14 inch vs 16 inch which is more ideal?

[G5isAlive]

I was thinking of the 16 inch as well but over the years when travelling and others.. I notice at the airport or even anywhere I notice people struggle with that size of a laptop

I travel a lot for work…but I manage my own workload. At the airport I read email on my phone, read reports on my iPad and my 16” MacBook Pro stays in my bag. Same with on the plane. But you know where I do the majority of my work? In the hotel room or at the clients office. And there I really appreciate the larger screen. Picking a computer because it works better in the minority case, versus when I use it the most seems… odd. YMMV

 

[marmiteturkey]

I travel a lot for work…but I manage my own workload. At the airport I read email on my phone, read reports on my iPad and my 16” MacBook Pro stays in my bag. Same with on the plane. But you know where I do the majority of my work? In the hotel room or at the clients office. And there I really appreciate the larger screen. Picking a computer because it works better in the minority case, versus when I use it the most seems… odd. YMMV

I can appreciate what you’re saying and there are times when the 16 has been a great mobile office for me at times.

AND
The 14 with an iPad as side car is also a great option, and like you I always have an iPad with me - so I’m moving back to 14 as that gives me the most flexible option and lightens a pretty heavy mobile office backpack.

 

[UnifiedMelody]

While true, with the 14" M4s the Pro & Max versions have two fans, rather than the M3 14" ones which only had one fan. I suspect the M4 is a cooler chip anyway so with two fans the 14" may not bottleneck as much due to heat. Tests will tell I guess.

Yea for me its either M4 Pro or M4 Max lol, i also have like 3750$ worth of apple gift cards accumulated so i can heavily cut down the price now i'm just waiting for reviews to see how DVR && LR && FCP works [as that's my main workflow]. Still a lot of photos as usual, but now starting to do way more video than before .

my pc is a screamer and it takes forever been eyeing on mac for awhile now thanks to apple silicon

 

[G5isAlive]

I can appreciate what you’re saying and there are times when the 16 has been a great mobile office for me at times.

AND
The 14 with an iPad as side car is also a great option, and like you I always have an iPad with me - so I’m moving back to 14 as that gives me the most flexible option and lightens a pretty heavy mobile office backpack.

I firmly believe the question 'which is better, 14 or 16' is not as helpful as it sounds...because it REALLY does depend on the individual and I can certainly understand your position on why the 14 with the iPad as side car is what you need (I run mine like to).

My comment was more the 'it's better for the airplane' crowd was rather one sided, without the other side being represented, and that is for some of us (old guys with bad eyes?) the 16 works out better once you arrive, so you have to balance the two requirements, as you have done

 

[Marty80]

I have 2021 16” macbook pro, prior to that i used to own the 15” macbook pro. I feel that the 16” is like a cumbersome paper weight. Even moving around the house can be quite the chore.

I guess it comes down to how you will be using it, and where you will be placing it.

I love big screen displays, but i feel 16” has gotten to large for me. I also believe 14” is the sweet spot for most people.

Eitherway its better than the 13” macbook which i felt was to tiny. I will be upgrading to a 14” macbook pro m6 max in 2026.

I am confident the machine will pretty much do the same job as the 16”.

 

[raythompsontn]

I remember in the early days of computing a 14" CRT was the norm. Upgrading to 17" was considered going high end, and expensive. And those things were heavy. I also lugged a Kaypro luggable (small suitcase) on a few flights. Ugh, never again. My how times have changed.

I opted for the 14" M4 Pro. I like the smaller size for carrying. Having been on several long, international flights, the smaller size is appreciated. Even on the trains in Germany. The smaller desks in the hotels in Germany the 14" will fit much better (based on my 13" M2 Air experience).

Nothing I do needs the M4 Pro I just wanted the Thunderbolt 5 connections. In fact my previous M2 Air was more than good enough. I bought the M4 Pro because I wanted it, not because I needed it. I suspect a lot of people are that way.

 

[chars1ub0w]

I think I have had nearly every size since the Powerbook 170 with trackball and Motorola CPU. Now I recall that the 17" MacBook Pro was truly massive and heavy, one is still in my office at work somewhere with a bloated battery. The single port 2015 12" Intel MacBook was the smallest and best for travel. $125 check for the keyboard class-action lawsuit. Currently, I am using the 16" M1 Max MacBook Pro (64GB RAM) permanently anchored at home, and carry the M3 MacBook Pro 14" (24GB RAM) every day, And I have a 13.3" Intel MacBook Air, which I'll return to its owner in a few weeks (way too underpowered). Definitely, after having nearly every combination, I think the 14" now is the best combination of power, ports and weight. The MacBook Air doesn't have HDMI and SD card ports. You can pair a 14" with a cheap portable monitor or a 12.9" iPad for more screen if you need it.

 

[SnoFlo]

I must be getting old. I sold my 16-inch M3 Max last week to move to the 14-inch MacBook Pro. Air travel with the 16-inch model, as well as taking it to work every day, has not been fun.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I travel a lot, and use a 16 inch MBP. I need as much screen I can get, personally 16 is way better than 14, it feels more like 13 inch MBP with out much of weight advantage. If I want lighter laptop, I would probably go with 15 MBA. And 16 MBP has better thermals than 14.

