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Am I the only person who would like a larger laptop?

E

Electrical

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Original poster
Sep 1, 2021
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I like the specs of the base model MacBook Air. But I really need a bigger display. To me it seems like such a waste spending $2400 on a super fast MacBook Pro just to get the bigger display, when the base model MacBook Air would work perfectly if they just put a larger display on it.

I know that having a large display doesn’t make it super portable, but I like the size of a 17 inch laptop because it’s a good compromise for me. It’s big enough for me to do what I have to with multiple windows, while still being portable enough to move around from my desk to my kitchen table to my balcony to my coffee table to my table outside.
 
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Electrical said:
It’s not the size, it’s how much screen real estate there is. It’s very hard to fit multiple windows next to each other on a 13 inch screen.
Click to expand...

I am joking of course. There really is no middle ground here, its take it or leave it. I definately could see Apple with a 17" device in the next few years but not imminently and not the MBA, only MBP.

I know what you mean though I struggle with the smaller screen for some things and the result is having to connect the laptop to an external screen. Does nothing for portability.
 
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Electrical said:
That’s not a Mac.

Does it really have to go to such an extreme? Is there no gray area?
Click to expand...
It's really simple with Apple (and everyone else). The current 15"/16" is usually as good as it gets. 17" is an absolute niche market everywhere and especially Apple sind their marketshare is small. Whenever you go with a larger screen with Apple, you also get more powerful hardware. Always been like that, always will be.

I guess next years MBAs which will be redesigns might be 14" up from 13.3", but that's it. If you want to go higher, then a loaded MBP is the choice and for now 16" is the limit. I doubt the 17" will make a comeback.
 
LeeW said:
I am joking of course. There really is no middle ground here, its take it or leave it. I definately could see Apple with a 17" device in the next few years but not imminently and not the MBA, only MBP.

I know what you mean though I struggle with the smaller screen for some things and the result is having to connect the laptop to an external screen. Does nothing for portability.
Click to expand...
I appreciate the response. I see that I’m not alone.

I’m actually OK with the 16 inch display on the MacBook Pro, it just seems like such a waste buying such a powerful machine when the base model MBA would be good enough for me processor-wise. I wish they would put the larger display into the lower model laptop.
 
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GrumpyCoder said:
It's really simple with Apple (and everyone else). The current 15"/16" is usually as good as it gets. 17" is an absolute niche market everywhere and especially Apple sind their marketshare is small. Whenever you go with a larger screen with Apple, you also get more powerful hardware. Always been like that, always will be.

I guess next years MBAs which will be redesigns might be 14" up from 13.3", but that's it. If you want to go higher, then a loaded MBP is the choice and for now 16" is the limit. I doubt the 17" will make a comeback.
Click to expand...
I guess I thought 17 inch laptops were more common. A few years ago I had a 17 inch Dell laptop that only cost $500 and it was great for me as far as hardware.

But I really hate Windows and I’d rather stick with macOS since I also use an iPad and iPhone
 
Electrical said:
I guess I thought 17 inch laptops were more common.
Click to expand...
No, 17" is a niche. Apple sold very few of these. They're making a comeback in the gaming market though. Probably not because of the display size, but the physical size of the laptop itself. Those Nvidia 3070/3080 GPUs need a lot of cooling, so the larger the laptop the better. I've never seen many of the old 17" Macs in the field back in the day. I guess it's not on their priority list if at all, leave alone having it on a MBA.
 
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I see, makes sense.

I know Apple has their own way and nothing is going to change that.
 
If there were a 17" MBP, I would almost certainly want to get it. I do not see them doing it with the 16" MBP in the line up though because it doesn't make a lot of sense because essentially they are targeting to the same type of user, which are those people who use a laptop as a desktop replacement that allows for some modicum of portability.

I think the attractiveness of such a product depends on just how portable it needs to be for the user. With WFH these days, I see the so-called "niche" for 17" laptops expanding greatly.
 
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Electrical said:
I see, makes sense.

