We will not tell you to buy just anything. And the day before you think you should buy something is one of the better times to reconsider it. So tonight we'll go through a few of aspects of M2 that could make it feel lackluster in a couple years. It's worth noting that all products eventually feel irrelevant, but some aspects of the M2 products will cause them to feel dated sooner than expected.
The single external display limit and 60 Hz built-in display limit and display limitations in general are a pain. M2 still only supports a single external display. And it only seems to support external displays beyond 60 Hz at 1440p. Your next TV will likely support 4K at 120 Hz, unless you are determined to buy last year's tech or something low budget. Apple Silicon has not delivered HDMI signals over 60 Hz (in 4K) on any adapter we've tried (and we have tried a dizzying number). When you buy your next TV is really up to you, but you might as well think about it now. Apple does not sell a 120 Hz display for the Mac. Your iPhone 13 Pro and iPad Pro have the 120 Hz display, but your M2 Mac's built-in display would be stuck at 60 Hz and (for some people) that will make the Mac feel dated earlier than necessary. Why doesn't every Mac have ProMotion? Ask Tim Apple.
M2 still lacks WiFi 6E and Intel's 12th gen already has it. This may not seem like a big deal right now, but some ISPs are already offering multi-gigabit Internet connections and WiFi 6E routers to justify the hardware. M2 will not be invited to play in the 6 GHz sandbox and that will feel sad, especially for speed freaks. Your coverage may vary. I hope you are affected by this one and you should, too. In an increasingly wireless future, this could matter more than we currently know. It could eventually affect AirPlay and AirDrop, too.
While M2 steals the spotlight in the short term, some of the the technical capabilities in Intel's 12th generation could offer more compelling long-term value for users who would otherwise bump against the M2's display and wireless limitations not today, but after their next display or router upgrade. What's more, we've already been incredibly impressed with the performance of i7-1280p in Windows 11. The i7 offers 6 peformance + 8 efficiency cores and has been a solid performer in our testing. Competition is good and we hope AMD can deliver an answer with DDR5 soon.