What's your experience traveling with 15"/ 16" Laptops?

[CalMin]

It is about time they brought back the 12" with M1 or M2.

Funny you should say that:

The 14" MacBook vs...

There's something very reminiscent about how the new 14" MBP, so I pulled my first ever Mac Laptop (A 2003 12" PowerBook G4) off the shelf and fired it up. This is the machine that made me fall in love with MacOS. I had an iMac G4 that felt more like an art piece and sat in my living room as a...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[flapflapflap]

I recently went to the Apple store and the weight difference between the 16" and 14" doesn't seem that drastic in my opinion, and with a bigger screen real estate and better battery life, I'm beginning to question if I should just spend a bit more for 16" rather than my intended 14".

The one big issue I have with the 16" is more so the amount of space it takes up. I travel pretty frequently and I also like getting work done in coffee shops/ other sitting areas and I don't know how much of a pain it would be working on smaller tables like those pullout tables on an airplane/train as well as the space it takes up in my bag along with its larger charger.

Personally, I like traveling light with my carry-on and keeping most of my things in a suitcase so it's easier to explore around the airport/station/etc.

What's your experience traveling with larger laptops?

Unless you're moving from one work station to another (each giving you proper desk space), then the 16 will be very annoying. It's too frustrating to use in transit (plane, train, car, bus) because of its massive footprint, and might also be too large to use at most coffee shops since their tables are pretty small. Likewise in most classrooms.

 

[flapflapflap]

The 15” was great and I loved my 2019 16” for everything… except travel. Somehow that extra bit of bulk over the 15“ crossed an invisible threshold for me. It sucked on a plane in coach class generally felt unwieldy getting in and out of bags. Having the big screen was wonderful on the road, but it was an awkward trade off. I nearly bought a used Air as travel laptop.

Still, I would have stuck with 16” until I found out that the new generation was slight thicker and half a pound heavier. That was a step too far and I bought a 14” M1 Pro.

Happy so far. I know I’ll miss the screen at times, but 4.7lbs is just too much as a travel laptop.

Wise

 

[marmiteturkey]

I’ve dropped from 16 to 14 because I always have an iPad Pro with me and sidecar means that I can use the two screens together - brilliant flexible portable setup and barely heavier than the 16in by itself.

 

[lesliegolf]

As someone said its all relative. Fun and educational to read these responses.

I used to travel 200+ days a year pre covid. Used the 17 inch MBP with no issue on planes.

Had a 15 for 5 years and just moved to the 16. Used it a few days already on planes. It feels size wise pretty much the same except for the increased thickness and weight.

My logistics work better with a backpack and while its less than a pound more my backpack is now bigger and heavier. I will happily trade that though for the extra screen size when I am in hotels as well as demonstrating things from the MBP.

I know I am mis weighted because of the large amount I am on the road for. Yes. It's heavier and that might not be for you but I really dig having the 16 inch screen for my work.

Another thing I have started doing to try to keep my MBP safer is place it in a sleeve and take the sleeve out anytime before I place my backpack in the overhead or the seat below me. I etched my screen due to improper storage and people tossing things on my backpack in the overhead when I am in the front row with no storage option. I also started using a thin keyboard microfiber protector which looks to be helping but I am only two trips in with this new MBP.

 

[nylon]

The 15" (1st gen Touch Bar) was a great travel machine. It hit the right balance between screen size and weight at 4 lbs. The new 16" crosses this threshold for me at 4.7/4.8 lbs. While on paper this doesn't seem much of an increase, in reality the new 16" feels significantly more cumbersome from a portability perspective. The 14" hits the right balance again. 14.2" screen and 3.5 lbs.

 

[DMG35]

The screen is too small to me on the 13”/14” MBPs for serious working, so I take both a 16” MBP and an 11” iPad Pro on long flights. I use the iPad on the plane, MBP at the office or hotel room.

Same, except I have a 12.9 inch iPad Pro that I use on the plane.

 

[flapflapflap]

The 15" (1st gen Touch Bar) was a great travel machine. It hit the right balance between screen size and weight at 4 lbs. The new 16" crosses this threshold for me at 4.7/4.8 lbs. While on paper this doesn't seem much of an increase. In reality the new 16" feels significantly more cumbersome from a portability perspective. The 14" hits the right balance again. 14.2" screen and 3.5 lbs.

