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Multitasking and working space on 14-inch mbp and 15-inch mba
- Thread starter sumprimum
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I have both.
The 14" is too heavy (or rather the 15" Air is just really light) but I love the matte screen on the 14" MBP.
As far as working space goes, you can adjust the resolution on the 14" and 15" so they're both about the same. IMO the non-resolution differences are far more important than raw screen res.
The 15" MBA - 2880 x 1864
The 14" MBP - 3024 x 1964
The 14" is 5% higher resolution but 7% smaller screen, so it will be harder on the eyes too. But because Apple's UI doesn't scale beyond increments of 1x or 2x, it's not as cut and dry:
Out of the box, the 14" comes with a 1512×982 effective resolution, while the 15" Air has a 1710×1107 effective resolution. The 15" has 12% more room on the screen. But if you don't care about squinting, you can up the effective resolution on the MBP to be higher than the 15" Air, if you want to.
For what it's worth, I think the 16" MBP is just too big for everyday use and travel.
The 14" is too heavy (or rather the 15" Air is just really light) but I love the matte screen on the 14" MBP.
As far as working space goes, you can adjust the resolution on the 14" and 15" so they're both about the same. IMO the non-resolution differences are far more important than raw screen res.
The 15" MBA - 2880 x 1864
The 14" MBP - 3024 x 1964
The 14" is 5% higher resolution but 7% smaller screen, so it will be harder on the eyes too. But because Apple's UI doesn't scale beyond increments of 1x or 2x, it's not as cut and dry:
Out of the box, the 14" comes with a 1512×982 effective resolution, while the 15" Air has a 1710×1107 effective resolution. The 15" has 12% more room on the screen. But if you don't care about squinting, you can up the effective resolution on the MBP to be higher than the 15" Air, if you want to.
For what it's worth, I think the 16" MBP is just too big for everyday use and travel.
I totally agree with you about 16”, it’s indeed a touch too much in terms of size and weight. But I’m quite impressed by what you’ve said about size differences because 14” and 15” seemed to be drastically different in direct comparison in the store. To be honest, I wouldn’t really interface to be too small as I already have problems seeing tiny text without glasses.
I went from a 16" MBP to a 14" MBP recently. I hadn't ever been on a laptop smaller than 15" so I was a bit unsure about this change, but what sold me was I adjusted the screen resolution on my 16" MBP to resemble the amount of desktop space I'd have on a smaller laptop and I found that it only took a few hours before I didn't notice the difference.
What I also realized was that while I did appreciate the extra real estate on the 16" MBP, it was rare that it made any meaningful difference. If I really needed more space, I needed a lot more than the extra 23% of screen space the 16" gave me because while 23% sounds impressive, the way it's allocated doesn't add up to much.
If I had an extra 23% of height OR width, it'd be meaningful. That's not what you get though. You get 12% more height and 12.5% more width. That's not enough extra height or width to change my usage. I'd still need my external 27" ASD for things that require more screen space. Ultimately this realization was what convinced me to downsize to something that would be easier to pack and carry.
What I also realized was that while I did appreciate the extra real estate on the 16" MBP, it was rare that it made any meaningful difference. If I really needed more space, I needed a lot more than the extra 23% of screen space the 16" gave me because while 23% sounds impressive, the way it's allocated doesn't add up to much.
If I had an extra 23% of height OR width, it'd be meaningful. That's not what you get though. You get 12% more height and 12.5% more width. That's not enough extra height or width to change my usage. I'd still need my external 27" ASD for things that require more screen space. Ultimately this realization was what convinced me to downsize to something that would be easier to pack and carry.
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That’s absolutely reasonable choice in your case, but the thing in my case is I never do use external monitors most of the time.
I just meant that I justified my decision to downsize by rationalizing that I would always have my external if I absolutely needed the extra real estate.
I haven't found the external to be a necessity. It's a luxury. I'd be fine if I didn't have it at all.
That indeed makes complete sense. Do you do a lot of split screen on your 14”? When I tried it in the store, first I felt like a half of the screen(=one app in the split) is barely wider than my iPhone…
I almost never do that because I'd be stuck in tablet orientation on all the sites, but this is also how I realized the 14" screen made little difference to me. The 16" screen still isn't wide enough to allow me to put two browser windows side by side so most of the time the extra 12.5% of screen space on the right was not used. I do miss the 12% of extra vertical space sometimes, but I almost never feel the need to have the extra 12.5% in width back.
Also, I use spaces heavily so that limits my need to split my screen. I have my apps organized into five screen spaces and I swap between them without thinking. My most used programs are viewed at maximum window size or close to it.
