Anyone upgrade from an Intel 15" to a Silicon 14"? How's the real-estate?

[patent10021]

Got an old Intel 15" and want to upgrade. I'm considering going for M1 14" MBP/32GB/24 Cores. Since the old MBPs have a such a wide bezel, I'm thinking the 14" should be close. Would save money and my shoulders for mobile gigs. Only thing that concerns me is the 16" has better thermals.

 

[Miltz]

Screen size is screen size. Bezels don't matter or count in the usable screen size. I had the same thought as you for a day before I realized it. Also unless you plan to run the laptop at 100% load for long periods of time thermals won't be a problem.

 

[patent10021]

So 14" and 15" refers to the viewable size only and does not factor in the laptop display size?

So in the end, how was the reduction for you? I found a Reddit post showing that the difference appears to be (mainly) in the width. Here's the pic incase anyone is interested.

 

[marinersaptcomplex]

I compared my 2012 15" MBP to my 14", and it is a noticeable difference. I would go with the 16" if you don't want to feel cramped. I also think the larger body adds to the illusion of a 15" screen seeming massive versus the compact 14".

Overall, however, I am very happy with the 14" and am thankful I didn't go for the 16" behemoth.

 

[patent10021]

I compared my 2012 15" MBP to my 14", and it is a noticeable difference. I would go with the 16" if you don't want to feel cramped. I also think the larger body adds to the illusion of a 15" screen seeming massive versus the compact 14".

Overall, however, I am very happy with the 14" and am thankful I didn't go for the 16" behemoth.

I like how the 14" base is not much smaller than the 15" base. But if you compare the 14" base with the 16" base it's freaking huge. And there's rumors of a 17" in 2022.

You said it was a noticeable difference which is logical, but did you still notice it after a few weeks? Do you use Adobe etc? How does it feel with VS Code and other dev apps?

 

[MrGunnyPT]

i9 16" -->> 14" M1 Pro and quite happy about the downsize, in my use case since I started working remotely back in late 2019 I was begging to get a smaller device, when the 14" came out I jumped in and I'm quite happy. Please note that I have a desk setup with dual monitors so that's why I enjoy the portability for when I'm outside of the house.

I end up working a lot in a coffee shop or at someone else's house.

 

[CalMin]

I went 15" Intel --> 16" Intel --> 14" M1 Pro.

I don't want to make this sound like I'm defending my choice so to be 100% honest about thing, at first, I did miss the screen real estate. It doesn't feel cramped or anything, but there is a noticeable difference. It doesn't actually hurt my productivity because I can comfortably edit two documents side by side and my needs are only occasionally more demanding than that. I am a heavy user of multiple desktops and Mission Control which really helps with that.

At home I just hook-up an external display and I use my MacBook almost 90% this way.

On the road, the difference is HUGE. The 15" Intel was close to perfect. The 16" Intel was only slightly bigger and heavier, but it was enough to make me HATE the thing when traveling. When I heard that the 16" M1 was another 0.5lbs I ordered the 14" machine.

It was the right compromise. It is smaller, but that makes me want to use it undocked at home as well as on the road. I have returned to couch computing and it's a quality of life improvement vs. being 'chained' to my desk. I never wanted to do that with the 16" Intel.

I checked out a new 16" in the store. The screen is spectacular, but the heft is real. It's quite the chunkster.

As for the thermals first ask what your needs are. If you're doing heavy video editing, or 3D rendering on the road and all the time, then sure the 16" has the edge. The 14" can carry similar workloads and might take a few seconds longer here and there, but it look a hell of a lot to get this thing to spin up it's fans. Everything else handles like butter.

 

[Eddy Munn]

Worth noting that the resolution difference between the two: 15" 2880 x 1800 and 14" 3024 x 1964. At true @2x resolution, you get more room to work with.

 

[patent10021]

I am a heavy user of multiple desktops and Mission Control which really helps with that.

At home I just hook-up an external display and I use my MacBook almost 90% this way.

I think I need to utilize these apps more. I think most people including myself understate them. And yeah, I should be using a 27"+ display when I'm at home to save my eyes. My eyes have taken a major hit over the past few years with 18 hr days on a laptop.

Worth noting that the resolution difference between the two: 15" 2880 x 1800 and 14" 3024 x 1964. At true @2x resolution, you get more room to work with.

Does this mean the text become even smaller? Cause my eyes are already feeling it with the 15". I am already using 3x/4x font sizes in apps like Notes and Safari.