I am more open to the 14 after hearing the battery life isn’t as bad as I had thought (though it is still sub-par compared to the 16 and M1 MBP), but I will hold off from upgrading until Apple updates its ports (HDMI/SD Card Slot) to the latest gens, upgrades its WiFi and adds in FaceID into the notch. Hopefully next year or 2023 at the latest.

 

[antst]

It’s also depends on the vision. In my case, 150ppi is retina enough. That’s defines font sizes and amount of information I can have per square inch. 20 years ago I’d go with 14, most likely. Now, 16 is on a short end

 

[antst]

Same, except I have a 12.9 inch iPad Pro that I use on the plane.

I found that 12.9 is already too close to mbp 16.
iPhone/iPad pro 11/mbp 16 are reasonably uniformly spaced, so you can always find something which has right size. With 12.9 you definitely need to add iPad mini to the mix, as there are will be plenty of cases where 13” is a little bit too much. And the only smaller thing is iPhone. With 11, number of such cases is definitely smaller.

 

[DMG35]

I found that 12.9 is already too close.
iPhone/iPad pro 11/mbp 16 is reasonably uniformly spaced, so you can always find something which has right size. With 12.9 you definitely need to add iPad mini to the mix.

Uh no. I’m good.

 

[CarbonCycles]

It's completely terrible..I mean who really hates having more screen real-estate to clearly see their code, documents, etc.

I also think it's insulting that I have more memory and faster processors so that I can complete running my work-cycles with time left over.

And the larger battery that gives me the ability to run the laptop a few more hours...how dare they do that!?!

And read everything above as tongue n cheek....running a 16" laptop is all goodness.

 

[nylon]

I am more open to the 14 after hearing the battery life isn’t as bad as I had thought (though it is still sub-par compared to the 16 and M1 MBP), but I will hold off from upgrading until Apple updates its ports (HDMI/SD Card Slot) to the latest gens, upgrades its WiFi and adds in FaceID into the notch. Hopefully next year or 2023 at the latest.

Coming from a 2016 15" MBP myself the 14" battery life easily gives me 10-11 hrs of screen on time for general productivity which is more than double my 15" machine with relatively new battery. There will always be better tech specs on the horizon. In my view its always best to buy what you need when you need it.

 

[ascender]

The one big issue I have with the 16" is more so the amount of space it takes up. I travel pretty frequently and I also like getting work done in coffee shops/ other sitting areas and I don't know how much of a pain it would be working on smaller tables like those pullout tables on an airplane/train as well as the space it takes up in my bag along with its larger charger.

I keep saying that this is the issue with this size of laptop - which I have chosen to buy again FWIW. The weight is fine for me if its in a messenger bag or rucksack, but its the footprint it takes-up which is a real pain.

You can forget about using it at all in some very cramped spaces on trains and planes. If you have a table to yourself its fine, but even using it on a large table on a train leaves no room for anything else if you have other people sharing the space.

That said, whenever you get to where you're going, you get all the benefits of the larger laptop again. If I know space is limited, I'll take my 11" iPad Pro with me as well.

One thing about the charger is that with all the other usb-c cables now, you can happily travel with a single charger for everything and even charge things from your laptop.

 

[nylon]

One thing about the charger is that with all the other usb-c cables now, you can happily travel with a single charger for everything and even charge things from your laptop.

One of the nice things about the 14" is that you can 'fast charge' with a standard USB-C cable on any USB-C port as well as MagSafe while on the 16" you can only 'fast charge' through MagSafe.

 

[ascender]

I travel a lot, mainly Europe, USA and Japan. I own a 15" pro, an Air and two of the old 12" macbooks. The goal of a trip dictates which computer I take with me: for heavy duty work, in my case running large multi-agent simulations, it have to take the pro. But if at all possible I take the 12". I like that silly little computer so much that I bought a second one after they stopped producing them. With the 12" I can easily manage my trips with only hand-luggage. My 15" will soon be exchanged for a well decked out 14" pro, not for a 16". Just my two cents.