Work in multiple spaces on Mac
On your Mac, if the desktop becomes cluttered with open app windows, use Spaces to organize the windows into additional desktops.
IMO, much more efficient than multiple physical displays. Plus it’s free and requires no additional desk/wall area.
My biggest problem with multiple displays is I always end up fixated on only one and end up with neck pain from having my head turned to one side all the time. It just doesn’t work well for me.
For me, I generally have been someone who prefers the 15 (or 16") form factors. My current MBP is a 14" model, the prior MBP was 15". If I had to do it over again, I'd probably opt for the 16" due to the increased screen real estate.
I can manage the size, and weight, but not the smaller screen size.
Perhaps its my eyesight - I've always had poor eyesight. Couple that with my advanced age (60s) 14 inches is a struggle - that's what she said (sorry couldn't resist
).I also think that Macs do a poor job at display scaling. This is where Windows is superior, I have a 14" thinkpad, and I can work with that a lot better then on my MBP - display wise at least. MacOS has a lot of other advantages over windows, but that's a conversation for another day.
Seems like it strongly correlates with aforementioned fact — either space either size of UI…Perhaps its my eyesight - I've always had poor eyesight. Couple that with my advanced age (60s) 14 inches is a struggle - that's what she said (sorry couldn't resist
I also think that Macs do a poor job at display scaling. This is where Windows is superior, I have a 14" thinkpad, and I can work with that a lot better then on my MBP - display wise at least. MacOS has a lot of other advantages over windows, but that's a conversation for another day.
Ah yes, Spaces. One of the core and OG macOS features Windows never quite copied. Their loss. It’s a must have for me, even Apple themselves with their „Stage Manager“ couldn’t hold a candle to this genius and simple feature.Work in multiple spaces on Mac
On your Mac, if the desktop becomes cluttered with open app windows, use Spaces to organize the windows into additional desktops.support.apple.com
IMO, much more efficient than multiple physical displays. Plus it’s free and requires no additional desk/wall area.
Did you ever bother with Stage Manager on a Mac?
@sumprimum can you take advantage of the 2 week return policy from Apple?
It’s good to seek feedback from other people but ultimately only you know how well you can incorporate a 14“ screen into your workflow.
No, not on any device.
I still miss Dashboard. No amount of sticking widgets to the Desktop (or Home Screen) will ever compare — IMO.
I am assuming you are considering the 14" MBPro and the 15" MBAir, rather than the 16" MBPro.
I have, currently, a 14" MBPro and a 16" MBPro and had traded a 15" MBAir for the 14" MBPro.
Observations:
1. I was concerned that the move from the 15" MBA would be an issue due to the reduced screen size and kept the 15" MBA for a week when I was moving to the 14" MBPro so I could compare. I found the improved quality and clarity of the 14" MBPro screen to be easier to use and the reduced real estate to be almost irrelevant. I am well passed standard retirement age and so need reading glasses when viewing closer than 12" to 18" and I found no issues with having several windows open and some side by side, although I generally do not have more than two side by side at any time on a laptop. I generally layer them and use F3 to select them or have multiple desktops setup (Spaces).
2. The 16" MBPro is too heavy and bulky for general portable use and is the reason I have a lighter machine for general around the house and travel use.
3. There is very little difference in weight between the 15" MBAir and 14" MBPro. (about 0.1 oz/46g but is almost indistinguishable in use).
4. The SD/SDXC card slot, increased number of ports, higher quality screen, better sound make the 14" MBPro a better machine for me.
I hope this helps along with the observations made by other posters here.
Thank you, gentlemen. Today I went to the store and tried to play a bit with scaling and found 14” UI in “more space” quite small for me. I ended up buying 15” sky blue mba. Thanks a lot once again.
Glad you found a solution and now have a laptop that will work for you. Enjoy.
I run my 14" MBP in "more space" which is 1800x1169 and wear reading glasses.
The glasses are supermarket ones for around £$€ 10, which is cheaper than going to the 16" MBP 😁
The glasses are supermarket ones for around £$€ 10, which is cheaper than going to the 16" MBP 😁
I switch between resolutions regularly, but my trick to working more comfortably in "more space" mode is to increase the font size in my most used programs.
Wait doesn't that take you right back to where you were? Not really. All apps have borders and empty spaces in their UI.
Increasing the computed resolution and bumping up the text lets you reclaim some of that empty space without sacrificing text size. Especially with programs like image or video editing apps that have large multiple toolbars, it makes a very significant difference.
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