I know Apple has their own way and nothing is going to change that.
Click to expand...
Another way of looking at the problem is that Apple has considered the option and decided the demand for such a computer does not justify the cost of having another device in the product line. You may remember the Apple of the mid ‘90s having so many different models it almost bankrupt the company. Steve Jobs came back and introduced a grid which showed a consumer laptop, a consumer desktop, a ”pro”* laptop, a “pro”* desktop = 4 computer models. Though Apple has strayed from this formula hopefully after the Apple Silicon transition is completed Apple can tighten up their product line again. Choice for the consumer is good but not at the expense of the business. That is not just Apple’s way but the way of most successful businesses in my limited experience.

This is, of course, speculation on my part and not based on any special knowledge.

*”pro” = a product marketing term that apparently means it has more features than the non-pro version and should not be assumed to mean what you wished it meant.
 
I'm hopelessly out of it, and so I've only used desktop computers--at least for "daily driver" use. But I have contemplated a laptop from time to time, and I've thought that there is a real argument for a larger laptop for my needs. It may lack portability--but it would be portable enough. But then even a large laptop would be more portable than even the most portable desktop computers I've had. (Which would be the 1980s Macintosh computers that had a black and white screen built in. Those were portable about the house--but they were bulky and heavy enough to discourage casually moving them about.)

Thinking back many years... I'm reminded that it's nothing new to have to move up to one of the more expensive laptops becasue of a screen issue. I remember one journalist commenting in the early 1990s that he had the top PowerBook--not because he needed the fastest processor, but because it was the only choice that got him the screen he wanted (then it was active matrix, which was better, than the passive matrix that the cheap PowerBooks used).
 
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Fwiw - sidecar w/ an ipad is pretty decent. Or, previously, used Luna Display. I typically dock my laptop with two monitors, external peripherals, etc. When going mobile, used 16" MBP and an ipad and it was a decent 1.5-screen setup. If you had an iPad Pro, that's about as good as a second screen. I don't think market share is ever going to be big enough for Apple to consider a 17" laptop. Wager we'd see an iPad that big before a Mac.

(edited for typos)
 
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WriteNow said:
I'm hopelessly out of it, and so I've only used desktop computers--at least for "daily driver" use. But I have contemplated a laptop from time to time, and I've thought that there is a real argument for a larger laptop for my needs. It may lack portability--but it would be portable enough. But then even a large laptop would be more portable than even the most portable desktop computers I've had. (Which would be the 1980s Macintosh computers that had a black and white screen built in. Those were portable about the house--but they were bulky and heavy enough to discourage casually moving them about.)

Thinking back many years... I'm reminded that it's nothing new to have to move up to one of the more expensive laptops becasue of a screen issue. I remember one journalist commenting in the early 1990s that he had the top PowerBook--not because he needed the fastest processor, but because it was the only choice that got him the screen he wanted (then it was active matrix, which was better, than the passive matrix that the cheap PowerBooks used).
Click to expand...
My first laptop was a 10 pound desktop replacement. It was a 15 inch Micron. I forget the model number, but I remember that Dell made the same exact computer.

That is what a laptop is for me. I don’t need anything ultralight to take with me daily and be able to pop out anywhere. I just want a computer that I could carry to a different place in or outside of my home. Having the ability to take it with me to a hotel or on a road trip a few times a year is a plus as well.
 
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I think you need to work out what you really want to use the device for and where you'll be using it.

If it's mostly at a desk but you need to be able to move around too, then any Macbook/etc is fine and just get a nice large monitor, keyboard and mouse. Alternatively a Mac Mini might suffice if you don't need to move around much.

If it's mostly at tables/desks and with a power outlet nearby at all times, maybe the new iMac might make sense since it's 24", very light/portable (for an AIO) and could do the trick.

Everytime I've wanted a bigger screened laptop, I've always ended up regretting it after buying as the portability compromise is too much. Nowadays for my laptop I have a 13" M1 MBP which seems to be the right size/balance for when I'm not at my desk with my keyboard/mouse/monitor.
 
