Stop comparing the M1 Max 16" MBP to the 14" MBP, its the other way around.

[Kazgarth]

While I do respect the work of YouTube channels like Max tech and others, in reviewing and comparing every single detail of the new M1 Pro/Max MacBook configurations. This whoever lead to many people wrongfully assuming that 14" MBP is less stellar than the 16".

The reality is, it's an engineering achievement that they were able to squeeze the maxed out 64GB M1 Max chip inside the tiny 14" chassis. Without any binning, almost 90-100% of the performance (depending on workload), with respectable battery life, fan noise and thermal management.

That's alone is a miracle. You should applaud apple for their marvelous engineering efforts, as they could simply max out the 14" MBP at M1 Pro configuration with 16GB memory and call it a day.

But they went that extra mile to provide the 14" MBP fans the same configuration options as the 16".

Which reminds me to recommend you guys to watch the latest Rene Ritchie interview with Apple's VP of Platform Architecture as he mentioned that he personally use the 14inch MBP Max, and I believe it was his own dream to put that M1 Max chip in the tiny chassis of the 14" MBP for it's insane portability.

Full fledged M1 Max chip in a chassis that's almost 2/3 the size of the 16" is the ultimate flex of power in my opinion.

 

[bill-p]

The thing is that M1 spoiled people and now they expect 2x CPU and 2x GPU performance to come without any penalty at all to battery life or fan noise.

I would have to say... that should be impossible, but people will insist anyway. I find it funny people are expecting these M1 Pro/Max machines to fit into their workflow without making significant noise. I'm okay with a bit of fan noise if it means I can make my setup lighter, but so far, I haven't heard the fan in my 14" at all despite pushing it pretty hard.

Also regarding battery life, the 16" has 42% bigger battery compared to the 14", so of course it will last a few hours longer with the same config. What it's giving up on... is USB-C fast charging, and the requirement to lug along a 140W brick. The 140W brick alone is a whopping 0.75lbs! (yes, I weighed it when I had the 16" to test!)

The 14" can use one of those 3rd-party 100W compact USB-C charger that's barely about 0.2lbs in weight.

Overall, going with the 14" saved me a total of almost 1.8lbs (1.3lbs for the MacBook itself and 0.5lbs for the charger) over the 16" M1 Max I initially ordered. That 1.8lbs is significant!

 

[cocoua]

Hi! just adding my two cents, as original post says, it seems there is a performance penalty in the 14" depending on the workload, just adding test from BArefeats:

M1 Max 16 versus M1 Max 14

real world speed test results for performance minded Macintosh users

barefeats.com

 

[Realityck]

While the 2021 14" MBP is indeed a marvel, its just you see this different coming from a earlier 2012 15" Retina Laptop which was the marvel in its day compared to something far lighter such as a MBA.

The 16" is the same size/weight as that 15" model that encompasses a lot of technology innovation. While the design for the 14" is equivalent in many ways it is a compromise. Smaller battery, smaller screen, smaller speakers, smaller cooling fans, offers a very nice 1.2 pounds (.5kg) weight reduction.

There is a reason why some even bought both the 14" MBP and 16" MBP models.