Stick with the 15" its a nice computer and based on what you wrote, its a better solution for your needs
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Is the 13" MBP Really that much more portable then the 15"
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Hi everyone, I'm in a situation where I'm giving my son at University my Mid 2014 Base config 15" MBP. It still works beautifully, but I find it too big and heavy to take outside the home. I use my 12.9 iPad Pro on the move. I'm going to get a new MPB using my sons edu discount and I'm leaning towards the 13" base this time. My worries are that I'll be going down from 16GB RAM to 8GB - I know I can upgrade to 16GB, but then the price creeps towards the base 15". Also, the screen is only a tad larger than my iPad Pro. I like the 15" screen size. Are the newer ones significantly lighter and thinner? I've looked at the specs on paper and looked at them in retail stores, but without my 15" with me, it's difficult to tell. For my usage, either would be powerful enough. I still need a 'proper Mac' for things that iOS can't do, plus I like the full Mac OS. Any thoughts, experiences etc. would be gratefully received thanks
Damn Apple, just give us only one 14" model with 16GB of RAM, 6 cores i7, dGPU and configurable storage (min 512) for $2000 and everyone would be happy. Decisions, decisions... It's very exhausting.
Hi everyone, I'm in a situation where I'm giving my son at University my Mid 2014 Base config 15" MBP. It still works beautifully, but I find it too big and heavy to take outside the home. I use my 12.9 iPad Pro on the move. I'm going to get a new MPB using my sons edu discount and I'm leaning towards the 13" base this time. My worries are that I'll be going down from 16GB RAM to 8GB - I know I can upgrade to 16GB, but then the price creeps towards the base 15". Also, the screen is only a tad larger than my iPad Pro. I like the 15" screen size. Are the newer ones significantly lighter and thinner? I've looked at the specs on paper and looked at them in retail stores, but without my 15" with me, it's difficult to tell. For my usage, either would be powerful enough. I still need a 'proper Mac' for things that iOS can't do, plus I like the full Mac OS. Any thoughts, experiences etc. would be gratefully received thanks
16gb is a necessity at this point if you are spending close to $2000 on a laptop. So if adding the 16gb of ram seems like its already too much then just go for the base 15". With edu a base 15" is only $2249 and Best Buy is currently offering it $100 off for $2299 minus another $150 with the student coupon leaving it at $2150. At that price the base 15 is a no brainer.
Thanks for your thoughts. I'm leaning towards the 15", but if I still find it too heavy etc, then I can use the 14 day return to swap for the 13" with 16GB. I'm in the UK, so no Best Buy here unfortunately.
Well apple edu is still a great deal cause you get the free pair of Beats you can in turn sell to recoup the expenses.
If you can get both at the same time (wallet allowing). I’ve just done that and I was able to compare the experience on both.
You can't get more than one laptop on Edu discount and my purse couldn't cope anyway. How friendly are the apple retail staff at letting you take your current laptop in and trying it against 13" and 15" in the shop, on my lap for example?
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What did you decide Vazza?
15” at the moment but still have quite a bit of the 14 day return window to go before I have to decide.
I currently have a late 2013 13" rMBP and a 2018 15" MacBook Pro 6 core.
In my opinion, my 13" is more portable. I just feel like the 15" is really big to carry. Maybe a bag or something would make it better.
But I LOVE working on the beautiful 15" screen. True Tone is really great.
It would be really hard to decide which one is better. Each has it's own benefits.
I guess Apple Store experiences can vary shop to shop, but I have always found them friendly and helpful. I don’t think you will find them having any issue with you taking in your current laptop and comparing with the 13” and 15”
Same here, in my experiences the Apple store near me has always been awesome and helpful, except for the one "Genius" who flipped my 2014 MacBook Pro over on the wood table and proceeded to push it around. Thankfully the lid didn't scratched or I would have been asking for a new lid to my computer.
But in all seriousness, outside that one incident the local Apple store has been extremely good to me.
I upgraded from a 13 Late 2016 to the 15 2018. I'm not looking back.
I feel so much more productive on the 15 inch when I'm not using an external screen.
I feel so much more productive on the 15 inch when I'm not using an external screen.
Because constantly looking down at a laptop screen is bad ergonomically, making the screen go a bit wider and higher does not make a difference in that sense.
