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14 inch vs 16 inch which is more ideal?

Testing my friends 14" M4 Pro MBP [base 24/512 and base chip]... Preview/rendered 700 images 1:1 [extreme i know but wanted to test] (Nikon Zf, 24.5MP, not too intense). Completed that in 9 minutes, however battery dropped 18-20% during that period of rendering. That seemed a lot of drop... and now prompted me to save up for 16" M4 Max MBP with 64/1TB

Most likely 16" is the way to go for productive workflow... unless you really need portability, I still think the 14" is semi-lacking unless one is a casual browsing user. For productive workflow the 16" is king. Even Lightroom I found 14" too small, had to scroll more to get to certain windows. Not so much with the 16"

then again above is personal preference. if portability is important you can't trounce a 14" lol for that matter.
all about your priorities... for me i like wouldnt take my laptop out 5 days a week so a 16" is fine. maybe once a fortnight or so depending on how many meetings I have
 
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Looking at the iFixIt teardowns, it's hard to see how Apple can make the squarish current generation more portable. The Intel 15" did have rounded edges as someone mentioned, so as I recall, it made it a bit easier to carry. But then I see super light laptops on the Windows/Intel side. For example, the Fujitsu carbon-fiber 14" screen FMV Zero is just 634g and can come with 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD, HDMI port, Ethernet port, 2 USB-C, 2 USB-A, running an Intel Core Ultra 7 155U (12 core) CPU for 413,800円 ($2,681). But then Apple's strategy is to make MacBook Air the low end laptop, not a high-end one.
 
16" is way too heavy. I carry around 4 16" M1 Pros for work, each in it's own hard plastic case that weighs about 10lbs each. Total load is about 60lbs, very heavy to carry around even by car.
 
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chars1ub0w said:
Looking at the iFixIt teardowns, it's hard to see how Apple can make the squarish current generation more portable. The Intel 15" did have rounded edges as someone mentioned, so as I recall, it made it a bit easier to carry. But then I see super light laptops on the Windows/Intel side. For example, the Fujitsu carbon-fiber 14" screen FMV Zero is just 634g and can come with 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD, HDMI port, Ethernet port, 2 USB-C, 2 USB-A, running an Intel Core Ultra 7 155U (12 core) CPU for 413,800円 ($2,681). But then Apple's strategy is to make MacBook Air the low end laptop, not a high-end one.
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No fan for MB air, so just limited performance.
 
Miles Fu said:
No fan for MB air, so just limited performance.
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Well, as iFixIt said, they can do a lot better for the heatsink.
Screenshot 2024-11-12 at 3.03.50 PM.png
 
glindon said:
I always find it funny in regards to weight. I remember taking my 2011 13" Pro with me everywhere and not really thinking it was a particularily heavy machine at the time. I was surprised to see that it weighed in at 4.5 lbs while the latest 16" weighs 4.7 lbs. Perhaps its the foot print that makes it seem so much heavier.
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Packing 4.5 lbs into a 13" laptop frame means the device is much denser than the 16" MBP despite the latter's .2 lbs extra weight. Part of that has to do with the thermals of the older Intel CPUs and the cooling needed for those systems even under light usage.

smirking said:
How far apart are the thermals between the 14 and 16? We're just talking about the 16" being bigger and having a larger heat dissipating footprint, correct? Or is there more to it than just size?
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The warmest I've ever seen my 14" MBP get was when running Cyberpunk 2077 under the Game Porting Toolkit just after it was announced last year. iStat showed the CPU reaching around 83 degrees C, but the only area where I noticed any warming was around the 6, T, and Y keys. I could hear the air being exhausted from the laptop, but I never heard any actual fan/mechanical noise at the time.

There is a term among PC builders called "heat soak", which is when the cooling system has absorbed the maximum amount of heat it can handle. For the M1 and M2 lineups, the smaller 14" MBP will reach that point slightly faster than the 16" Pro simply because the heat pipes drawing the heat from the SoC to the fans are shorter. Apple apparently switched to the larger heatsink assembly for M3, which is approximately 35% larger than the previous version. I would assume Apple has continued that with the M4 lineup, but I haven't seen any teardowns to confirm or deny that
 
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OK, I just went to the Apple Store yesterday to compare the 16" vs the 14" side by side. I currently own a 16" and I've had smaller laptops before, but I've never bothered to put them side by side like this before.

