Do you regret going from 13” to 15” or 16”

[drober30]

I know when I went from a 15” to 13” MacBook Pro, I was excited to have a more manageable size, I never traveled with my laptop but just having it on my lap around the house was going to be more convenient.

Two 13” MacBook Pros later, I’m thinking about getting the 16” model.

Now the 16” design is much thinner, sleeker and I’m sure lighter than the old style 15” MacBook Pros and my eyes are older so I’m thinking the bigger screen would be nice, just wondering if after the initial excitement wears off, will I get tired of handling a bigger laptop.

Did you switch from a 13” to 15” or 16” and don’t think you would go back or did you switch back at some point?

 

[Dovahkiing]

I have the 2018 13” MBP and bought a 16” last week when they released. I just returned it today.

I do think they’re fantastic machines, but in my specific case I realized it’s a lot of money to upgrade a machine that’s only 18 months old. But, to your question, the other main factor was I didn’t really like how big it is. This, I think, really depends on how you use your machine. If you primarily use it on a flat surface then I don’t think it would be a big deal and the extra screen space would be worth it For sure.

But, if you’re like me, using it on you lap while relaxing on the couch or using it in libraries or while traveling, then the form factor of the 13” is definitely something you’ll miss.

myself, I’m excited to see what Apple has in store for the 13” line next year. Overall the new 16” is a solid machine.

 

[MengkeMary]

I had a 2015 13" MBP, which works fine till now but starts showing its age. Due core CPU feels much sluggish even for everyday usage like Chrome. But I'm not sure about the reliability of the butterfly, and I want my new machine to serve me 5 years as my last one. So I have been holding up till the release of 16 inch.

I got the one i9 stock model the day it's available in store, and couldn't be happier. Everything feels much more snappier, and the screen is gorgeous. Now it feels like a mobile work station. Although I agree that it feels heavy and large, I would happily accept this compromise for all the benefits.

 

[Donnation]

I used to buy only the 13" models and then transitioned to the 15" with the 2015 model and won't go back to the 13". I very much prefer the larger screen and overall more powerful machine than the 13".

Remember though OP, the 16" is heavier than the 2016-2019 15.4" models and is closer to weight with the 2015 15" MacBook Pro.

 

[impulse462]

had the 13" macbook air but that was different because it was meant to be thin and light. the 13" 'pros' feel like a toy to me, and unless you're traveling a lot i dont see any reason to use them

 

[justinf77]

Switched from a 13” to 15” (and now 16”) and absolutely love it. I don’t mind the size / weight at all, and I even work on it when lying in bed or on the couch. Everything feels a lot less cramped, and I still get pleasure from seeing that huge screen every time I open my laptop.

I think I would only reconsider the smaller laptops if I suddenly had to be working from coffee shops all the time where table space is limited. But still, I travel with my laptop every day in a backpack and never have any issues with portability.

 

[eric.john]

Previously only had 13'' map unibody>retina>retina with Touchbar (2016)

Moving over from the retina to the retina with Touchbar seemed like a downgrade as the form factor was much smaller than i was used to on the retina. A year after owning the 13' w/ Touch Bar, i switched over to a 15' w/ Touch Bar (2017) and did not regret it.

I just purchased and received my brand new bto 16' and to be honest, although the screen is bigger, the form factor and size isn't that noticeably bigger than the 15'

 

[Strangedream]

Last time I had a 13" MacBook was in college. Switched right after graduating to a 17" MBP and never looked back since. The larger the screen the better.

 

[drober30]

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate everyone’s meaningful input!

 

[riptidewahoo]

I just sold my 2019 base 13" to get the base 16" - wanted a bigger screen for DJing, bigger SSD and the updated keyboard. It also differentiates my laptop even more from my iPad Pro/iPhone 11 Pro Max.

It has been 110% worth the upgrade in my book.

 

[interbear]

I just sold my 2019 base 13" to get the base 16" - wanted a bigger screen for DJing, bigger SSD and the updated keyboard. It also differentiates my laptop even more from my iPad Pro/iPhone 11 Pro Max.

It has been 110% worth the upgrade in my book.

