Another vote for Fission, although it may be overkill for what you need.
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Fission looks great, thanks!
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Copying this from another thread for more input opportunities…
Short version: The 16" as a second monitor in vertical setup isn’t working out…
It throws a wrench in whether or not I keep the 16" MBP, frankly. The only reason to get it over the 14" (for me) was that I could use it as a second monitor when at my desk until the new iMacs are released. Now I’m thinking that rather than a high-end 16", I should get a low/mid-range 14" in basically clamshell mode (which I hate, but using up that much desk space for TouchID just seems silly). Bah.
You are not going to like my answer, but you really ought to consider running clamshell mode with two 5K displays side by side. Gets you closest to your old setup and gives you the power you’re looking for, I think.
If you’d prefer the 14" size for on the go work, get that.
If you’re waiting for a desktop, wait a few months more and you will surely have one.
All this ‘20 characters’ makes me laugh 
Yeah, that’s certainly an option. I just hate wasting an Apple screen by having it closed. Even my Dell 5k monitor isn’t as sharp as my iMac or this 16" screen are. I think I won’t be truly “settled” until the iMac appears, and my fear is we’re talking about WWDC for that.
Whatever I do, I have to do it quickly. The time is running out on the return window for this MBP and I’ve already sold the Mac Mini that’s sitting on my desk now.
I hear you about not wasting pixels. My thoughts on this are simple: if you plan on using the laptop as a laptop, you’re not wasting pixels. You’ll still use them. You don’t need to use them all the time for the computer to be functional; that’s the point.
But if you don’t plan on using the laptop as a laptop ever, you should really stick to just the desktop. The desktop will end up being even more powerful anyway.
That does put you between a rock and a hard place because you sold your Mac mini, but sometimes life happens. (We don’t always make the best decisions.)
I blame Apple! If they’d just released the iMac “Pro” this fall like the rumors said… 
And I think you’re right, except that I should do it with a 14" instead of a 16" because…
…I was going to say 14" is better for travel, but except for weight and airplane trays it really isn’t. So now it comes down to whether or not 2" of screen is worth ~$360. Well, I’d change processors too, so I could save $640.
Depending on how much travel you do, don’t discount the weight difference out of hand (unless you already know you’re fine). I don’t find a slightly heavier computer to be an issue but a surprising number of people that I know seem to.
For me, a bigger (ha!) issue with larger laptops is that they can limit the bags that will work for you.
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Good point. I do a fair amount for work, but 75% is by car and 25% by plane. I use a Thule backpack, so the extra weight is noticeable but not a deal-breaker. For me, the bigger issue is airplane tray tables, and for that I’ve basically given up on anything except the iPad Pro and keyboard case.
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For plane use, I think the 14" would be much more useful, though.
Sounds to me like you’re really answering your question here. If I were in your shoes, I’d get the 14" with the preferred config you like and a couple monitors. The only reason to get the 16" is screen size, like you say. I’ve owned 13" and 16" and 15" laptops. The bigger ones are nice if your work requires “windows in windows” — as in, do you run VMs in Parallels or the like? Do you design UI in an app like Sketch or Figma? Do you edit photos or video?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, the 13/14" size class turns your work into thumbnails. The 16" is big enough to get real work done.
If you answered no to (most of) those questions, then the 14" is probably big enough for most of what you do on the go.
Just my two cents.
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I was going to add exactly that to my post 
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16" was unusable for me on planes. 14" is doable on my lap, or very carefully on the tray if you don’t happen to get a a recliner in front of you (UGH). But the iPad Pro + keyboard = perfect for planes, both lap and tray.
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Which size iPadPro and keyboard?
11" iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard. Trackpad and keyboard shortcuts have been a big boost.
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I think I’ve decided to:
- Get an M1 Mac Mini (current one that I sold is Intel - I knew when I bought it who it was going to belong to eventually, so that was more of a rental);
- Keep my existing, single 27" 4k monitor;
- “Downgrade” the 16" to the 14". I’ll get about enough money from that to pay for the Mac Mini.
- Replace the Mini with an iMac Pro when available.
I still like having a desktop + laptop better than having a laptop + nice docking setup at my desk. All of this work over the last week wasn’t for nothing. It reaffirmed my preferred setup even if it costs me some speed/power in my main machine for a while longer.
I could also stick with the M1 Air instead of the new 14", which would be enough and exceptionally cheaper. But what fun would that be?
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I love when experimenting with something new helps you figure out your priorities. Glad you got there!
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The new Mac Mini is here. This will be a “fun” experiment because via Costco (sale) I was only able to get the 8GB version. I haven’t tried an M1 with 8GB yet as my Air has 16GB and my 16" MBP (to be returned) has 32GB.
First step, Monterey!
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Returned the Mini after getting the 14" MBP and feeling “sad” every time I had to use the Mini instead. Going with a docking setup with the MBP until the new iMacs are out.
After trying out just about every configuration of the new MacBooks, I finally settled on:
14" M1 Pro, 8 Core CPU, 14 Core GPU
32GB Memory
1TB SSD
