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New MBP16 Thickness - Wrist discomfort when typing?

beansbaxter

beansbaxter

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 2, 2015
85
24
Seattle
The new MBP 16" is much thicker than before and appears to raise your wrists slightly higher when typing.

For those who picked up the new MBP 16" model, have you noticed any sort of stress or discomfort during prolonged typing sessions?

With the computer sitting on a desk, and your wrists sitting on the sharp edge at the bottom of the laptop coupled with the increased height, my concern is the bigger block shape with added thickness will be uncomfortable for long typing sessions.

I love the tapered design of the MacBook Air, and the MBP 14" appears to be less of a concern since the thickness is similar to the previous generation MBP. But I'm uncertain about this new 16".
 
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Can’t comment since I cancelled my 16 order but your concern is something I actually thought about after seeing some comparison photos floating around. Aesthetically, the 16 looks so damn chunky. And now I’m hearing that it’s very heavy.
 

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That’s the exact same complaint this YT reviewer mentions:

I haven’t yet had the benefit of being hands-on yet…next week.
 
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I haven't noticed a difference, but haven't typed a lot yet. Probably won't know until then.
 
beansbaxter said:
The new MBP 16" is much thicker than before and appears to raise your wrists slightly higher when typing.

For those who picked up the new MBP 16" model, have you noticed any sort of stress or discomfort during prolonged typing sessions?

With the computer sitting on a desk, and your wrists sitting on the sharp edge at the bottom of the laptop coupled with the increased height, my concern is the bigger block shape with added thickness will be uncomfortable for long typing sessions.

I love the tapered design of the MacBook Air, and the MBP 14" appears to be less of a concern since the thickness is similar to the previous generation MBP. But I'm uncertain about this new 16".
Click to expand...
Yes. My previous computer was an older air, so I wasn’t sure if it was just me but I instantly noticed that typing on this thing was quite awkward.
 
flapflapflap said:
Can’t comment since I cancelled my 16 order but your concern is something I actually thought about after seeing some comparison photos floating around. Aesthetically, the 16 looks so damn chunky. And now I’m hearing that it’s very heavy.
Click to expand...
It's just odd. I see the thickness measurements are so similar, but then when I see the comparison pictures like yours, I'm just confused how the new one looks SO much thicker. I know there's a taper on old model, but man, it LOOKS thicker.
 
so far 16" is Good to go, but I'm returning the 14" for this exact reason. same thing happened to me with 13" pro.... edge applies pressure to wrist and no go. 16" is fine due to large platform for hands whereas 14" does not have large platform
 
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miamialley said:
It's just odd. I see the thickness measurements are so similar, but then when I see the comparison pictures like yours, I'm just confused how the new one looks SO much thicker. I know there's a taper on old model, but man, it LOOKS thicker.
Click to expand...
It’s solely because of the taper. I’ve got the 2017 15” next to my new one and it’s really not much of a difference
 
Yup. I am noticing this now, too. Especially dependent on how the laptop is sitting in your lap. Right now I'm typing on it and raising my arms all the way up because it would be uncomfortable to set them down - the bottom of the laptop is too long w/ the sharp edge, and I guess thickness is contributing a little bit here too.

Ergonomics are far better on the 14" for lap typing and that may end up being the deciding factor for me. I've been having a really tough time deciding between the two.
 
miamialley said:
It's just odd. I see the thickness measurements are so similar, but then when I see the comparison pictures like yours, I'm just confused how the new one looks SO much thicker. I know there's a taper on old model, but man, it LOOKS thicker.
Click to expand...
I was hoping it wouldn’t feel as thick as it appears in photos based on numbers alone but I visited the Apple Store today and it not only looks much thicker, it just feels thick and so much bigger than it actually is on paper.
 
The first thing I realise is how big 16” is compared to my current 13”. Much bigger than I thought. Thickness however… yeah it is thicker but that much thicker? Not really tbh. As for weight, it is heavier than 13” no doubt. Enough of a dealbreaker? Not for me. Those photos are shot from such an angle that flat chassis design really don’t paint a good picture of how thick it is, but rather magnifies it.

Mind you that I can’t afford 16” machine right now so that’s based on today’s apple store visit while bringing my MacBook Pro 13”. I wanted to see how big screen affects text, display area etc.
 
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I instantly noticed this. I don't know if I'd call it discomfort but coming from the 13" M1 MBP it feels... different. After a few hours I'd say I'm mostly used to it. I'm sure in a few days I won't think twice about it.
 
Proper typing is done without resting your wrists on anything. Wrist resting is what causes carpal tunnel syndrome.
 
At the bottom of the lap
flapflapflap said:
Can’t comment since I cancelled my 16 order but your concern is something I actually thought about after seeing some comparison photos floating around. Aesthetically, the 16 looks so damn chunky. And now I’m hearing that it’s very heavy.
Click to expand...
The middle area at the bottom of the laptop is curved, to allow the user to lift the screen up. I wish that curved edge went all the way across the entire bottom of the laptop. But sadly, I cannot imagine Apple implementing this in their design.
 
d
UltimateSyn said:
Yup. I am noticing this now, too. Especially dependent on how the laptop is sitting in your lap. Right now I'm typing on it and raising my arms all the way up because it would be uncomfortable to set them down - the bottom of the laptop is too long w/ the sharp edge, and I guess thickness is contributing a little bit here too.

Ergonomics are far better on the 14" for lap typing and that may end up being the deciding factor for me. I've been having a really tough time deciding between the two.
Click to expand...
did you get a 14 in the end ? im curious
 
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