 

[smirking]

I mean this is objectively true, as it is indeed smaller and lighter. I just think it's not smaller / lighter by a large enough margin to make an impact with my travel patterns. I had an 11" MacBook Air, back in the day. That was pretty great, because I used it plugged in, but when on a plane, it was so small and compact.

I'm leaning toward downsizing from a 16" M1 Pro to a 14" M4 Pro. I used to carry dual Unibody MBPs that were each heavier than the 16" so I didn't think the bump up in weight would bother me much. I was younger then, but I still carry a lot of weight around since I do a lot of photography.

So what's an extra pound when you're already carrying a lot? I found the extra weight wasn't the issue. It was the weight combined with the size. The 16" is just a tiny bit heavier than I want and a tiny bit wider and thicker than is comfortable. All those added together cause my camera bag to be offset slightly so how I handle my gear is affected, especially since the extra dimension adds tension to my bag where it should have some slack.

It also makes the laptop slightly more awkward to handle. I was never worried about losing my grip and accidentally dropping my 15" MBP.

I don't know if I'll truly miss the extra real estate of the 16" screen. The 14" screen actually has more space than the 15" I previously had. My plan is to get the 14" and if I can't get used to it, I'll return it for the 16".

 

[Miles Fu]

I'm leaning toward downsizing from a 16" M1 Pro to a 14" M4 Pro. I used to carry dual Unibody MBPs that were each heavier than the 16" so I didn't think the bump up in weight would bother me much. I was younger then, but I still carry a lot of weight around since I do a lot of photography.

So what's an extra 1.2lbs when you're already carrying a lot? I found the extra weight wasn't the issue. It was the weight combined with the size. The 16" is just a tiny bit heavier than I want and a tiny bit wider and thicker than is comfortable. All those added together cause my camera bag to be offset slightly so how I handle my gear is affected, especially since the extra dimension adds tension to my bag where it should have some slack. They also make the laptop slightly more awkward to handle. I was never worried about losing my grip and accidentally dropping my 15" MBP.

I don't know if I'll truly miss the extra real estate of the 16" screen. The 14" screen actually has more space than the 15" I previously had. My plan is to get the 14" and if I can't get used to it, I'll return it for the 16".

My family have both 16 and 14'. my feeling is: if you have an external monitor at home, and you need travel with your MBP, 14' will be better choice. if no external monitor, 16' may be a better choice.

 

[smirking]

My family have both 16 and 14'. my feeling is: if you have an external monitor at home, and you need travel with your MBP, 14' will be better choice. if no external monitor, 16' may be a better choice.

Yup! I have a Studio Display so I'm covered. Still, I like to get away from my desk and I've found that since I got to a 16" screen I feel much less need to use my external.

There's no such thing as perfect so I do think you're right.

 

[SnoFlo]

I'm leaning toward downsizing from a 16" M1 Pro to a 14" M4 Pro. I used to carry dual Unibody MBPs that were each heavier than the 16" so I didn't think the bump up in weight would bother me much. I was younger then, but I still carry a lot of weight around since I do a lot of photography.

So what's an extra 1.2lbs when you're already carrying a lot? I found the extra weight wasn't the issue. It was the weight combined with the size. The 16" is just a tiny bit heavier than I want and a tiny bit wider and thicker than is comfortable. All those added together cause my camera bag to be offset slightly so how I handle my gear is affected, especially since the extra dimension adds tension to my bag where it should have some slack. They also make the laptop slightly more awkward to handle. I was never worried about losing my grip and accidentally dropping my 15" MBP.

I don't know if I'll truly miss the extra real estate of the 16" screen. The 14" screen actually has more space than the 15" I previously had. My plan is to get the 14" and if I can't get used to it, I'll return it for the 16".

Wow, same scenario with me here: 16-inch MacBook Pro and camera gear in a Billingham Hadley Large Pro camera bag made for some ungainly travel. I will have to see if I can live with the 14-inch screen.

 

[dmccloud]

For my use case, the 14-inch is the perfect size. I can use my iPad as a second screen if I need the extra display space, which makes the MBP14/iPad combo among the most portable dual-screen setups available. For those times where I need more than that, I have a CalDigit TB4+ Hub that has my desktop monitors and external storage connected to it. The 14-inch model fits perfectly in my bag, and I honestly don't notice the weight when in the bag. I think I will be upgrading from my current M2 Max machine to the 14" M4 Max, but I am going to wait to see some reviews specific to that SoC before committing to an upgrade.

 

[alchemistics]

I travel a lot, and use a 16 inch MBP. I need as much screen I can get, personally 16 is way better than 14, it feels more like 13 inch MBP with out much of weight advantage. If I want lighter laptop, I would probably go with 15 MBA. And 16 MBP has better thermals than 14.

Bear in mind that the 14" Pro has a higher resolution than the 15" MB. Given you have good eyes the 14" provides you more usable screen real estate.