I‘m pondering the base 16 inch to replace my current 13 inch MBP (2017). As I work from home most days the extra size will be useful and not really an issue for the occasions I‘m on the move. It’s still, at the end of the day, a pretty slim and slick machine despite the bigger footprint. The better speakers and mics are also an attraction for the Skype and Teams calls I do every day.

Was wondering how you find the speed of the base model. I’m pretty sure it would do everything I need but am pondering an upgrade to 32GB ram.

 

[throAU]

I know when I went from a 15” to 13” MacBook Pro, I was excited to have a more manageable size, I never traveled with my laptop but just having it on my lap around the house was going to be more convenient.

Two 13” MacBook Pros later, I’m thinking about getting the 16” model.

Now the 16” design is much thinner, sleeker and I’m sure lighter than the old style 15” MacBook Pros and my eyes are older so I’m thinking the bigger screen would be nice, just wondering if after the initial excitement wears off, will I get tired of handling a bigger laptop.

Did you switch from a 13” to 15” or 16” and don’t think you would go back or did you switch back at some point?

I deal with a lot of portables, not just macbooks. I used to fly a lot. Now, a couple of times a year normally.

I've had 12", 13", 14", 15" machines and the larger machines are always a pain to travel with. It's not the weight (though that is worse), it's the physical size. They're just awkward to use when not at a proper desk.

If you don't expect to be using it on an aircraft, train, or whatever (and you're likely to use it more as a desktop you just carry from place to place) - get one if you don't care about the weight and extra expense.

If you DO think you might need to use it on the go (as opposed to on a desk) then i'd suggest either pairing it with an ipad to use instead in that situation, or stick with the 13 (and wait until the new 13 in early 2020).

 

[matram]

Switched from a 2011 15" to a 2014 13" mostly due to weight. I am traveling a lot.

Regretted going to the 13". Fully OK for office work, but running Visual Studion in a Fusion VM was a pain, both due to screen size and only two cores.

Switched back to the 2016 15". The more compact format was a great improvement for me. It felt more or less as the 13" in the backpack. I even liked the keyboard .

Still struggling with performance in Visual Studio, so looking forward to the 16" 8-core, 2.4 GHz I ordered. Visual studio load seems short and intense, a fews second of a 100% load. So hopefully the 8-core will help with this bursty behavior. Also 32 GB will be great for running more than one VM.

 

[throAU]

Switched from a 2011 15" to a 2014 13" mostly due to weight. I am traveling a lot.

Regretted going to the 13". Fully OK for office work, but running Visual Studion in a Fusion VM was a pain, both due to screen size and only two cores.

Switched back to the 2016 15". The more compact format was a great improvement for me. It felt more or less as the 13" in the backpack. I even liked the keyboard .

Still struggling with performance in Visual Studio, so looking forward to the 16" 8-core, 2.4 GHz I ordered. Visual studio load seems short and intense, a fews second of a 100% load. So hopefully the 8-core will help with this bursty behavior. Also 32 GB will be great for running more than one VM.

Yeah the 15s are definitely far, far more powerful.

But you're an edge case. Like me. I was trying to do similar stuff on my macbook(s) - in the end i gave up and moved those workloads to a desktop (which has 64 GB of RAM for VMs).

I get it if you need to do it on the go, but from the sound of it the OP isn't resource constrained by a 13


That said, the new 13" Pros are a quad core, which will definitely help in that respect.

 

[cambookpro]

I used to only buy 15" MBPs (I had a 2006, 2008 and 2011). In 2012 I briefly tried a 13" model but gave it to my brother after about a month and kept my 2011 15" as the smaller one just wasn't powerful enough.

However I then bought a 13" 2016 (as performance was better than my 2011 15" by then) and can't see myself ever going back to anything larger. I love how compact it is, so much easier at a cafe/plane/on the go. In fact, I'd probably even buy a MBP which is even smaller if it had the same internals.

I think it's totally personal preference though. If you don't use it a lot on the go (e.g. just take it between home and work and use it solely on a desk), the 16" probably makes a lot of sense. I also have a 27" external monitor at home: if I didn't, I'd probably struggle with the 13" as my only screen. I am looking forward to seeing what Apple has in store for the smaller MBP next year.

