How likely is the M1 14" and how long to wait? It would prob be a MBP right?

[Chairman.Jobbie]

There is a lot of mentions of a 14" so my question is the title. I haven't read of anything specific on the 14" so just wondering how likely it is...

I probably would move to a 14". In order to help me decide which current M1 to get it might be useful to know more about the 14".

Im guessing the 14" will have thinner bezels and slightly more battery life than 20h - and extra port.

Im currently trying to decide which M1 to keep. Should I go for base model / cheap for 12 months or get something more long term.

8gb M1 MacBooks work for me. If I was buying for long term id prob get 16gb and keep laptop for over 5+ years.

 

[justinf77]

Very likely. Sometime in 2021. Definitely a MBP.

 

[deeddawg]

If you really think you want a four port MacBook Pro, then it may be worth waiting.

As for 13.3 inches versus 14 inches, my work laptop is 14 and I really don’t notice any difference switching back-and-forth

 

[Chairman.Jobbie]

If you really think you want a four port MacBook Pro, then it may be worth waiting.

As for 13.3 inches versus 14 inches, my work laptop is 14 and I really don’t notice any difference switching back-and-forth

I suppose its only 0.7 unless its 14.3" screen.

 

[bill-p]

Im guessing the 14" will have thinner bezels and slightly more battery life than 20h - and extra port.

Thinner bezels sounds about right, but if battery capacity remains the same, there's no way it'll get more battery life.

In fact, having more ports may reduce battery life as Apple needs to add more I/O to the chip.

If Apple is including a larger display (14" vs 13.3") plus larger battery in a slightly larger casing, then this mythical 14" MBP will definitely be noticeably heavier than the current 13" MBP.

If instead of M1, Apple goes with a more powerful M1X chip, then it'll for sure have audible fan noise (though not as bad as Intel models?), more heat and reduced battery life.

So it may not be necessarily better than the current 13" MBP in every way. This is the reason I got the 13" MBP now. Like Apple said, the 13" MBP is already the best "expression" of the M1 chip. Anything else with M1 may be worse or different from this point on.

 

[roncron]

I think it's pretty likely. The MBA is overdue for a redesign. Most reviewers have given Apple a pass on this because the M1 MBA is such a huge improvement and is priced fairly low by Apple standards.

I'm expecting a 2021 MBA with the same size chassis but much smaller bezels and therefore a bigger display - 14" or slightly higher.

I doubt Apple will add more ports to the MBA. It's a way they get people to pay more for the MBP models (and even the low-end MBP's don't have 4 ports). But they will shrink the bezels and increase the display size.

I bought an M1 MBA, it arrived 2 weeks ago, and I am loving it. As @deeddawg said above, 14" vs. 13.3" isn't enough of a difference to really notice. A few years ago, I went from a 9.7" iPad Pro to a 10.5" iPad Pro and the difference was too small to matter in my everyday real-world use. If screen real estate is important, it's just a matter of time (months, maybe) before Apple starts selling the 16" MBP with an M1 (or maybe M2 by then) processor. Though, that machine will be a lot more expensive.

 

[Chairman.Jobbie]

Thanks for the replies.

@bill-p interesting point. If its more powerful the battery might remain at 20h.

I won't go to 16". I have a 15" currently that I'm about to sell and I think 14" is a sweet spot. But tbh 13.3 is pretty good.

The extra port isn't important really at all. Just wanted a charging port on both sides but not important.

... decisions decisions ... im treading water deciding ... want to decide and move on...

I want MBA for price and it does what I need. I want MBP because the battery is the most useful aspect to me .. 2h is 11% extra battery over the MBA. Its sort of on the borderline of being a considered dealer breaker.

It all depends if I upgrade next year .... if yes, MBA. If no, the 8gb MBP im using right now is probably what I should keep.