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All other factors being equal, which size would you prefer?

  • 14" MacBook Pro

    Votes: 190 46.7%
  • 16" MacBook Pro

    Votes: 165 40.5%
  • Undecided

    Votes: 52 12.8%

  • Total voters
    407
Even if they were the same price (which they won't be) I'd choose the 14" over the 16" as I value the portability over screen real-estate. The 14" is already going to be larger than the 12" or 13" Mac laptops I've had over the past 25+ years.

Edit: make that closer to 30 years going back older and smaller. Made of list of my personal Mac Laptops I've personally owned (there were some work supplied ones that aren't on the list including a 520, 540c and a 5300c)...

9” Powerbook 100 1991/92
11.3” Powerbook 1400c 1996
10.4” PowerBook 2400c 1998
12” iBook G4 2003
13” Macbook 2006
13” MBP 2010
13” MBP 2012
13” MBP 2015
13” MBP 2020
13” MBA M1 2020
You are not giving up just the screen estate, but a much more powerful gpu and maybe more Ram
 
I am tempted to order both on the day and run them through their paces and see which meets my needs.

Over the last few years I have realized i have to have a desktop computer as no laptop can replace it. So really a lighter more portable solution is preferable and all the heavy lifting done at the desk. However a strong GPU is really great for the times I am with a client and want to show a real time walkthrough / am away from the desk more than a day….. if they make both computers with the same spec it will be the 14”, however if they make the 16” much more capable then it will be a tough choice.
Curious, what does a desktop do for you that a laptop or laptop + external display does not?
 
Curious, what does a desktop do for you that a laptop or laptop + external display does not?
I guess there is an argument before with Intel Macs but now with Apple Silicon, there is not much difference.
 
Even though I think the smaller MacBook Pro outsells the larger one by a great margin, results in this thread will show the opposite due to probably three reasons: (1) people who want the smaller model are likely happy with the current 13-inch M1 model and only a few decided to wait for the redesign; (2) may users who want the larger model are waiting for something newer than the 2019 16-inch model which was released two years ago and is still sold for the same price; and (3) this forum is populated by many Apple enthusiasts who will buy nothing but the best, biggest, most expensive, ultimate model regardless of their actual need.

And there are actually those who make use of these models.
 
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I wonder if the 16" will have better speakers than the 14"? Or how if their speakers will be upgraded from current ones?
 
I wonder if the 16" will have better speakers than the 14"? Or how if their speakers will be upgraded from current ones?
The new 16” will likely have better speakers than the 14”, since there’s more space on the sides of the keyboards to build the speakers. See the current 13” vs 16”, where the 16” has significantly better speakers.
 
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I just got an LG 34" ultrawide monitor but I'm still getting the 16". I don't want to feel chained to my home office. Programming in 14" is nearly impossible.
 
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Curious, what does a desktop do for you that a laptop or laptop + external display does not?
I guess there is an argument before with Intel Macs but now with Apple Silicon, there is not much difference.
The iMac has a great screen which you will probably not find anywhere else to buy. It has a great sound system which a laptop does not have. It has a built-in camera that is superior to most found in the market. It is more convenient, as you do not need to take the laptop out of your bag and keep connecting and disconnecting it. And an iMac is beautiful and colorful and certainly decorates the room, while a laptop with an external display comes with additional cables which are nowhere nearly as attractive.
 
I just got an LG 34" ultrawide monitor but I'm still getting the 16". I don't want to feel chained to my home office. Programming in 14" is nearly impossible.
Apple has spoiled me with Retina display. Ultrawides in native resolution look pixelated to me :(
 
I just got an LG 34" ultrawide monitor but I'm still getting the 16". I don't want to feel chained to my home office. Programming in 14" is nearly impossible.
I’ve programmed successfully for years on my 2017 13” MBP.

The iMac has a great screen which you will probably not find anywhere else to buy. It has a great sound system which a laptop does not have. It has a built-in camera that is superior to most found in the market. It is more convenient, as you do not need to take the laptop out of your bag and keep connecting and disconnecting it. And an iMac is beautiful and colorful and certainly decorates the room, while a laptop with an external display comes with additional cables which are nowhere nearly as attractive.
All good points. I thought you meant a Mac mini or something.
 
