Help!!!! - I have a 14 and 16 and can’t decide

[stoobysnax]

Just got both a refurb 14 and 16” (the 16 was initially available and was what I wanted, then became available so I got both with intention of returning one)

My issue is, while the big screen is nice on the 16, the 14 is sooooo nice and tight. I love it.

Under Logic stress tests though, the fans do kick in and it gets really warm. The 16 is silent and not as warm. I have a Mac Pro in the studio and can run pretty big sessions so this concerns me. Although I’m wondering if I’m just hyper focusing on it, and if in real world it won’t be an issue.

Anyone? I want the 14, but feel like I’m gonna keep the 16.

 

[Onimusha370]

My advice would be go for the one you love, which seems to be the 14 inch. Does the extra heat/fan noise really make a huge difference to your experience? In my 15 years of throwing money at apple, I’ve always found that going for the one I “want” has always ended well, even if there’s some trade offs.

 

[teotuf]

I found that the default fan curve of the 14 inch is prioritizing low fan noise too much for sustained workflow, so the heat builds up in the chassis and then the fan turns on and overcompensates by blasting away at nearly 6000 rpm.

A more acceptable solution I found was just to make a custom fan curve. That way you can do fairly sustained load with only 4000-5000 rpm hum constantly, which to be honest is not that loud and annoying, and keeping everything relatively cool since the heat never got a chance to build up in the chassis. I would play with it and see if you can tweak it into something that’s acceptable for you. I personally wrestled with this decision for quite a bit and ultimately went with the 14. I really wanted to like the 16 inch but the form factor of the 14 for me was just such a game changer that I use the laptop differently because of it.

 

[seadragon]

Go with the 16... because that's what I did.

Seriously, I really like the 16. I feels just right for me.

 

[stoobysnax]

Going with the 16... despite preferring the size of the 14, everything else on the 16 wins (fans, screen size, temp of the case itself, battery)... too hard to pass it up. I'll deal with the size.

 

[Diablo360]

I went with the 16” for better cooling. Works great so far. Runs super quiet and is barely luke warm with a lot of tasks running

 

[Ipadlover29]

I initially got the 14 but then also picked up the 16. Ended up keeping the 16.

Pros

16 Has a larger screen
16 has better battery life
16 has better speakers
16 has better performance
16 has better thermals
16 is quieter
16 has bigger keyboard and trackpad
16 comes with the fast charger included

Cons for the 16 - its heavier and more expensive than the 14.

 

[GoldPunch]

16 has big advantages. Keep it!

 

[The Game 161]

I love my 16

won't go smaller now such an ideal display for all tasks

 

[doolar]

And I love my 14" coming from a 15" 2017 MBP. I just adore the size, with the Intel Macs, it was out of the question thermally to have the 13", and the 13" screen was just that little bit to small for my liking. For me, the 14" ticks all the boxes.

I have only heard the fans once, when I tried Fortnite. Granted, I do not use this computer for anything close to stressing it out (base 14"), but it's my personal computer and I love the screen, coming from a M1 Air.

Horses for courses I guess! Enjoy your 16" MBP!

 

[prospervic]

I initially got the 14 but then also picked up the 16. Ended up keeping the 16.

Pros

16 Has a larger screen
16 has better battery life
16 has better speakers
16 has better performance
16 has better thermals
16 is quieter
16 has bigger keyboard and trackpad
16 comes with the fast charger included

Cons for the 16 - its heavier and more expensive than the 14.

Keyboard size is the same on both models. (Yes, the 16” trackpad is larger.)

 

[prospervic]

After concerns about battery life, noise and heat (which are valid), the most important are: how often will you be carrying it? And when you do, how LONG will you be carrying it for? My 16” feels ok in my backpack — but only for a little while. After an hour or so it becomes a burden. Still love it - but since I live in a large, public transit-dependent city, I only take it out when absolutely necessary.
(Weight is not an issue if you are using a car, but then you have to be wary of break-ins.)

