The Digital Trends IT portal labeled the most disappointing Apple release of 2022 as the 13-inch MacBook Pro powered by the M2 chip. In their view, this model stood out for fans of the brand as the one that failed to live up to expectations for the year, a verdict echoed by editors who weighed the device against Apple’s broader lineup.
The criticism centered on what reviewers described as an aging exterior design that Apple had kept largely unchanged for roughly six years. Critics argued that calling this machine a Pro notebook was misleading since the hardware configuration and feature set did not genuinely demand the professional-grade designation. The price difference between this model and the newer base MacBook Air, which shares the same M2 processor, further fed the debate about value and positioning. In short, the 2022 MacBook Pro appeared not to offer enough to justify its Pro branding when compared to lighter, cheaper rivals in Apple’s own catalog, according to the publications’ analysis. The assessment suggested that the device’s strengths did not clearly align with the needs of a professional audience, making the decision to crown it as a top disappointment of the year a contentious one among tech writers and readers alike [Digital Trends, 2022].
Those discussions extended beyond the 2022 model, as the tech press noted hypothesized directions for Apple hardware design. In particular, there was recurring talk about exploring novel input interfaces and display technologies that could redefine future workflows. One such concept involved a keyboard built from aluminum with illuminated keys that adapt to different layouts, offering dynamic letter and symbol displays directly on each key. This could drastically change how users type in multilingual environments or switch between specialized applications, reducing the friction of switching layouts and improving on-device visibility in various lighting conditions. This line of reporting reflected broader curiosity about how Apple might fuse hardware aesthetics with functional hardware tweaks to better serve professionals who rely on efficiency and clarity in daily tasks, even as concrete products remained in development phases [industry commentary and analysis, 2022–2023].