Doesn't matter if you had any issues yet, a 15" screen does not solve the problems working on a laptop brings you. You still need to look down all the time.
Well the point of a laptop is you can bring it with you everywhere and keep on working, but if you are going to be sitting at your desk for hours you want to plug in.
Exactly my point, ergonomically it is terrible to have a laptop as your main working device. And 13" or 15" does not matter ergonomically so you shouldn't be "haunching" over a 13" any more than a 15" like the poster I replied to said he found the problem to be.
I don't really understand the eye strain thing though, the 13" is plenty big to be running 1920x1200 or 2048x1280 resolutions on without any problems. Unless you already have problems with your sight of course, but then you should be getting it corrected.
Looking a bit down has never bothered me, been doing it for years. I do prop up the rear of the MBP about 3/4" to make typing on the keyboard a bit more easy. All of my desktop keyboards are elevated at the back. Looking "down" at the screen is not a problem, no more than having to look "Up" on my iMac screens.
There is definitely a difference when looking down at a 13 vs a 15. The smaller screen forces you to hunch over more to get closer to the screen where as the 15 is big enough to let you sit up naturally and not have to get so close to the screen. Ive had both 13 and 15 and definitely found myself either transitioning to another position where I would be closer to the screen on the 13 or hunched over considerably. With the 15 even in bed I would tend to just lay back against the head board and be just fine. Its 2 inches is a lot of extra real estate when you talking about laptops this size.
I just upgraded from a late 2016 13 inch to the latest 15 inch 2.6. Tomorrow will be our first flight together and I just finished packing. Will need a bigger bag and stronger shoulder...
See how it works out on the road...
See how it works out on the road...
So I had the 2015 15 inch and an 2017 13 inch ntb. Used both for a while and found that actually using the 15 inch is a lot more enjoyable than the 13 inch. I did not have any problem with carrying it back and forth at all. I did sell it because it had a big footprint and run a bit hotter than the 2017 13 inch. However now that I have done that, I found that I miss using it alot. I'm even considering repurchase it because it really was a very good laptop. The main reason I don't go for the newer one is because the keyboard and the Touch Bar really bothered me.
If you just talking about portability alone then I don't think the 13 is that much better compare to the trade-off of a bigger screen and a lot more powerful laptop. I'd go for the 15 inch.
If you just talking about portability alone then I don't think the 13 is that much better compare to the trade-off of a bigger screen and a lot more powerful laptop. I'd go for the 15 inch.
I'm sort of in the same boat! I currently have a 2012 15" Retina and I'm struggling to decide between the 13" and 15" for the same reasons. I'll be commuting between Uni and home and as much as I enjoy the larger screen its a heavy/bulky computer.Hi everyone, I'm in a situation where I'm giving my son at University my Mid 2014 Base config 15" MBP. It still works beautifully, but I find it too big and heavy to take outside the home. I use my 12.9 iPad Pro on the move. I'm going to get a new MPB using my sons edu discount and I'm leaning towards the 13" base this time. My worries are that I'll be going down from 16GB RAM to 8GB - I know I can upgrade to 16GB, but then the price creeps towards the base 15". Also, the screen is only a tad larger than my iPad Pro. I like the 15" screen size. Are the newer ones significantly lighter and thinner? I've looked at the specs on paper and looked at them in retail stores, but without my 15" with me, it's difficult to tell. For my usage, either would be powerful enough. I still need a 'proper Mac' for things that iOS can't do, plus I like the full Mac OS. Any thoughts, experiences etc. would be gratefully received thanks
Once you upgrade the 13" to 16GB ram in my opinion it makes it expensive considering it's only around £450 more for the 15" with student discount.
I'm in the UK too, I went in store a couple of weeks back and asked them if I could try the 13" and 15" MacBook Pros in my bag to feel how heavy they would be. They were more than happy to let me try so I don't see why there would be a problem with you taking in your current laptop!
For what it's worth, I used to use 13" because the 15" was a little too large for me portability-wise. But the 2016 redesigned 15" was small enough and light enough that it tipped the scale for me. The 13" is definitely more portable, but I find the 15" just fine now.
How are you all able to maintain a proper posture while using the new notebooks (2016 and up)? How long do you use your notebooks? I am married to my notebook for practically over 10 hours a day for work and fun, and am now thinking about long-term effects of bad posture - neck craned forward.
I think getting an iMac will resolve this instantly. Or am I wrong?