I really love the 12" Macbook despite all of its limitations.

I frequently used to run some or all of my commute to the office and the 12" MacBook was the only computer I could put in my rucksack without even noticing it was there. Even going up to a 13" MacBook Pro meant I was suddenly very aware I was carrying a large chunk of something on my back!

 

[allnight]

I remember as a student when I had to travel around with my 15 inch Lenovo laptop, it would get annoying really quick during commuting. Another thing would be that I would have to think twice where I could actually open it up and use it, since it was quite big and a bit on the heavier side it was something I had to keep in mind. The screen real estate is nice but its not enough for me to justify carrying it around all the time. I got the 14 inch mbp and I'm really happy with it, in fact I think its maybe the perfect form factor for me, its not too heavy, not too light where it feels fragile and the screen is a bit bigger than the 13 inch. I dont think i would go back to a larger form factor, not for me personally. I dont use my laptop for media consumption, I use my tv for that so it doesnt really matter to me.

 

[DMG35]

I've honestly thought about possibly moving to a 14" from the 16". The only reason is that I do think I would enjoy traveling with it more than I do with the 16. I was never a fan of the 13" but the additional screen space of the 14 might do the trick for me. There is no doubt that the 16" is pretty hefty to lug around.... Its by no means unmanageable but I could see it being much more pleasant carrying the 14".

 

[jcevox]

I’ve been carrying my 16” along with my Calculus Textbook, a 1” binder, charger, pencil pouch for pens and pencils, iPad Pro 12.9” and other small things for the last few weeks and it hasn’t been a problem. Im a student btw

 

[bluegt]

A colleague had a 15” laptop. He was working away on his flight in economy. Suddenly the passenger in front of him reclined. The back of the seat hit the top of his laptop screen and the angle was just right that the screen cracked.

Since hearing about that, I’ve been a bit paranoid on planes. Seems a 14” or below is safe (and a lot more portable!)

Edit: not my colleague but here is another example: https://simpleflying.com/reclining-passenger-damages-a-laptop-on-delta-flight/amp/

 

[miamialley]

I have a 16” MBP pro, but use an iPad for travel. With the magic keyboard case it’s a great laptop replacement for my use case.

 

[PerfumedPonce]

I used to cycle to work every day with a 2018 15" MBP in a padded case (purchased from Apple) and with it inside the padded section of a laptop rucksack.

It used to travel with another laptop in the padded section and a change of clothes in the front section.

After a while the screen would exhibit discolouration and it has been replaced twice. The third screen is also exhibiting the same problem. The Dell that was its travelling companion - no problems at all.

I am convinced the screen/lid on this model is not up to the job so I would recommend using the most rigid laptop case you can find.

I have just 'upgraded' to the 14" M1 model so let's hope this one is robust enough to warrant the price tag.

 

[tmoerel]

I travel extensively and long haul. Over the last 8 years I used a 15" rMBP and now upgraded to a 16". Size and weight are similar and I do not feel a difference in my backpack
Regarding working on a plane on a 15" or 16", I would not have an idea. I have conditioned myself to pretty much sleep on any flight at any time of the day. So the laptop stays in my bag and I avoid jetlag by charging the battery (my own internal one).
But once on site I am more than happy to have a decent size screen to work on. I tend to be 150+ days a year away from home so my macbook is my main machine.

 

[Brien]

Compared to the 2008 MBP this new 16” is a feather.

 

[chengengaun]

I traveled occasionally with the 2011 and 2016 15” (no chance with the 2019 16”), and I find them quite alright, manageable but with a few challenges - esp. tight spaces - airplane seats when the front seat is reclined, ‘pods’ in some airport lounges that come with limited desk space, extra care when clearing security screening, a bit harder to shove it back to the pack when the latter is full.

Now that I have the 14”, I find it much easier to carry around - I can be a bit more care-free - e.g. no hesitation at all in taking it out, and in most cases don’t even have to care about the charger.

I guess one factor to consider is one’s height and size. I’m 174cm (5’8”) and thin so the 15”/16” naturally feels larger to someone who is say 6’2”.