capable, and versatile than ever". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2023-01-17. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/01/apple-introduces-new-mac-mini-with-m2-and-m2-pro-more-powerful-capable-and-versatile-than-ever/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Apple unveils the redesigned 11-inch and all-new 13-inch iPad Air, supercharged by the M2 chip". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2024-05-07. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/05/apple-unveils-the-redesigned-11-inch-and-all-new-13-inch-ipad-air-with-m2/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Apple Vision Pro available in the U.S. on February 2". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2024-01-08. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/01/apple-vision-pro-available-in-the-us-on-february-2/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Introducing Apple Vision Pro: Apple's first spatial computer". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2023-06-05. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/06/introducing-apple-vision-pro/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Apple Vision Pro upgraded with the M5 chip and Dual Knit Band". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2025-10-15. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/10/apple-vision-pro-upgraded-with-the-m5-chip-and-dual-knit-band/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 David Heaney (2025-10-22). "M5 Apple Vision Pro Out Now, But M2 Model Can't Be Traded In". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/m5-apple-vision-pro-out-now-but-no-trade-in/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  10. ↑ "Apple unveils M2 Pro and M2 Max: next-generation chips for next-level workflows". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2023-01-17. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/01/apple-unveils-m2-pro-and-m2-max-next-generation-chips-for-next-level-workflows/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  11. ↑ "Apple introduces M2 Ultra". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2023-06-05. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/06/apple-introduces-m2-ultra/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  12. ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 "Apple Vision Pro - Tech Specs". Apple Support. Apple. https://support.apple.com/en-us/117810. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  13. ↑ Daniel Sims (2024-01-19). "Apple Vision Pro full specs revealed: 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB of system memory, up to 1TB storage". TechSpot. https://www.techspot.com/news/101583-apple-publishes-full-vision-pro-specs-revealing-boosted.html. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  14. ↑ David Heaney (2025-10-15). "Apple Officially Announces M5 Vision Pro & Dual Knit Band". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/m5-apple-vision-pro-officially-announced-preorders/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  15. ↑ Scott Hayden (2025-10-15). "Apple's Next Vision Pro with New M5 Chip Launches on October 22nd, Starting at $3,500". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/apple-vision-pro-m5-chip-october-22-launch/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  16. ↑ "Apple Vision Pro - Technical Specifications". Apple. Apple. https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/specs/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  17. ↑ David Heaney (2026-09-17). "visionOS 27 Launched For Apple Vision Pro Headsets, Bringing Siri AI & More". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/visionos-27-launched-for-apple-vision-pro-headsets/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
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