Planning on downsizing from 16" to 14"

[Kottu]

My 16" base model M1p is more than enough for my needs. In fact M2 MBA would fill my requirements. But when I got my 16" for almost the same price as a M2 MBA with 16/512GB, I didn't hesitate.
16" is wonderful machine but sometimes I wish if it was a lighter. I love the screen's real estate and picture quality so I wonder what do you think about 14" MBP. Is the weight difference of 1.3 pounds a lot? I didn't like the screen of M2 MBA so, I removed it from my list.

 

[FriendlyMackle]

I’m looking at this now, wondering how large the 14” screen feels compared to the old 15” MBP (which I have). I really don’t like 13” screens, they feel way too cramped. The 16” seems like the best option in terms of screen and power, but I also wonder whether the 14” would be better for travel.

 

[Hey_Apple]

I would go with the 14" and you can always use an external monitor when at home. For travel it would easier with a 14" compared to a 16"

 

[mdhaus72]

If you will primarily use an external monitor with it, then I think it may make sense to go with the 14". But if you will use it portably around the house, etc., then I personally think a 16" is the better option. The extra screen real estate makes a big difference and the screen itself is terrific.

 

[Ilzen&Mac]

I used to own 15" laptops (MBP noRetina 2011, MBP Retina 2015) as my first 2008 MacBook Pro was 13" and too small for me (back then also way too weak). In those times the 15" models were definetly worth it even for basic tasks: Processors were better, cooling system, graphics and (most importantly) displays.

However what always bothered me was: The 15" ones are way to heavy for travel or even commuting with them to work unless you have a car. Bringing them to a small working environment (Uni, cafe, train station, plane etc.) was also ridicilous. And I used to be quite jealous to all my friends with Airs, especially as they (Airs) took a path towards a much better performance in the last 10 years.

So amid Corona begin I did get myself the last Intel-based (and the worst in my life) MacBook Air. The size and screen were perfect for me, the performance of course not. So I was more than happy to finally have ordered my new MBP 14" 2 days ago!

My personal position is: The screen quality AND the performance of 14" and 16" are basically the same by now. The 16" I would choose only if it stays 90% of the time on the desk and I don't like working with external displays or have none.

For ANY other scenarios I would 100% recommend a 14": The screen real estate is amazing, the size is perfect and you will never be bothered by traveling with it. It is a laptop in the end of the day.

 

[royas]

I’m looking at this now, wondering how large the 14” screen feels compared to the old 15” MBP (which I have). I really don’t like 13” screens, they feel way too cramped. The 16” seems like the best option in terms of screen and power, but I also wonder whether the 14” would be better for travel.

What most people don't get, is the fact, that the 14 inch has more screen real estate than the old 15 inch (at least the 2015 model). It's just that the screen size is smaller.

14 inch: 3024 x 1964 native res with 1512 x 982 virtual space (2x scaling)
15 inch: 2560 x 1600 native with 1280 x 800 virtual space.

+ the fact that the 14 inch uses a notch which makes it possible for even more vertical space.

 

[GrumpyCoder]

The 16" is a little faster (14" is clocked lower). The 14" is also noisier under full CPU+GPU load, which many people will never experience. Since a MBA would be good enough for you, that doesn't matter as you'd likely never tax it that high. The 16" has longer battery life. That leaves screen size. The difference in weight is irrelevant, the 14" just handles better due to smaller size, so the weight distribution is better.

In the end, ask yourself if you can live with the smaller screen size. It handles better when carrying around, but it feels a little cramped when working on the go. I've always switched back and forth between different screen sizes since the old iBook/Powerbook days and somehow I always come back to larger displays after going for smaller ones. And yes, I mostly work with it docked.

That being said, a 15" or 16" MBA would be really nice for those who don't need the power.

 

[maflynn]

so I wonder what do you think about 14" MBP.

I went from a 16" to a 14" MBP, partly because I was traveling and I felt the 14" would be a better travel companion. Now that's behind me, I kind of wished I stuck with the 16" MBP.