 

[barkomatic]

You mentioned you already have a Mac Pro, so I would diverge from some of the other opinions here and say you should keep the 14. You already have a desktop system and I would say portability on the secondary system would be more of a priority.

 

[flapflapflap]

16 is better in all aspects; it's just larger and heavier. If you can physically tolerate the extra heft and weight, go with the 16. Even my niece who is 5'5" probably 120 chose the 16 over the 14.

 

[0228662]

Having had both I kept the 2021 MPB 16” M1. I carry it along with 12.9” iPad Pro in a leather messenger bag. Doesn’t feel heavy or too big anywhere I setup

 

[planteater]

Good choice keeping the 16.

The 16 inch is plenty portable. If you are carrying a bag, it doesn’t make much difference if the object within it is 1.2 lbs. heavier or not. I’d myself never sacrifice the aspects of the 16 to save so little.

 

[prospervic]

Having had both I kept the 2021 MPB 16” M1. I carry it along with 12.9” iPad Pro in a leather messenger bag. Doesn’t feel heavy or too big anywhere I setup

Whew! That's quite a load. Remember to keep switching shoulders so you don't pull your spine out of alignment.

 

[spiderman0616]

I went with the 14 myself, but that's because work had already bought me the 16.

 

[Student of Life]

Having had both I kept the 2021 MPB 16” M1. I carry it along with 12.9” iPad Pro in a leather messenger bag. Doesn’t feel heavy or too big anywhere I setup

Do you use sidecar the sidecar feature with the iPad pro? Also is it the mini Led version, if so do you see any difference between the MacBook Pro screen and the IPad Pro screen.

 

[0228662]

I've used sidecar a few times when working on projects in Excel. I have been using universal control more these days due to sidecar not working for me after the latest MacOS update. Yes, my iPad Pro is the latest XDR mini-LED. for me I don't see much of a difference. I also haven't experienced blooming on either. the only visible draw back to both, at least for me, is that mini-LED doesn't go completely to all edges. this gives a faint grey border around both displays.

 

[stoobysnax]

So ya I ended up returning the 14”. I personally felt like the form factor was more comfortable in the 14, the 16 keyboard is too deep and my watch hits the case in an awkward way lol.

But the 14 just got too warm in general use.

Used to the size of 16 now and it’s amazing. Craziest laptop I’ve ever owned. Beats out my 16 core mac pro in the studio at pretty much everything other than pure maxxed out multicore. Feels way snappier too.

 

[spiderman0616]

So ya I ended up returning the 14”. I personally felt like the form factor was more comfortable in the 14, the 16 keyboard is too deep and my watch hits the case in an awkward way lol.

But the 14 just got too warm in general use.

Used to the size of 16 now and it’s amazing. Craziest laptop I’ve ever owned. Beats out my 16 core mac pro in the studio at pretty much everything other than pure maxxed out multicore. Feels way snappier too.

Kind of makes you feel like macOS has been held back by Intel for years, right?

 

[stoobysnax]

Well at least the single core performance has been held back for sure. Such a huge leap in single core numbers is so noticeable on these machines because so much of what you do on a computer is single core-based. So yeah it’s kind of shocking that Intel has dropped the ball so badly. They had such a huge Headstart and got lazy.

 

[flapflapflap]

So ya I ended up returning the 14”. I personally felt like the form factor was more comfortable in the 14, the 16 keyboard is too deep and my watch hits the case in an awkward way lol.

But the 14 just got too warm in general use.

Used to the size of 16 now and it’s amazing. Craziest laptop I’ve ever owned. Beats out my 16 core mac pro in the studio at pretty much everything other than pure maxxed out multicore. Feels way snappier too.

Likewise with respect to the wrist issue, needed to adjust my ergonomics.

IMO, the 16 is the superior device

 

[prospervic]

Likewise with respect to the wrist issue, needed to adjust my ergonomics.

IMO, the 16 is the superior device

I take off my watch when using my 16" (except when it's connected to an external display and keyboard).