My thoughts exactly, with the same end result.
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Can't Decide Between 14" and 16"
- Thread starter StoneCold X
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Yeah there’s a time and a place for the 16.
I tried the other day to put the 16 inch in my tech bag with one hand it’s no easy task lol
Interestingly, even the MBP14 with M1 Max performs almost identically (in some cases marginally faster) than the entry level Mac Studio - see the "Constant Geekery" Youtube channel. There doesn't appear to be any performance benefit to the Mac Studio, at least not with 24-GPU cores, over the MacBook Pros, so if you need to have a laptop for mobility, you don't appear to be giving up performance.
Regarding RAM, you will need to carefully study your current usage, and make an educated guess about how your usage might change in the next few years. In my case, I already knew from other machines that I easily use 32GB RAM with my typical usage. The simplest check is to see how often your memory pressure in Activity Monitor goes into "yellow" or "red" memory pressure. If it spends a lot of time there, you might need more RAM to avoid using lots of swap or compressed memory. You probably know that using large amounts of swap memory will write a lot your SSD, which has a finite number of write cycles meaning that excessive write volumes will accelerate wear on the SSD - whether this is sufficient to cause a failure within the lifetime of the machine is open to some technical debate!
As an idea, here is my current memory usage with a 32GB MBP14. Note that even though I have 4GB of cached files (which could in theory be purged), that it is still using almost 4GB of swap and has over 16GB of compressed memory, which is why is sits at "yellow" memory pressure the whole day.
I have about 20 tabs open in Edge browser, 20 in Safari and 10 in Chrome (with "tab sleeping" enabled on Edge and Chrome). Nothing else heavy is open (Mail, Notes, OneNote, Slack and VSCode editor). In my experience, it is web-pages that eat up the memory, but my line of work requires I have a lot of pages open at once (even if sleeping), so I have to live with this - or have 64GB RAM to use a web-browser, which seems....excessive
View attachment 1983844
That’s a lot of tabs
Last time I looked on my 16GB MacBook Pro 16 inch I was using 11GB of 16GB. I tend to have 3-4 excel and word sheets open. Maybe my next machine I go for 32GB if it becomes a problem. I tend to keep this one for at least 3 years.
Difficult to say on RAM. I also bumped storage to 1TB, but I stuck with 16GB of RAM. It may not be leaving me with much headroom, but if it becomes a problem I will just upgrade in a year or two.
I have the 16” M1 Pro that I use mainly as a desktop, and an M1 Air mainly as a laptop. I do use the 16” on my lap, and it feels substantial compared to the Air — in a good way — display space seems so much larger than just 3”.
I plan to be out of the country for extended periods of time soon, so that is another reason why I like the 16” — it will be like taking a desktop with me.
If I had an ASD and didn’t plan on spending lots of time away from my home, the 14” probably makes more sense. Then it comes down to personal preference, because the price isn’t that different. I would go to an Apple Store and really spend time using both of them, picking them up, etc. Try to do things that you would normally do so that you see what your experience will be like.
I plan to be out of the country for extended periods of time soon, so that is another reason why I like the 16” — it will be like taking a desktop with me.
If I had an ASD and didn’t plan on spending lots of time away from my home, the 14” probably makes more sense. Then it comes down to personal preference, because the price isn’t that different. I would go to an Apple Store and really spend time using both of them, picking them up, etc. Try to do things that you would normally do so that you see what your experience will be like.
Funny-I usually like the silver and I went for space grey. I like it. As for the size-I love the screen. I watched a video last night and liked it on the laptop even more than on my IPP. I am still considering the 14” however. But, I think the 16” will win out. I‘m a woman-not any stronger than anyone else and as long as I don’t have to carry it every day I will be fine.
I buy the base because I never hold onto MBPs long term, max 3 years. Within 3 years, the MBP will probably get thinner/lighter, maybe have FaceID, upgraded ports, etc.
16 all the way for me. The extra screen real estate is invaluable.
14", hits the sweet spot for me. Fits perfectly on my recliner inbuilt table and also those laptop stands with a cushion on the wrist area type "lap desks".
14" is the sweet spot for me as someone who codes a lot on the go! If I need more screen I'll grab the iPad Pro and hook it up via sidecar
Ok, but that "inferior" battery life is still fantastic in the 14.
Indeed it is, even on M1 Max option.
4h of screen time including ...