I think getting an iMac will resolve this instantly. Or am I wrong?
I much prefer working on my 27" iMac. I still use my Late 2009 iMac and it's been my favourite Apple product to date. I also have 3 Macbook Pros - all i7s 15 inch ( Mid 2010, Mid 2012 Retina and 2015) and they have gotten better progressively. Lighter to carry around, better screen/colour and build.
However, if given the choice, I'll still opt for the 2009 iMac. At home I only use the laptops when needing to run newer and powerful stuff like Lightroom CC, or I want to go in another room.
Other family members dislike using multiple computers and prefer to have it in one place. However, for me it feels like a necessity. It's much easier on my neck and not having to look down. I've found tall people are more likely to suffer more having to look down. I've seen people's neck and posture change because of this. Their neck almost appears as it's leaping out of their body. I have zero problems having a 500-600 gram Audeze headphones on my neck and looking at an iMac all day long. On the other hand, looking down at a 15" Macbook Pro even without any headgear feels not as enjoyable in the long run.
EDIT: iMac is 100% worth the money for long-term sessions. With a 27" iMac, you may also need to invest in a new table. You want a table that has sufficient depth so the screen is not all in your face. That was a top criteria when I was searching for a desk for the iMac. Depth AND height are both a key with how you want your hands on the table and eye level to align with the screen. I bought an adjustable height desk for this purpose. I tweaked it on a centimetre basis and it took some time but the results have been absolutely worth it. The table is not too low that you are crouching over all the time and not too high that your shoulders are shrugged upwards. Just in the middle.
To others inquiring about 13" vs. 15":
I recently went to Best Buy on a quiet day for over an hour in silence and without any interruptions to meaningfully compare the new 13" and 15" and how they would hold up for different uses, including for university students as I've bought some for family members recently.
I've never owned a 13" before but actually liked it for single-app use. If you just have one thing in front of you, the screen space is fine. However, say if you want to have a PDF on left side and a Pages document on the right side, then the 13 inch quickly became irritating to use. I tried to adjust the size and even the distance between me and the screen, but it didn't feel right. The 15" is much better suited for this.
I honestly don't think either the 13 inch or the 15 inch are too heavy. I have carried much heavier laptops in the past. The weight is negligible. The screen size and the ergonomics of working on the bigger screen will reward you.
For students, I 100% recommend the 15 inch over the 13 inch if that's all you're going to be working on.
Size - I do understand the portability aspect of how 13 inch is easier to carry. However, for me regardless of which laptop I'd get, I'd only carry these laptops around in a very safe bag. These are expensive machines, both 13" and 15". So either way you'll be needing a bag for these.
For work trips abroad lasting months, I have always enjoyed working on the 15 inch and have been satisfied with it being my only computer and screen. You don't feel lacking or wanting for something bigger.
I am located in Canada and so I did the math for all the 13 inch and 15 inch models (playing around with RAM options and storage), with and without the Apple Education discount. The 15" inch while more expensive, is still a better value (both specs and usability wise) than the 13 inch. EDIT: Spending $3000 on a 13 inch screen with only 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD just didn't make sense to me. I'd either go all in on a 15 inch Macbook Pro or wait for the new 13 Macbook Air (hopefully with a Retina screen). The 13 inch Macbook Pro is at a weird spot for me and my uses. I know it's quad core and has amazing specs, but the usability and for my workflow, it FEELS restrictive. Yet it's still $3000 and you'll probably want to future proof a $3000 machine so you'll want to get more RAM and SSD. Now, you're suddenly much closer to a 15 inch Macbook Pro price. Again, the 15 inch starts making more and more sense from a value standpoint.
TrueTone was a nice touch. I surprisingly got used to the new keyboards rather quickly. They weren't as bad. I ran some typing test online to see how I'd fare and not bad at all. As a reference, I also have a Thinkpad here which is the absolute best keyboard on a laptop I've used for typing. I think I'd be fine with these newer keyboards based on that 1-2 hour experience. Using the escape key on the touchbar without looking also worked out fine. However, I'm still worried about how they'll hold up over time.
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Why dont’t you just hook it up to an external monitor while at home/office? Sometimes you can eat a cookie and have it too. I’m selling my Mac Pro, the MBP + eGPU is enough for me as desktop replacement, although at 3x the cost and still quite a bit slower.