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MBPR14 + ultrawide 34” monitor, I don’t worry about pixel density because multitasking on ultrawide monitor is so convinient
 
The new 16” will likely have better speakers than the 14”, since there’s more space on the sides of the keyboards to build the speakers. See the current 13” vs 16”, where the 16” has significantly better speakers.
So the 14” has no room for better speaker but has room for the 32 gpu cores?!
Come on, guys dont get high hopes for the 32 gpu cores on the 14”. From the rumors apple chose to go with 32 gb ram in the 14” so the SoC is already big for the 14” They could let 16 gb ram max and make 32 gpu cores SoC but from these 2 options ofc apple made the right call to have the 32 gb ram option and not the 32 gpu cores. BUT maybe im wrong and if i am expect the 14” to run a lot hotter than the 16”
Again the 16” will have better gpu performance, better speakers as you said, bigger battery, bigger screen real estate
 
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I just got an LG 34" ultrawide monitor but I'm still getting the 16". I don't want to feel chained to my home office. Programming in 14" is nearly impossible.
😀 I programmed a whole diploma thesis on an 11" MacBook Air back then.
Meanwhile my private Mac is an 29" iMac so I know what it feels like to have a big screen. But for programming I don't need a big screen.
Apple has spoiled me with Retina display. Ultrawides in native resolution look pixelated to me :(
Same here. My employer even gave me a 27" 4K Dell display to my 15" MBP. But I couldn't use it. At first I thought it is broken but turns out 4K on 27" has much less dpi than Apples 15" Retina display. It always felt extremely blurry to me. Especially when my 15" MacBook Pro was right next to it. So I gave it back. Programming successfully on a 15" MBP only since 2017. 🙂
So the 14” has no room for better speaker but has room for the 32 gpu cores?!
Come on, guys dont get high hopes for the 32 gpu cores on the 14”. From the rumors apple chose to go with 32 gb ram in the 14” so the SoC is already big for the 14” They could let 16 gb ram max and make 32 gpu cores SoC but from these 2 options ofc apple made the right call to have the 32 gb ram option and not the 32 gpu cores
Again the 16” will have better gpu performance, better speakers as you said, bigger battery, bigger screen real estate
I think the difference between a SoC with 16 or a SoC with 32 GPU cores is very small. A significantly better speaker however would need much more space.
But I still think @terminator-jq is right with his prediction that the 14" model will get the 16 GPU core version and the 16" the 32 GPU core version (and the binned versions of those SoCs). Only because it's much easier to manufacture if you can fit the exact same (dimensions wise) SoC in the same chassis.
 
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Probably 16". The screen real estate between the 13" and 16" is huge, and I don't think the 14" will make a difference.

If I need something outside that doesn't require a big screen, my M1 12.9 iPad Pro will probably do the job anyway.
 
All things cannot be equal. At the very least the battery will be bigger on the 16".
Anywho - I have been rocking a 13" MBP for many years now. I'll switch it up to the 16" because I don't need to commute so the additional weight is not a big deal.
IF I were to commute again with my laptop - I'd get the 14".
 
You are not giving up just the screen estate, but a much more powerful gpu and maybe more Ram

"All other factors being equal, which size would you prefer?". So that is how I answered it even though I too believe that at minimum the 16" will have more options even if they have the same base specs to begin with as rumored.
 
The only way I'd go with a 14" would be if there was a massive price jump for the 16". While most of my work will still continue on my iMac, when I do need to be on the go I will still need that extra space for tool sets.
 
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When In was a student, I had a 13 inch. In my senior year, I needed something more powerful and switched to 15 inch. Ever since then, always the biggest option. I love more screen estate.
 
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14" base model (16gb/512gb) should do just fine for me.

Nothing "heavy" needed, just a "secondary, portable" Mac...
 
I own a 16" and I'm definitely going for the smaller screen.

My experience has been the following:

If I need real estate for large spreadsheets or multiple windows, 16" is just as useless as 14". I'm gonna need a monitor or two plugged in to my computer either way. And for cases when I don't need real estate because I'm just reading or whatever, the extra inches also don't seem to matter much.

The size/weight increase just doesn't seem to be worth it, specially considering how likely it is that both sizes will end up with the same CPU. Since my use doesn't rely on GPU, which is where these two models will likely be differentiated, it'd just be a more cumbersome tool for no extra benefit.

The big asterisk that might make me change my mind though is if there's a significant battery size difference. Same reason why I'm going Pro Max with my next phone despite not really liking my phones that big - a good battery outweighs many, many cons.
 
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