 

[FrietVanPiet]

I'm using the MacBook Pro 16", I used the 13" in the past. I really like the screen estate, I can work on it full working days without needing an external monitor. I really wouldn't like to downgrade to 14". When I travel, I usually go by car, so 14" or 16" doesn't really matter for that.

So I think both options are great. If you really prioritise a compact device, get a 14", if you spent hours and hours each day on it without external monitor, consider 16".

 

[TechnoMonk]

Bear in mind that the 14" Pro has a higher resolution than the 15" MB. Given you have good eyes the 14" provides you more usable screen real estate.

It’s not about resolution but more usable screen on MBP16 and better thermals. Heck I am curious to see where AVP goes so I could use wide 4 k screens. If I could tether to glasses, I can use a 14 MBP.

 

[LogicalApex]

It's all about forcing those who want RAM or storage to future proof their computers, to pay extra for the privilege. Apple would rather we replace our computers because as time goes forward, Memory requirements increase, so if we save money on RAM, we are actually probably bringing the replacement requirement forward. Which suits Apple very nicely.

Said another way, Apple wants you to pay the same no matter if you “future proof” or not. Someone who is future proofing may end up effectively spending the same as buying the MacBook Pro multiple times already.

Simply maxing out storage and enduring its mandatory processor ladder rung climbing a 16” MBP goes from $2499 to $6199. That’s a $3700 price increase over the base model and more expensive than buying another 16” MBP. Simply maxing out RAM alone (and again accepting the ladder run climbs it requires) would make a 16” MBP cost $4999 or $2500 more than the base model which is the cost of the base model!

It highlights why “future proofing” is a fools errand as I keep saying. Especially considering Apple Silicon has been having massive YoY performance increases. You’re far better off buying what you need today and upgrading when it makes sense. The cost savings will allow it and you’ll experience the performance increases more readily.

 

[looloo06]

Hi,
I think updating from my M1 Macbook Pro (2020) to an M4 Pro or M4 Max (mainly for RAM size unavailable with the M4 Pro).
I'm not sure if I should go with the 14" version for portability, or go with the 16" version for the comfort of usage, and keep my M1 Macbook pro for portability. In this case, I would be very pleased to be able to use the power of the Macbook Pro M4 Pro/Max from my Macbook Pro M1, either at home but on a different room (in the bed or in the sofa for example) or remotely using a VPN. Is there a possibility to use a new Mac from an older one remotely? In that case I also could consider the mini M4 Pro with 64 GB of RAM, even if it may be less easy to use for my music tasks where it would need to be moved.

 

[glindon]

I always find it funny in regards to weight. I remember taking my 2011 13" Pro with me everywhere and not really thinking it was a particularily heavy machine at the time. I was surprised to see that it weighed in at 4.5 lbs while the latest 16" weighs 4.7 lbs. Perhaps its the foot print that makes it seem so much heavier.

 

[smirking]

I always find it funny in regards to weight. I remember taking my 2011 13" Pro with me everywhere and not really thinking it was a particularily heavy machine at the time. I was surprised to see that it weighed in at 4.5 lbs while the latest 16" weighs 4.7 lbs. Perhaps its the foot print that makes it seem so much heavier.

I think that has something to do with it. My 15" tbMBP was about 4 lbs and it felt light and easy to one hand. My 16" M1 Pro feels much heavier than .7 lbs more to me. In addition to the extra weight and size, I wonder if the way the weight is distributed inside of it affects how heavy it feels. Perhaps the screen assembly weighs more so walking around with the lid open is more weighty?

 

[blufrog]

* 16" has better thermals, if you do heavier workloads/extended workloads
* 16" screen is better (slightly higher res than 4K)

These are the top two reasons to consider the 16". Otherwise, the 14" is probably the better choice, especially if you aren't going to be hitting the processor so hard that it will thermal throttle.

 

[blufrog]

I always find it funny in regards to weight. I remember taking my 2011 13" Pro with me everywhere and not really thinking it was a particularily heavy machine at the time. I was surprised to see that it weighed in at 4.5 lbs while the latest 16" weighs 4.7 lbs. Perhaps its the foot print that makes it seem so much heavier.

My 13" rMBP has more rounded edges than the new MBP, and this makes a difference when carrying it.

 

[smirking]

These are the top two reasons to consider the 16". Otherwise, the 14" is probably the better choice, especially if you aren't going to be hitting the processor so hard that it will thermal throttle.

How far apart are the thermals between the 14 and 16? We're just talking about the 16" being bigger and having a larger heat dissipating footprint, correct? Or is there more to it than just size?

 

[hovscorpion12]

if your concern is thermals, I highly suggest TG Pro. Works flawless on my 16" M3 Max. Highest temp I ever seen was 73c. That was downloading/transcoding a 20 hour video file online to MP4. normal stress is around 40c to 45c.

Both 14" & 16" can be configured with identical specs and come with high performance mode. if Apple believed the 14" couldn't handle it, they wouldn't have added it.

if you want 14", get 14". if you want 16", go 16".

Simple.