 

[ascender]

I've done the whole 13 to 15 and back again so many times over the years, but have settled on a 16" machine now. I think the only downside of it is that its a bit unwieldy - on trains & planes it takes up a lot more room which can be a pain.

My setup in the main office was to have an iMac or a Mac mini with a 27" monitor etc and then a laptop which prioritised portability over power for on the move. But even with cloud synching making it easy to have all your files wherever you go, I much prefer having a single machine with everything on it which I can use wherever I am.

As much as I love the smaller laptops, the downside is the screen size when not hooked-up to a big screen. I much prefer having a larger screened laptop now, it just makes working from any room in the house so much easier for me.

At my desk now I still have a big monitor but just use the laptop without an external keyboard/trackpad.

Each to their own though - I will say that the current 13" MBP is a fantastic balance of performance in a compact form factor.

 

[nudoru]

I went from a 15" to a 13" for a while because I thought "I work at a desk and I'll just use a monitor when I want more space." I was WRONG. I spend more time on the couch and remote that I really realized and I couldn't adapt to coding on the much smaller screen. So I went back to a 15" (now 16") and am much happier. And my eyes are too.

 

[badsimian]

Bought top spec 2019 13”. Regretting it a bit now. I just find it too cramped for VSCode and other tech stuff. I can go full screen and adjust the resolution but it’s not the same. Also I'm in my mid 40s and can feel my eyes starting to struggle with the smaller screen I also get some rsi typing in the smaller deck on the 13 as it doesn’t provide as much support. I do travel on a train a lot but used my 2013 15” like that for 3 years and it was fine. Seriously tempted to get the 16” and take a hit in the resale of my 13.

 

[deapee]

I bought the 16" and tried to talk myself into liking it for about 9 days. I just couldn't do it. I loved everything about it, except the size. I kept saying things like "It's not that much bigger, it's only like 2 inches wider" or similar, but I just couldn't do it.

I returned it and happily went back to my 2019 13" mbp.
The only thing I miss about the 16" is the speakers - those speakers are literally amazing.

That said, I am a developer, and I can absolutely make use of all the cores - my dev box at work has 12 cores, and I'm looking forward to a coming-upgrade where I'll have (I think) 22? (sounds like an odd'ish number, so maybe that's off, but I barely glanced at the spec sheet). Most of the time, my macbook is just used to ssh into another box though...and the work gets done there. Vim is my environment of choice...although I do use vs code from time to time. I guess as long as the screen fits terminals that are 80-90 characters wide, I'm happy with it - and the 13 can fit (at least) two 90 char windows side by side...with some extra space left over.

 

[MrGunnyPT]

I moved up from a 13" to a 16" and couldn't be happier.. Such screen estate it's awesome! Plus all this performance is insane, never had something like when I used to carry around 13"

 

[deapee]

Threads like these (and I read a lot over the past week or so) really bring to light *why* there is a 13 and a 16 (15.4). I’ve gathered lots of insight in that time. And I’m convinced that something like 25% only want a 13, 25% only want the bigger, and some middle number (50%) could probably be swayed (or sway themselves) either way.

 

[littlepud]

I've tried both 13" and 15" in the past, but the 16" is such a good all-around machine that I've ditched my external monitor / keyboard / speaker setup.

 

[eric.john]

I've tried both 13" and 15" in the past, but the 16" is such a good all-around machine that I've ditched my external monitor / keyboard / speaker setup.

i wouldn't necessarily say i ditched my external monitor + peripherals, however i find myself using them less now. going from 13'' to 15' to now a 16 is perfect. i don't think i can opt for something larger.

 

[ascender]

I've tried both 13" and 15" in the past, but the 16" is such a good all-around machine that I've ditched my external monitor / keyboard / speaker setup.

I've got a nice big screen & external peripherals here, but often will just use the 16" without any of them.

 

[interbear]

2 weeks in now with my MBP 16 and I love it. The MBP 13 it replaced was great and definitely more portable but as I spend 80% of my time working at home (with the MBP connected to a 2nd HD monitor), the extra screen size is of more value to me as I like to use both screens. 1 train trip to London since I got the 16 inch and it was fine. Slotted nicely into my backpack, wasn’t too unwieldy using it on the train and definitely not too heavy. Seriously portable for such a powerful machine. No regrets here at all.