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Is the Macbook Pro 16 for me?

A

adamfozzy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 4, 2012
122
80
Hi all,
Just a bit of advice needed - would appreciate all thoughts. Recently traded in my macbook 12 inch for store credit and now stuck on what to get now (currently winging with daughter's chromebook in day and her iPad at night).
I run an education website - edit it in Weebly, make short screencast recordings with voiceovers which I was editing in iMovie on Mac and now using Lumafusion on my daughter's iPad (great app), accounts in Numbers, email, email templates in Pages, imessage etc. The size of the Macbook 16 screen really appeals but not sure I need all the horsepower. My friend just got one and says it's great but he runs virtual servers etc. Then there is possibility of an ARM 12 inch macbook looming.

Thanks in advance.
 
Well, it all depends on what applications you want/need to use. Lumafusion is an iPad app and is not available on macOS. The MacBook Pro 16" is a great computer and can run almost anything you throw at it, but it might be an overkill for you, if your needs are simple. The display though is great and so are the speakers. If you can afford it and love to have a powerful computer, then you won't be making any mistake.
 
petvas said:
Well, it all depends on what applications you want/need to use. Lumafusion is an iPad app and is not available on macOS. The MacBook Pro 16" is a great computer and can run almost anything you throw at it, but it might be an overkill for you, if your needs are simple. The display though is great and so are the speakers. If you can afford it and love to have a powerful computer, then you won't be making any mistake.
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Thank you. I have enjoyed using Lumafusion each evening on my daughter's iPad - it's a more personal experience than editing on a macbook in a way, especially with the Apple pencil. I would go all in on iPad but I think there will be too many occasions where it falls short, for example with the website editing. Safari on iPad is still not full desktop class to me - even with mouse support.
I am now considering the new MBP 13 10th gen which I can get for £1600 with edu discount versus macbook pro 16 which is £2150.
 
I'd buy the MBP 13, maybe the higher spec model with the latest gen of Intel CPU and 4 ports. I think the model you're considering comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage, it is a good machine.
The 16" has a discrete GPU and of course a bigger display, I bought it because I want to have the biggest display possible to work (and I frequently connect an external display) but the 13 is just fine.
 
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recoil80 said:
I'd buy the MBP 13, maybe the higher spec model with the latest gen of Intel CPU and 4 ports. I think the model you're considering comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage, it is a good machine.
The 16" has a discrete GPU and of course a bigger display, I bought it because I want to have the biggest display possible to work (and I frequently connect an external display) but the 13 is just fine.
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Thank you - it would have been nice to have been able to configure the base MBP13 up to the 16gb and 10th gen processor as I wont need 512gb - I wouldn't even need 256 I don't think.
 
adamfozzy said:
Thank you - it would have been nice to have been able to configure the base MBP13 up to the 16gb and 10th gen processor as I wont need 512gb - I wouldn't even need 256 I don't think.
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The base 13 is a different machine, only 2 ports and older CPU.
I think it is quite confusing for the average customer, at least in the past they offered a MBP without TB so it was a clearer distinction.
 
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I debated the 13" vs 16" for a few months while waiting for the 13" to be refreshed. On the day of the new 13" release I finally went with the 16". I may not need all the power it offers (dealing mainly with office applications), but I really needed the larger screen to be productive as I always work between multiple applications. While it may not be as portable (and I travel a lot), I think we all forget that the size and weight of the 16" is no bigger/heavier than what we were all carrying around a few years ago. I'll deal with the weight if it means I can be more efficient/productive. I have a 12.9" iPad Pro and an iPad mini when I want something smaller. (I also have an iMac 27" as my home machine)
 
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theshirlgirl said:
I debated the 13" vs 16" for a few months while waiting for the 13" to be refreshed. On the day of the new 13" release I finally went with the 16". I may not need all the power it offers (dealing mainly with office applications), but I really needed the larger screen to be productive as I always work between multiple applications. While it may not be as portable (and I travel a lot), I think we all forget that the size and weight of the 16" is no bigger/heavier than what we were all carrying around a few years ago. I'll deal with the weight if it means I can be more efficient/productive. I have a 12.9" iPad Pro and an iPad mini when I want something smaller. (I also have an iMac 27" as my home machine)
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Funny, on the same day I decided to get the 16" MacBook Pro too :)
 
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theshirlgirl said:
I debated the 13" vs 16" for a few months while waiting for the 13" to be refreshed. On the day of the new 13" release I finally went with the 16". I may not need all the power it offers (dealing mainly with office applications), but I really needed the larger screen to be productive as I always work between multiple applications. While it may not be as portable (and I travel a lot), I think we all forget that the size and weight of the 16" is no bigger/heavier than what we were all carrying around a few years ago. I'll deal with the weight if it means I can be more efficient/productive. I have a 12.9" iPad Pro and an iPad mini when I want something smaller. (I also have an iMac 27" as my home machine)
Click to expand...
The 13 on the Air was too small for me, I felt like I couldn't work effectively. The 16 is a great size, I havent even needed to hook it up a screen yet.
 
If you're going to get the higher-end 13" with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD, the base 16" seems well worth the additional $600. You get a larger display, 2 more CPU cores, a dGPU, and better speakers / microphone.

The only reason to stay with 13" is if the size / weight / portability is a dealbreaker.
 
16" is the best value honest, 4 ports - 6 core and a nice big screen.... keep in mind it ghosts like crazy but it is what it is. trade offs.
 
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