- 1h30m of which was Teams audio conference (Screen sharing 30m)
- 1h15m watching videos on youtube
- 20mins of Twitch
- Chatting on teams/discord/telegram while Firefox (w/Outlook web app open) and Safari were open with several tabs
- Some light coding with VSCode
Battery is still at 70% (Macs fan control is open and showing 36ºC on CPUs // Brightness was one notch below 50%)
I've got the M1 Pro but I've seen really nice results also. The battery is better than I ever would have expected before I got it.
Exactly. Either one lasts a full day of normal use and beyond that it's just gravy.
Anyone experiencing this issue with 14”?
forums.macrumors.com
I’m thinking of replacing my 16” with 14”, but not sure if this issue will be fixed and reluctant to place an order…
Macbook Pro 14 Trackpad Issues Hardware or Software?
I had a Macbook Pro 14 for the past two weeks. I'm experiencing two issues the trackpad. With tap to click turned on, I tried to select multiple files or photos by clicking the first file and then command tap clicking the second file. The second file won't select unless I either hard click or...
forums.macrumors.com
I’m thinking of replacing my 16” with 14”, but not sure if this issue will be fixed and reluctant to place an order…
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I experienced the "cmd+tap" bug on the three 14" units I've own, the only one that was more consistent was the 16" purchased in-store, didn't had the problem, but it wasn't tested as much as I did with the 14"s, but from your experience and others, I tend to think this is a common issue from both sizes.Anyone experiencing this issue with 14”?
Macbook Pro 14 Trackpad Issues Hardware or Software?
I had a Macbook Pro 14 for the past two weeks. I'm experiencing two issues the trackpad. With tap to click turned on, I tried to select multiple files or photos by clicking the first file and then command tap clicking the second file. The second file won't select unless I either hard click or...
I’m thinking of replacing my 16” with 14”, but not sure if this issue will be fixed and reluctant to place an order…
I really hope a software update can finally fix it, but since 12.0.1 till 12.2.1 (which I am now) it was always the same, trying to find a common pattern, but the three-times try seems to be pretty consistent to make it work, and sometimes if I have some delay between pressing the cmd and then tap.
From a % prospective, 75% of the new MBPs I tested, had this problem, not great news :/
Nothing I've encountered yet, I have the base 14". Granted, I mainly use my laptop with a mouse, but out of curiosity I tried to replicate the issues in that thread using the trackpad, and could not notice anything.Anyone experiencing this issue with 14”?
Macbook Pro 14 Trackpad Issues Hardware or Software?
I had a Macbook Pro 14 for the past two weeks. I'm experiencing two issues the trackpad. With tap to click turned on, I tried to select multiple files or photos by clicking the first file and then command tap clicking the second file. The second file won't select unless I either hard click or...
I’m thinking of replacing my 16” with 14”, but not sure if this issue will be fixed and reluctant to place an order…
I picked the 14", coming from a short stint on an M1 Air, prior to that I used a 15" MBP since 2017. I tested both variants at the Apple Store, but it didn't take long for me to choose the 14". I use this computer as my personal machine, so it's mainly the usual personal stuff, some light photo/video editing as the most taxing. Overkill for sure, but I watch a lot of shows and movies and love the screen quality. I quite rarely bring my laptop out, so I could easily have picked the 16", but I just felt the 14 size to be perfect.
One thing I noticed is that every other monitor feels terrible once you used these computers. So I could argue that I should have got the 16" since I now just use the laptop, I just can't unsee the in comparison "horrible" external monitor. So the external monitor is out, and I use the 14" on a laptop stand to save my neck, with an external keyboard and mouse. Compromises, yes. But when I unplug the computer to sit on the couch, I'm happy with the size. Or when bringing it with me, it easily fits in my motorcycle side cases, or backpack, I found a really nice hard-ish case on Amazon to protect it.
Can't go wrong with any of them really!
Long term update. Glad I went with the 16". It's mostly a home laptop and the extra screen real estate is nice.
I got the 16" because I wanted the extra screen real estate, after going from a 15" Core2Duo model to a 13" TouchBar.
First time I have ever bought a Mac sight unseen.
Man, this thing is a BEAST. Hopefully my back won't hate me once I go back to commuting. The screen is incredible, though. And I'm sure the battery life will also be great.
First time I have ever bought a Mac sight unseen.
Man, this thing is a BEAST. Hopefully my back won't hate me once I go back to commuting. The screen is incredible, though. And I'm sure the battery life will also be great.
Haha, thanks for following up!
Glad the 16 worked out for you. I love the real estate, and while I miss the tiny-ness of the old Air, this is so much better for actually doing things.
I flew out and didnt bring my laptop for a week. did some stuff on someone's 13.3. came back and opened my 16" and oh wow how nice it is to have this screen.