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mac-jam

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 25, 2015
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15
So I'm coming from a 12" Macbook to the new 15" 8 core MacBook - love the screen real estate however the laptop just seems massive and clunky. If I move on down to the 13" Macbook what % of the screen Realestate will I loose? I like to have 2 safari windows open side by side for example as I use a lot of cloud software.
 
resolution-wise you are not losing much.
The 15inch has a native resolution of 2880-by-1800, and the 13inch is 2560-by-1600.

On the 13inch, without 3rd party software the max resolution you can use is 1680x1050 I use 13inch on a daily basis, having two windows side-by-side is not too bad if you don't mind all the smaller fonts.
I believe you can get up to 1920x1200 on the 15inch in Display settings. The 15inch has a lower PPI (pixels per inch) so the fonts might appear just a little big larger when you max it out.
 
So I'm coming from a 12" Macbook to the new 15" 8 core MacBook - love the screen real estate however the laptop just seems massive and clunky. If I move on down to the 13" Macbook what % of the screen Realestate will I loose? I like to have 2 safari windows open side by side for example as I use a lot of cloud software.
I switched from 15” to 13” almost three years ago and prefer the 13.” I never find myself wanting a bigger screen. Glow ever I do travel some and I do very little video editing. Unless you need a big screen I think you will find the resolution on the 13” is a great size.
 
since this is a screen related post, not company i think the 13' dell xps screen is perfect for viewing i can see everything without squinting like the mbair 11" and the perceptive is great for watching game of thrones, even season 8!
 
Recently went from 15" to 13": no complaints.

To me, the bigger display does not add that much extra screen space, imo. And generally not needing things side by side, can live with overlapped windows, one over another, etc.
 
I use both. My preference has always been the 13”, and I’ve had several. In 2017 I went to a 15” but I’ve just never warmed up to the form factor, especially when taking the laptop out and about or on travel. My biggest gripe with the 15” is when typing, which I do a lot. Somehow, the 13”s ergonomics just suit me better. That said, since I have both, I will from time to time tuck the 13” away and use the 15” and I must admit the bit of extra screen space just seems to “breathe” a little more for me sometimes. I’m frequently marking up pdf’s and saving them onto a scratch drive, and then dropping the document (image) into Word or Pages docs. Having a bit more space is helpful in that scenario because although I frequently use multiple screens (side to side)..it’s nice to have the space to shift a scratch drive window around, or behind a document, or even two, in order to locate files that need to be dropped in, or referenced via quick view without swiping or shifting to a whole new screen. For some reason, shifting to another screen to locate/view a reference is a PITA to me..lol.

Anyhow, it’s hard to go wrong with either. Especially with the power the newest 13” mbp’s pack. If I had to choose one..it’s the 13 all day long. BTW - I also have a pair of iMac’s for heavy lifting so, do take my opinion fwiw.

Side note: I acquired the 15” along with an LG5K thinking it’d become my main rig. Didn’t work out so well, so I returned to iMac (21) for heavy lifting. Desktop’s still where it’s at for heavy computing IMO..just sucks being chained to the desk!
 
Lot of love for the 13” here.
I’ve got an Imac on the desk if needs be but in all honesty I don’t do anything too intense besides bits of Final Cut Pro and some photoshop.
 
You get just over 30% more screen real estate with the 15 inch. For me, that is significant.
 
If you think the 15" is too big, then you already have your answer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I personally love the 15" form factor and I've had no issues travelling, flying or commuting wih it. Everyone is different and one size doesn't fit all
 
I love the form factor of the 13 but in the end, the additional screen size of the 15 was just to much of an advantage for me to overlook.
 
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Seriously? 15/13=?
? don't even understand what you are trying to say.... lol
[doublepost=1559414119][/doublepost]I have both, and to me, it is very clear, the 15" scene size wins every time! just so much nicer, in every way.... then again, you sacra fist that portability :) depends what/where you are going with it? for me I use my PC 13" for work so take that on most trips, I just use the 15" at coffee shops etc. no problem and a joy to use.... especially for PDFs, graphs, data, images, even emails (since I get hundreds a day)....
 
Seriously? 15/13=?

