14" or 16" for multiple windows. excel, quickbooks, etc

[nathansz]

trying to decide before 14" or 16" MacBook Pro to use primarily for work on site

in my home office I have a 32" monitor so used to having multiple windows tiled on a single desktop at once (I use amethyst)

at minimum I need to have two side by side at a time in some combination of excel, quickbooks and email

external monitor on site is not a realistic option due to space limitations

the (slightly?) extra portability and lower price of the 14 is appealing.

but is it a realistic option for my use case or should I just go straight to the 16?

looking forward to hearing people's thoughts

thanks

Edit for context: currently using at work a 17” windows laptop at 1080p and have no problem using two windows side by side

Edit 2:

so I decided I obviously needed to go by the Apple Store myself and get my hands on these to really figure this out

I went to the 14 first and logged in to a couple of my things to see what it would look like. I was pretty surprised at how well it would probably work, maybe a little cramped but definitely doable

then I tried the 16 and it was pretty comfortable. certainly not going to have 3 or 4 windows going on a single space two side by side seemed perfectly usable.

need to figure out if the 16 fits in my bike bag and if so I'm going to go for it. if it turns out to be too big I think I can make the 14 work

honestly 15 would probably be the sweet spot but the pros are so much nicer than the air

 

[Bigwaff]

looking forward to hearing people's thoughts

Nothing is more subjective than using display resolution size. I think it might come down to whether you can perform your workflow side-by-side on 16 or 14 at native resolution. Windows and text will be very, very small. Personally, I prefer the retina resolutions and just flip between applications windows. Smaller display will require adjustment to your usual behavior and patterns.

 

[nathansz]

Nothing is more subjective than using display resolution size. I think it might come down to whether you can perform your workflow side-by-side on 16 or 14 at native resolution. Windows and text will be very, very small. Personally, I prefer the retina resolutions and just flip between applications windows. Smaller display will require adjustment to your usual behavior and patterns.

Thanks for the input

Flipping between windows isn’t really an option for my workflow

Need at least two windows on screen at once

 

[wonderings]

Sounds like you need the biggest screen you can get in a laptop then. Both options are small for that workflow but 16" is the biggest. If you carry an iPad with you you could use that as a secondary screen as well, wireless, good battery life.

 

[Alameda]

trying to decide before 14" or 16" MacBook Pro to use primarily for work on site

in my home office I have a 32" monitor so used to having multiple windows tiled on a single desktop at once (I use amethyst)

at minimum I need to have two side by side at a time in some combination of excel, quickbooks and email

external monitor on site is not a realistic option due to space limitations

the (slightly?) extra portability and lower price of the 14 is appealing.

but is it a realistic option for my use case or should I just go straight to the 16?

looking forward to hearing people's thoughts

thanks

Edit for context: currently using at work a 17” windows laptop at 1080p and have no problem using two windows side by side

Edit 2:

so I decided I obviously needed to go by the Apple Store myself and get my hands on these to really figure this out

I went to the 14 first and logged in to a couple of my things to see what it would look like. I was pretty surprised at how well it would probably work, maybe a little cramped but definitely doable

then I tried the 16 and it was pretty comfortable. certainly not going to have 3 or 4 windows going on a single space two side by side seemed perfectly usable.

need to figure out if the 16 fits in my bike bag and if so I'm going to go for it. if it turns out to be too big I think I can make the 14 work

honestly 15 would probably be the sweet spot but the pros are so much nicer than the air

It’s not so much the physical dimensions as the weight, including the AC adapter. And a 16” isn’t a “lap”-top size.

Of course the larger screen size is nice, but it’s a personal decision as to whether you’re willing to carry the added weight. A 14” MacBook Pro is fairly heavy as it is.

My son bench presses over 300 pounds, so he would laugh at me if I told him to consider his laptop’s weight. But we don’t all bench press 300+ pounds.

 

[nathansz]

It’s not so much the physical dimensions as the weight, including the AC adapter. And a 16” isn’t a “lap”-top size.

Of course the larger screen size is nice, but it’s a personal decision as to whether you’re willing to carry the added weight. A 14” MacBook Pro is fairly heavy as it is.

My son bench presses over 300 pounds, so he would laugh at me if I told him to consider his laptop’s weight. But we don’t all bench press 300+ pounds.

Thanks for the input!

the weight is not something I really thought about

Picked it up at the store and seemed fine to me

I guess that truly is subjective

I certainly can’t bench 300 lbs

But between doing manual labour for part of my life, having been a touring musician thats had to haul my own gear, and never really having been a driver so used to hualing stuff in a back pack or on a bike — less than 5 lbs doesn’t seem like much of anything

If I was looking for a mobile/ipad type device then yes that would be a bit much

But to bring to work and back and the odd hotel stay but generally work stationary it should be fine I think

I ordered a refurb 16 so I’ll find out soon enough