I'm going to go with the 14". I thought that in comparing them side by side, I'd begin to get cold feet about giving up a modest chunk of screen space, but my reaction was quite the opposite. The 16" screen started to look too large to me, which was surprising because in the 3 years I've had my 16" MBP, I've never once thought that this screen is too large.

I also realized that for the things I do, that bit of extra screen space doesn't help my productivity much. It's nice, but most of the time it's wasted space. If I want space I can really put to work, I have to plug in to my ASD.

One other benefit of the 14" is the smaller trackpad. I know that's not a positive for some people, but the huge size of the 16" MBP's trackpad has been such a headache for me that I've considered covering the edges with electrical tape. My hands are fairly large and the palm rejection doesn't work well enough. It's much easier for me to avoid accidentally brushing the smaller trackpad on the 14".
 
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marmiteturkey said:
AND
The 14 with an iPad as side car is also a great option, and like you I always have an iPad with me - so I’m moving back to 14 as that gives me the most flexible option and lightens a pretty heavy mobile office backpack.
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This is what I do.

With the saved weight and cost of going 14”, I can carry an iPad as well and sidecar it.

And also have an iPad on hand for sketching, drawing, even more portability etc.
 
chars1ub0w said:
Would an iPad be lighter than a portable screen? 14" MBP + iPad/portable screen would weigh more than the 16" MBP, wouldn't it?
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It would be close, but you get more screen area and flexibility because you now also have an iPad for sketching, note taking, using while walking around, etc. Its not *just* a second screen, and I'm carrying the iPad with me any way.
 
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throAU said:
It would be close, but you get more screen area and flexibility because you now also have an iPad for sketching, note taking, using while walking around, etc. Its not *just* a second screen, and I'm carrying the iPad with me any way.
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14" MBP M4 Pro + 11" Ipad Pro = 2.05 kg
16" MBP M4 Pro = 2.14 kg

the 16" MBP is about 100grams more in weight. However, if you include a case with the iPad Pro the weights would about the exact same.

IMO 16" is a productivity beast. I don't know about you folks but a 16" screen is more productive than 14" + 11" iPad, because you can't have "side by side" exactly the same with two disjoint monitors.
 
marko232 said:
14" MBP M4 Pro + 11" Ipad Pro = 2.05 kg
16" MBP M4 Pro = 2.14 kg

the 16" MBP is about 100grams more in weight. However, if you include a case with the iPad Pro the weights would about the exact same.

IMO 16" is a productivity beast. I don't know about you folks but a 16" screen is more productive than 14" + 11" iPad, because you can't have "side by side" exactly the same with two disjoint monitors.
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Sure, but going 16" instead of both, I lose:

  • the additional features of an iPad for drawing, note taking, quick edits on photos (e.g., circle thing on picture, send back) etc.
  • the addition of an even smaller device for use walking around, etc.
  • a bunch of screen real estate - a 14 + 11 inch screen is a lot more space than a single 16".
  • side by side enables me to have a full 14" display for one app and a smaller display for a secondary app
    • I run most apps full screen and swipe left/right - this enables me to have 2 full screen app to swipe between independently. this is WAY nicer than window management on a single display. as an example I may have notes open on the iPad display and switch between multiple full screen apps on the Mac display to achieve a task.
  • the ability to keep working while the Mac is updating, etc.
  • the ability to split the iPad off to take into meetings etc., without unplugging the MacBook from power, storage, etc.

Whatever laptop I have, I'll be carrying the iPad anyway - for iPad things in addition to sidecar.

Both machines are great for productivity, getting rid of the iPad for a larger MacBook would for me be a detriment in many ways.
 
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When I'm traveling I take a 14" MBP and iPad with me as its a very flexible setup and gives me the best of both worlds - using the iPad as a second screen like @throAU says - or just one device or the other.

I used to use a 16" machine as my main laptop, but the thing that got me on this when traveling wasn't the weight, it was the footprint which became a pain. It's kind of the same with the 15" Air. If you're working anywhere that space is restricted, I found it a real pain. I couldn't travel with one now. Even if you're in business/first class train, planes etc, just putting that down on the table will leave you with no room for anything else.