You would use a difference function - that is (15 - 13)/15 if screen size was linear. But it isn't. The 15 and 13 represent the hypotenuse. So you would have to do a little algebra to find the difference in square inches or compute it down to a percentage.
 
I just bought the 2019 MacBook Pro 13" yesterday. It definitely feels a little cramped but I bought it for portability. I have a 34" ultra wide monitor at home for my Mac mini for when I need the extra screen space. I almost didn't buy the MacBook based on the comments on these forums, but I am glad I did. I really like it.
 
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I just bought the 2019 MacBook Pro 13" yesterday. It definitely feels a little cramped but I bought it for portability. I have a 34" ultra wide monitor at home for my Mac mini for when I need the extra screen space. I almost didn't buy the MacBook based on the comments on these forums, but I am glad I did. I really like it.
Great, yes listen to you! plus you have the return period if it doesn't work out!
 
I had a 13" but couldn't use it - I need all the pixels and at a readable size! :p

Check out SwitchResX at http://www.madrau.com/ It'll let you access all kinds of resolutions (hidpi and not) on the internal and external displays. I love it. On my 15" I can up to 3840x2400
 
I just bought the 2019 MacBook Pro 13" yesterday. It definitely feels a little cramped but I bought it for portability. I have a 34" ultra wide monitor at home for my Mac mini for when I need the extra screen space. I almost didn't buy the MacBook based on the comments on these forums, but I am glad I did. I really like it.
Are you going to keep the 13”?
 
Are you going to keep the 13”?

Yes, I am keeping it. It is a nice size, the keys are buttery smooth, and it looks nice. I even like the touch bar, which I didn’t expect.

Being impulsive, I bought it because making Anki cards on my iPad Pro was cumbersome while away from home. Other than that I will most likely just use Safari and the terminal for programming (finishing up a CS degree). I have also always made heavy use of virtual desktops, which helps with the smaller screen size.
 
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Yes, I am keeping it. It is a nice size, the keys are buttery smooth, and it looks nice. I even like the touch bar, which I didn’t expect.

Being impulsive, I bought it because making Anki cards on my iPad Pro was cumbersome while away from home. Other than that I will most likely just use Safari and the terminal for programming (finishing up a CS degree). I have also always made heavy use of virtual desktops, which helps with the smaller screen size.
Awesome- which configuration?
 
Awesome- which configuration?

Off the shelf from Best Buy- quad core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD. If I had any willpower I would have ordered it with 16GB of ram, but I didn't want to wait. My Mac mini is a six core i7 with 32GB of ram though, so if I need it I have it.
 
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If you travel, move with your laptop, even around the house I'd recommend the 13".

I've had both, after the 13" the 15" seems massive, it's not just the size, the 13" in my opinion is better weighted, I can carry it with 1 hand easily, it's light.

Unless you really need the performance of the 15", as in 3d rendering or a lot of video editing, like every day the 13" should suit you fine.

I love my 13" and have a new 2019 2.4 / 16gb / 512gb on it's way.
 
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If you travel, move with your laptop, even around the house I'd recommend the 13".

I've had both, after the 13" the 15" seems massive, it's not just the size, the 13" in my opinion is better weighted, I can carry it with 1 hand easily, it's light.

Unless you really need the performance of the 15", as in 3d rendering or a lot of video editing, like every day the 13" should suit you fine.

I love my 13" and have a new 2019 2.4 / 16gb / 512gb on it's way.

I own the 2017 TB 13".. it ain't bad but like you said if you need the performance you should get a 15. Either that or the screen estate with many windows if you don't got the external monitor.

One of my few issues with the 13" is how sluggish it gets while connected to a dual monitor 4k display.
 
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I own the 2017 TB 13".. it ain't bad but like you said if you need the performance you should get a 15. Either that or the screen estate with many windows if you don't got the external monitor.

One of my few issues with the 13" is how sluggish it gets while connected to a dual monitor 4k display.

That's a bit surprising. My 2015 13" runs 2xQHD just fine and 1x4K just fine. I have not tried dual 4K though. It may be that there's just too much bandwidth load accessing the shared system RAM.
 
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