I can't say that my experience will be yours, but I do wish I had the 16" MBP. Don't get me wrong the 14" is a great machine, but I'm old and crotchety - I think the larger screen would be better for my feeble eyes

 

[FriendlyMackle]

What most people don't get, is the fact, that the 14 inch has more screen real estate than the old 15 inch (at least the 2015 model). It's just that the screen size is smaller.

14 inch: 3024 x 1964 native res with 1512 x 982 virtual space (2x scaling)
15 inch: 2560 x 1600 native with 1280 x 800 virtual space.

+ the fact that the 14 inch uses a notch which makes it possible for even more vertical space.

Thanks, that’s something I hadn’t considered! This does make me feel better about the 16” model, as it will have even more real estate than the old 15” (my 15” MBP Retina is from 2013, and while still functional, has far too little RAM for anything besides email or web browsing)!

I’m going from using a desktop (iMac 27”) day to day, to (after this upgrade) an MBP + Apple Studio Display (or whatever it’s called, the $2K model) as a replacement. The bonus is that the new MBP can still travel with me the few times per year that I go anywhere.

 

[Beau10]

The 16" is a little faster (14" is clocked lower). The 14" is also noisier under full CPU+GPU load, which many people will never experience.

They're clocked the same. Are you talking about perf loss due to thermal stress or the base 14" being binned to fewer active cores?

To the OP: I use both a 14" and 16" daily for work (programming). When working for long periods at a desk I use the 16", but I'm often out and about so the 14" gets more use - I'd probably pick that if I had to settle on one machine.

 

[strayts]

I returned the 16" and got the 14", and I don't regret it one bit.

 

[CalMin]

I was always a fan of the Jony Ive era 15” MacBooks. Then I got a 2019 16” and the small increase in size/weight crossed some invisible threshold and suddenly it felt like a bit of a porker when traveling.

When I stepped up to Apple silicon, I went with a 14” and have been delighted with it. If I’m honest, I do miss the screen real estate at times, but since I am docked to two external monitors like 90% of the time, I have gotten over it.

The real benefit is when I have to travel. I don’t really work on the plane much these days, but even so, schlepping this thing in an out of bags is much easier than the 16”. It was the right compromise for me.

 

[GrumpyCoder]

They're clocked the same. Are you talking about perf loss due to thermal stress or the base 14" being binned to fewer active cores?

I'm talking about a little lower GPU clock speed for the 14", IIRC it's between 100 and 200 MHz. I'd have to look up older reviews/benchmarks and it was also shown by several YouTubers when the M1P/M originally launched. Those who don't always put full GPU load on it over longer periods of time will likely never notice it. And as I said, if the OP considers the MBA this is irrelevant due to general performance difference between MBP and MBA.

 

[FriendlyMackle]

I was always a fan of the Jony Ive era 15” MacBooks. Then I got a 2019 16” and the small increase in size/weight crossed some invisible threshold and suddenly it felt like a bit of a porker when traveling.

When I stepped up to Apple silicon, I went with a 14” and have been delighted with it. If I’m honest, I do miss the screen real estate at times, but since I am docked to two external monitors like 90% of the time, I have gotten over it.

The real benefit is when I have to travel. I don’t really work on the plane much these days, but even so, schlepping this thing in an out of bags is much easier than the 16”. It was the right compromise for me.

So, is the 16” that much larger & heavier than the old 15” MBP (like 2014-2016 models)? It sounds very similar in terms of weight. I don’t know about size, it does sound a bit longer in length, maybe by an inch or so?

 

[MisterSavage]

I got the 14". If that screen was my daily driver I myself would get the 16". But I use the screen infrequently around the house and when I'm traveling. I got a lot of work done on it over the holidays with no issue.