Electrical said:
I like the specs of the base model MacBook Air. But I really need a bigger display. To me it seems like such a waste spending $2400 on a super fast MacBook Pro just to get the bigger display, when the base model MacBook Air would work perfectly if they just put a larger display on it.

I know that having a large display doesn’t make it super portable, but I like the size of a 17 inch laptop because it’s a good compromise for me. It’s big enough for me to do what I have to with multiple windows, while still being portable enough to move around from my desk to my kitchen table to my balcony to my coffee table to my table outside.
Click to expand...
The large laptop market is very small. A 17" laptop even if they make it thin like the Air would still be huge. Most of the time the people who want such a huge laptop want it for a desktop replacement. This means desktop power. It's either powerful gaming or workstation laptops. No one says yea I want a 17" laptop so I can do Word docs and browse Facebook side by side. Well perhaps some might say that but very few. Price is often based on volume of sales so even if they made this MacBook Air Max it would cost more than $2400 just to make up for low volume sales. Thus the reason why it doesn't exist. Have you thought of just using a docking station? Use the Air while you're on the balcony but when on your desk dock it to a much larger monitor and full keyboard.
 
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russell_314 said:
Have you thought of just using a docking station? Use the Air while you're on the balcony but when on your desk dock it to a much larger monitor and full keyboard.
Click to expand...
That is exactly what I did for a few years. I bought a 2014 13 inch MacBook Air, but the screen was too small so I bought a 27 inch monitor and apple keyboard and mouse.

The problem was that when I took the laptop to use in the backyard pergola or wherever else, the screen was just too small to be productive. For example, I like being able to open PDF invoices on one side while I have QuickBooks windows opened next to it. That just didn’t work on a 13 inch screen.

So I ended up selling that MacBook Air and getting a 2018 Mac Mini.

Everything that you and everyone else have said about why they don’t make a larger screen but lower end model laptop makes perfect sense. So I guess I’ll be getting the 16” MBP. I will wait to see the new model first.
 
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OMG, this is a funny thread. I told a group of people that I'd LOVE a 20" notebook. Seriously! Who wouldn't!

Now, carrying a 20" notebook would be awkward, but the screen size alone would be EPIC! I WANT...

But I was looking at telescopes, and would love to have a 14" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, but it weighs 210+ pounds! If they can make a 20" notebook weigh less, I'd bite.

What was the jumbo MacBook Pro? 17"? We're at 16" now. Would an 18" be the next model size? I could see it. They could switch to a carbon fiber chassis, and that would be light, and sturdy. *shrug* Imagine a carbon fiber MacBook Pro.
 
There have been some rumours of a 15“ MacBook Air - I wouldn’t expect it honestly but it’s not impossible.
I also think there’s a chance the future M1X 16” will be a tad cheaper than that current 16” in its starting config, and that the 14” will be cheaper than the 16” but of course also smaller still.
 
Electrical said:
That is exactly what I did for a few years. I bought a 2014 13 inch MacBook Air, but the screen was too small so I bought a 27 inch monitor and apple keyboard and mouse.

The problem was that when I took the laptop to use in the backyard pergola or wherever else, the screen was just too small to be productive. For example, I like being able to open PDF invoices on one side while I have QuickBooks windows opened next to it. That just didn’t work on a 13 inch screen.

So I ended up selling that MacBook Air and getting a 2018 Mac Mini.

Everything that you and everyone else have said about why they don’t make a larger screen but lower end model laptop makes perfect sense. So I guess I’ll be getting the 16” MBP. I will wait to see the new model first.
Click to expand...
Maybe with M1 they will come up with a cheaper base model 16" since they're not so dependant on Intel and AMD. I wouldn't hold my breath for it being less than 2K though. You're not alone in wanting this but I think it's a small group. I know people out there want a 17" iPad Pro. Talk about a "bendgate" waiting to happen once someone sits on that thing 🤣
 
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