My first MacBook was a 17" that I bought in late 2008. I loved it. Passed it on to my daughter and it is still going. If Apple re-introduced one I would buy it in a heartbeat. At the age of 80 I need all the screen real estate I can get. I am with those whose philosophy is that the weight is not so important when just moving it from desk to couch.
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Am I the only person who would like a larger laptop?
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Plus, You’re a man’s man who has no problem lifting 6 1/2 pounds, unlike some of these youngin’s these days. 😁
It’s true, though, that one large screen is often better for my purposes than having to spread out over multiple screens. The best scenario for me last year was two 27 inch displays, one on the iMac and an external of the same size, but lower resolution. I’d love to have a 17!inch display as a portable option on a MacBook Pro.
With the way that they’ve been doing it, I’m actually surprised that they didn’t come out with an 18 inch model fit into a laptop similarly sized to the old 17 inch.
I used to have a 17-inch laptop. A boat anchor. Horrible compromise. The worst of both worlds - too big to be enjoyably portable, too small to enjoyably substitute for a desktop.
I too thought it was a clever compromise. After persisting with it for several years, not wanting to admit my mistake, it was a huge relief when I finally got rid of it.
I now have a 27-inch desktop, and a 13-inch Macbook. Thoroughly enjoy both.
I too thought it was a clever compromise. After persisting with it for several years, not wanting to admit my mistake, it was a huge relief when I finally got rid of it.
I now have a 27-inch desktop, and a 13-inch Macbook. Thoroughly enjoy both.
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A large desktop and small laptop is an ideal setup for many, but every setup has trade offs—it’s all purely subjective. Granted a 17” laptop has less mass appeal, hence why Apple doesn’t make one anymore (though 16” is close), it can be an ideal device for those who care very little about carrying weight and size, but care very much about having one work machine with the largest screen (and maybe highest performance) possible that can be painlessly packed up and set up again on even the tiniest of desks or possibly even on their lap. Heck, I’ve seen a third party carrying case for iMacs, so people have all sorts of needs. They’re all valid—it’s just generally the more niche they are, the harder it is for companies to make enough money catering to them.
A persons personal situation also makes a big difference. I lived in a condo for a long time and had absolutely no reason to move from the desk. Now that I am in a house I have multiple other places that I would like to do my work. This time of year the weather becomes beautiful to sit out in, I’d love to do my work out in the backyard for 4 to 5 hours instead of cooped up in my office.
Yes, sure, I fully understand everyone's situation is different. Just giving my experience - a choice I had thought carefully about, spent a lot of money on, looked good on paper, and thought would be a good compromise - turned out to be the opposite. It was one of the few devices I really regretted buying, and I was so sure it would fit my needs, which were very similar to that of the OP.
Here it is in all its glory, the 3.5 kg beast:
HP Pavilion dv7 review
For sheer performance we much prefer the dv6, but a 17-inch system of this quality at this price is a bargain - as long as you’re happy with the heat, the limitations of the AMD/Radeon combination and the sheer size of the beast.
www.pocket-lint.com
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I was happy with the MBP 15" and would prefer a 16 or 17 inch version instead. Then again, if it were not high portability, one could add screen real estate using an iPad along with the Mac laptop via a share or sidecar.
Each semester, I’m assigned different rooms across campus. Each room is different, some rooms in buildings that are 100 years old, some brand new. Having a larger laptop I could break out helps tremendously for when I’m showing media, sometimes I have notes while I’m showing a movie clip, etc. I’d love a larger notebook, but those days are apparently past.
I have a 17" 2011 MacBook Pro
LOVE IT.
Wish it was upgradable past High Sierra
They don't make them like that anymore
My 16" No ports, everything soldered in and non upgradable or even repairable.
LOVE IT.
Wish it was upgradable past High Sierra
They don't make them like that anymore
My 16" No ports, everything soldered in and non upgradable or even repairable.
Do you have some type of trailer that you use to bring it with you? Or at least a motorized cart with hydraulics?
Cause I don’t know how else you would carry that 7 pound monster. I mean, 7 pounds is insane, “a beast“ like another poster said. I don’t know how anyone could expect a human being to carry 7 pounds. That’s crazy.
I once saw an old lady carrying a 15 pound bag of groceries and I knew right away that she must’ve been an alien. There’s no other way it would be possible.
That's some impressive hyperbole, for sure.
I usually carry my notebooks in my backpack. I often carry books, cables, sometimes cameras and mics. A 6.6 lb computer was not going to break my back as I know you know. Sure, you can't cut a birthday cake with it, but sometimes we have different priorities for our machines.
I'd sacrifice some lightness for a machine that did everything I wanted it to, quickly, without lag, and without fans sounding like a 747 ready for takeoff. I don't need everything to be slim and light at the expense of expandability and reliability. A new MacBook pro 17, using a 4k microLED display, running the latest apple silicon, with replaceable RAM and SSD is impossible, at this time, of course, but would be an amazing machine.
I agree with you completely.That's some impressive hyperbole, for sure.
I usually carry my notebooks in my backpack. I often carry books, cables, sometimes cameras and mics. A 6.6 lb computer was not going to break my back as I know you know. Sure, you can't cut a birthday cake with it, but sometimes we have different priorities for our machines.