 

[petvas]

I have a 14" M1 Pro MacBook Pro and I love it. Of course I am tempted by the bigger screen of the 16", but weight is an issue, even if I mostly use the laptop at home, on the couch. I also have a Mac Studio with the Studio Display, so I guess that the best choice for me is the 14". The 16" MacBook Pro though is interesting because of its bigger screen estate, but I wouldn't want to take it outside of my home. It's just too big and heavy, even for one trip a year.

 

[tstafford]

I’m looking at this now, wondering how large the 14” screen feels compared to the old 15” MBP (which I have). I really don’t like 13” screens, they feel way too cramped. The 16” seems like the best option in terms of screen and power, but I also wonder whether the 14” would be better for travel.

It's about more than the size. The resolution matters too. My MBP14 feel much bigger than my M2 MBA even though it is only a .6" difference. The resolution and extra half inch means I am not constantly resizing and moving my main window all around. Apple got it just right with the MBP14. No so much with the M2 MBA.

 

[tim1000]

I have a 14" M1 Pro MacBook Pro and I love it. Of course I am tempted by the bigger screen of the 16", but weight is an issue, even if I mostly use the laptop at home, on the couch. I also have a Mac Studio with the Studio Display, so I guess that the best choice for me is the 14". The 16" MacBook Pro though is interesting because of its bigger screen estate, but I wouldn't want to take it outside of my home. It's just too big and heavy, even for one trip a year.

How is the Mac studio for zoom calls?

 

[CalMin]

So, is the 16” that much larger & heavier than the old 15” MBP (like 2014-2016 models)? It sounds very similar in terms of weight. I don’t know about size, it does sound a bit longer in length, maybe by an inch or so?

I can't answer that truthfully because I haven't had those two models side-by-side for comparison.

What I can say is that I had a 2012 16", a 2016 15", a 2019 16". The 2019 16" felt heavy compared to the 2016 15" for sure. The increases were marginal, but they were enough that the 2019 16" felt too big. When they released the 2021 16" Apple Silicon the size/weight went higher still.

I have picked up the 16" in the Apple Store and was glad I opted to go with the smaller size. The 16" Apple silicon MBP is really chonky and really only makes sense if you don't have a bigger screen to plug into, or don't travel much. That said, the 16" screen is STUNNING - it really is the best laptop display I've seen out there.

--

Ultimately, this a very personal and subjective choice. No amount of forum discussion can replace going to an Apple Store and physically handling them yourself. For me it was an easy decision even if I do sometimes miss that extra screen real estate.

 

[petvas]

How is the Mac studio for zoom calls?

I use mainly Teams and have zero issues with it. Performance is great.

 

[Beau10]

I use mainly Teams and have zero issues with it. Performance is great.

Yeah, Teams is much better w/ Apple silicon. It turned my 16" i9 into a lap toaster/jet plane on the regular.

 

[tstafford]

How is the Mac studio for zoom calls?

I assume you mean the ASD vs. the Studio (Mac). If so, it's very good. Just today I did a Google Meet and someone commented the camera was amazing in their opinion. Normal people (not MR or YT reviewers) find the ASD camera easy to use and of decent quality.

 

[petvas]

I assume you mean the ASD vs. the Studio (Mac). If so, it's very good. Just today I did a Google Meet and someone commented the camera was amazing in their opinion. Normal people (not MR or YT reviewers) find the ASD camera easy to use and of decent quality.

Yes, the camera quality< is ok but not great. The display though is absolutely top. Great viewing angles, color accuracy and amazing speakers.

 

[maflynn]

I use mainly Teams and have zero issues with it. Performance is great.

I've only seen complaints at how Teams works on apple silicon.
MS Teams....very depressing.
Microsoft Teams using more than 1GB of RAM on M1
Is Microsoft teams the culprit of higher SSD consumption on my M1 Macbook?

 

[Qwaf]

Teams is dreadful and often causes my 2019 i9 MBP to grind to a halt by sucking up like half of my threads in some weird way, causing it to throttle down to 1Ghz.

I'm not expecting much change when I go to Apple Silicon tbh, it's just bad software.