14' or 16' MacBook Pro for programming?

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[AZisk]

I’m with you. 16” is the way. Get the 16” m4 too. if you get 14”, you will always think about what could have been

[hanes]

I have both sizes. The 16” isn’t great for daily travel, felt always a bit inconvenient big. 14” I think is perfect for daily commuting/travel etc. as once I’m at home or office I dock it to external monitors.

[jamesdietsch]

If no external monitors save up for 16.. I have the 14 with two external displays.. but my old school favourite MacBook was the 15 MBP without touchbar

[giogio]

Hey Aivars, I had both in use for programming, at home and out and about. The 16“ wins all in all.

Yes, it’s a trade off between probability and a whole list of things that the 16“ does better. My list: more screen real estate, higher resolution possible means more space to place things, bigger place to place your hands while typing, bigger trackpad (game changer for me!), bigger battery (!). And that’s all what you get for a bit less portability.

The 14“ didn’t make me happy for those reasons. It feels like a too small laptop to work on my projects.

[bartoszkrupa]

I have 16 M1 Pro Max and Air 13 M2. I definitely prefer to hold and carry around Air 13. Only situation where I prefer 16 is when laptop is on... table, but then it's not a laptop anymore.
If screen estate feels too small on Air 13 for given task, it means I need to go to the desk and connect the monitor. It's much nicer to write text, browse web and do planning work on more handy device.
Macbook M4 Pro Max 14'' feels like a perfect machine to have full office power on the couch :)

[nvictorme]

I use both an MBP16 and a MBAir15. The former is connected to 2 external displays and the latter I keep near my bed for when I need to do something quick and don't want to go to my desk.

[ogikay]

I went with 14". If I need a bigger screen I just use an external monitor. But I do travel with my mac daily. Best of both worlds imo. Get an 16" if you dont have extra monitors.

[exd]

Largely depends on how much you travel with the laptop, I prefer to travel light, so I chose 14'' and put it in a light crossbody sling eg Tomtoc a54, much more comfortable than bulky backpacks, and not so obvious that you are carrying the expensive laptop, sure bigger screens are better, but at the end of the day you can hook it up to external monitors at home.

[dim_sh]

I switch from 16 to 14 bc of ext-monitor setup at home and better portability in travel. No video editing, just code and photo. Xcode, AS, Idea, VSCode. Sometimes iPad as sidecar.
If you want Max then with M3 16” has better cooling (for long video editing) than 14
..This is … sexy bmw scrambler 👍

[Andy_work]

Hello neighbor 👋 long time no see! I bought the M1 to learn code stuff, I try to learn everywhere, so I think it's a good choice for a first laptop when you move around. When I'm at home I use an external monitor + my laptop monitor and I like a minimalist desktop setup, so I only use the M1 keyboard and trackpad.
I'm hoping to get a job in IT one day so I'm upgrading my laptop to a 16" so I can compare later what was better :)
Happy coding everyone!

[danascript]

I have both, one personal and one work laptop and I'm finding myself strongly gravitating to do as much as I can on my 14"... (which is surprising as I always thought 16" was the best for me because of the screen size!), i'm not sure what it's about but I found new appreciation for more compact screens and apple's laptop ones are great even in smaller sizes. It also fits nicer on tables in various locations around the world and planes as well as just a more cozy feeling to whip out my 14" than the 16" one 😄So personally my goto would be for now a 14" and if I really need that extra space then I connect it to an external monitor/ipad. Maybe just give it a try in your next laptop swap!

[neocsp]

You already had the 13" M1 MBP and other big and small laptops. So you already know what you value most. The 16" Pro might be the best choice for you because you also do regular video editing. For me the 15" Air is the much preferred choice because I seldom edit, and the Air is 1.5lbs lighter, and almost the same screen space as the 16" (1710 horizontal points in default resolution for Air, 1720 points for 16" MBP). Also it's already been a few years since we got to the point where iOS dev work as well as the vast majority of dev work can be done on any (Apple Silicon) Mac, so it becomes just a question of form factor preference.

[andrewkazanin]

I like my MacBook M1 Pro 16 inch. It has a big display, and when I am working outdoors, it is amazing. However, the weight is heavy and it hurts my back when I carry it. I am thinking about switching to the 14 inch, because most of the time I work with a big external display and external keyboard. P.S. You need to use backpack with straps in front

[victorjuliangutierrezcardo]

I think 16", this is a very good screen + 11" Ipad, perfect combo

[conorhoward]

For years I thought the smaller one is better if you move around a lot but since investing in a home setup I’ve changed my mind. If you move around a lot the bigger model works best. The smaller one works best if you move around between setups. Screen space is productivity, especially if you build iOS apps as you need to be able to see your code and the preview at the same time

[yessir]

What about 15" MacBook Air? It's much lighter but ofc lacks power comparing to MacBook Pro. What are your thoughts?

[ummeed]

14" or 16". Doesn't matter. You need to write code regularly..that's what does matter

[sigitkuncoro]

i own 14" m1 pro 2 years ago, i always thinking 16 inch is better, but after try it i feel discomfortable while typing, somehow, although even the screen is just amazing

[dodilodi]

I prefer 14 because it is much more portable due to its size, and cheaper as well. For Xcode, there is no big difference in programming with 2 inches more, especially when doing SwiftUI because it takes a very narrow space and there is enough space for both left and right panels. Also, whoever deals with programming will in most cases need at least one monitor, so the IDE will be even wider.
For me, it is more about RAM and storage.

[YsoEdgy]

Don't downgrade the screen size.
I’ve got the 16in MacBook Pro Max, and honestly, portability hasn’t been an issue at all. I switched from a 13in M1 Air, and for me, coding outside my house on that smaller screen was a pain. With the 16, it’s so much better.... plus, I hardly notice the extra weight.
Funny thing is, all my friends have either the 13 or 14-inch models, but when we pair program, they always want to use mine. I’m pretty sure deep down they wish they had gone for the 16 too. 😄
If you’re leaning towards the bigger screen, trust me, go for it. You’ll appreciate the extra space, especially for coding or anything where you have to split screen / multitask heavy.