I'd sacrifice some lightness for a machine that did everything I wanted it to, quickly, without lag, and without fans sounding like a 747 ready for takeoff. I don't need everything to be slim and light at the expense of expandability and reliability. A new MacBook pro 17, using a 4k microLED display, running the latest apple silicon, with replaceable RAM and SSD is impossible, at this time, of course, but would be an amazing machine.
As for my little sarcastic rant, I totally understand that someone who needs to take their computer with them everywhere each day wants an ultra portable, I would too.
However, when just moving it around the house or possibly taking it with you a few times a year, I really can’t understand why people are being so dramatic about an extra 3 or 4 pounds.
Technology is making people so weak. Soy seems to be causing it too.
I think people have different expectations and needs when it comes to computers, nothing wrong with that. It's just the drama about a larger machine that is kind of a put-off. Clearly there's a niche to be filled with a larger display, otherwise, why would apple have conceded the 16" MBP, instead of keeping it a 15? And they left the 13 inch the same size, so far at least.
I moved to an Air from a 14" Hackintosh and I *really* miss that extra space. If/when that colourful redesign of a Macbook (it's not going to be called Air) comes out with a 14" screen, I might need to find a way to convince my husband that I absolutely new another new laptop for important reasons…
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The current Intel 16" MBP has been the perfect laptop for me - the laptop itself is the same width and height as my 2012 15", but due to narrower bezels has the bigger screen, and lighter as it's thinner.
I used it as a desktop replacement for over a year and though I'm now mostly using a Mini with a 27" display, didn't really miss a bigger screen. In fact the 27" display actually feels too big, and I prefer the MBP screen.
If I wasn't happy with my Intel and watching the pennies, a new Apple chip version of the 16" would be an instabuy.
I'm with you, 100%. I like the ability to do my work (non-cpu/gpu-intensive tasks) anywhere I am. Sometimes, I am at my desk in my home office, sometimes, I am on the back patio, sometimes I am in the family room with the kids, sometimes at a Starbucks, sometimes in a hotel while traveling... during these times, performance and speed isn't where my bottle neck is. It's screen real estate, being able to multitask with multiple data points side by side, having a spread sheet open with lots of data while on a Teams video call, all non-power-user work but screen real estate is essential for.
Having two computers (an iMac/Mini at my desk and a laptop for on-the-go) doesn't make sense because it doesn't actually address the problem above, at all. I'd still have limited screen real estate when not at my main desktop station. The nature of my work is such that it varies day to day, hour to hour, so I can't plan to be at my desk when the work load hits.
I am writing this on a 16" MBP right now. It works great, no issues. However, the M1 MacBook Air I had prior to this (gave it to my wife when I got this MBP) was even better in almost every way. Amazing battery life, no fans, super light, thin, fast as heck in day to day light-load tasks, very quick to resume from sleep, everything happened instantly. All those elements were things that I used and enjoyed. Now, I have a beastly i9 CPU (that I never use more than 10% of), a very good GPU (that lays dormant since everything I do uses the integrated graphics), battery life that keeps me tethered to a charger more often than not and fans that keep me company with periodic whirring.
To get the screen size I needed, I had to give up all the elements I loved and used (from the MBA M1) and had to pay for all the elements I do not need/use (in the MBP 16").
Would I want a 17"? Sure... but a 16" MBA with the M1(x) chip, 16GB RAM, fanless design and epic battery life (using the larger chassis to fill it up with battery cells).... that would be a dream machine for me! It's not even a matter of money. I'd pay the same amount I paid for this MBP 16" for that "low-end" 16" MBA M1 model.
Having two computers (an iMac/Mini at my desk and a laptop for on-the-go) doesn't make sense because it doesn't actually address the problem above, at all. I'd still have limited screen real estate when not at my main desktop station. The nature of my work is such that it varies day to day, hour to hour, so I can't plan to be at my desk when the work load hits.
I am writing this on a 16" MBP right now. It works great, no issues. However, the M1 MacBook Air I had prior to this (gave it to my wife when I got this MBP) was even better in almost every way. Amazing battery life, no fans, super light, thin, fast as heck in day to day light-load tasks, very quick to resume from sleep, everything happened instantly. All those elements were things that I used and enjoyed. Now, I have a beastly i9 CPU (that I never use more than 10% of), a very good GPU (that lays dormant since everything I do uses the integrated graphics), battery life that keeps me tethered to a charger more often than not and fans that keep me company with periodic whirring.
To get the screen size I needed, I had to give up all the elements I loved and used (from the MBA M1) and had to pay for all the elements I do not need/use (in the MBP 16").
Would I want a 17"? Sure... but a 16" MBA with the M1(x) chip, 16GB RAM, fanless design and epic battery life (using the larger chassis to fill it up with battery cells).... that would be a dream machine for me! It's not even a matter of money. I'd pay the same amount I paid for this MBP 16" for that "low-end" 16" MBA M1 model.
Just want to point out, it would almost certainly have to use an M1 series chip to be an Air and fanless, not the M1x which would make it a Pro and likely require fans (assuming M1x is the higher performance version that will be going in the pro Macs/MacBooks). M1 should have no problem powering the larger screen though, as it powers the 24” iMac.
You're probably right. Whether it is an M1 with no fan or an M1x with the fan, either would be acceptable for my needs. Fanless is a "would-be-nice", not a must. But good point on the likelihood of a fan on the M1x.