When you reach your destination office or hotel, it's amazing though - that screen, those speakers which can genuinely fill a room. Other than the screen though, now you can get the same spec in the smaller form factor, some of the advantages of the 16 have gone.

I just bought an M1 Pro 16" to use as a laptop around the house because I LOVE that big screen and its something I do miss on a 14" if I'm working on the sofa for a while, or just want to setup somewhere else in the house and work for a decent amount of time. It's just as great as I remember it, but boy is it a big chonker if you've not used one in a while.
 
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If you're buying a Max chip buy the 16, if youre buying a Pro chip buy the 14"

If you need portability at all cost buy the 14 and expect shorter battery life and occasional voltage throttling
 
daneoni said:
If you're buying a Max chip buy the 16, if youre buying a Pro chip buy the 14"

If you need portability at all cost buy the 14 and expect shorter battery life and occasional voltage throttling
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Is there any concrete evidence from reviews of the M4 Max 14" vs. the 16" of the throttling?

The reason I ask is because it used to be the case that High Power Energy Mode was only available on the 16", e.g. as on my M1 Max 16" vs. the M1 Max 14", but now I understand the High Power mode is also available on the 14".
If Apple enabled it for the 14", that to me means Apple feels the 14" is up to it.
 
throAU said:
Sure, but then I'm giving up a bunch of CPU performance and a year of software support.
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year on year the M3 isn't far behind at all. And sure 6yrs of support vs 7

But if you need 64GB then by all means go for the M4 Max 16"
 
smirking said:
How far apart are the thermals between the 14 and 16? We're just talking about the 16" being bigger and having a larger heat dissipating footprint, correct? Or is there more to it than just size?
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It's more than just the thermals. Sometimes the 14" Max variant isn't throttling due to thermals but due to power constrains placed on it. The 16" can push about twice as much power to the chip than the 14" so in heavy mixed use workloads it can make a pretty big difference in how the two perform. It tends to be less noticeable if you're primarily using the gpu or cpu but use both and the 14" kind of falls apart by comparison. For the record I have not tested the 14" M4 Max but have every other iteration of the 14" max series. Considering giving the 14" M4 Max model another go to see if anything has changed but I'm expecting the answer to be no.

As for the original question I go back and forth. I like them both for different reasons and both have trade offs.
 
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hovscorpion12 said:
if your concern is thermals, I highly suggest TG Pro. Works flawless on my 16" M3 Max. Highest temp I ever seen was 73c. That was downloading/transcoding a 20 hour video file online to MP4. normal stress is around 40c to 45c.

Both 14" & 16" can be configured with identical specs and come with high performance mode. if Apple believed the 14" couldn't handle it, they wouldn't have added it.

if you want 14", get 14". if you want 16", go 16".

Simple.
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Not quite as simple. High power mode does help some but the 14" still only gets about 1/2 the power budget of the 16". You can get the temps down without too much of an issue but that doesn't help in certain workloads when its power constrained where the 16" has an extra 25-30 watts of headroom. *This was the case with M1 Max - M3 Max. I've not compared M4 Max.
 
bnumerick said:
It's more than just the thermals. Sometimes the 14" Max variant isn't throttling due to thermals but due to power constrains placed on it. The 16" can push about twice as much power to the chip than the 14" so in heavy mixed use workloads it can make a pretty big difference in how the two perform. It tends to be less noticeable if you're primarily using the gpu or cpu but use both and the 14" kind of falls apart by comparison. For the record I have not tested the 14" M4 Max but have every other iteration of the 14" max series. Considering giving the 14" M4 Max model another go to see if anything has changed but I'm expecting the answer to be no.

As for the original question I go back and forth. I like them both for different reasons and both have trade offs.
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I'd imagine you're still spot on given than the 16" comes with a 140W power brick and the 14" maxes out to a 96W power brick with the same chips.
 
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The 16 Pro is heavy but the screen real estate is so nice to work with. The one I use at work, Ive never wished for a larger screen. It's never felt cramped. And my 16" portable monitors match it perfectly for when I want to use two monitors. I always prefer to have both monitors the exact same size.

If it was my main laptop I would go 14. But if I use it as a desktop/laptop hybrid then I would go 16 just for the better cooling and less throttling. Then get a Air 13. I think owning a 16 Pro and a 13 Air would be the perfect combo.
 
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