Looking at a new portable Mac - it’ll be Air, as I don’t need to pay out for the Pro and my old iPad Pro is getting a bit long in the tooth and I’m not as keen on the iPad anymore, other than for certain tasks (reading and browsing).
I’ve always liked the portability of the 13" MBA , but wondering if anyone had the 15" and how they got on with it? Did they regret buying the larger size? Performance wise I’m expecting it to be the same as the 13", so no issues there and whereas previously I wanted it portable for travel, I reckon that this would still fit the bill for the times I travel.
The cost difference is relatively small (if I bought on Amazon, it’s about £80 at the minute!) between them and the biggest issue I have with 15" laptops does not appear to be an issue with the MBA - in that most Windows 15" laptops include a numpad, pushing the whole keyboard to the left and therefore giving me wrist pain whilst trying to use it on my lap.
I recently bought the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air and cannot recommend it enough. Having previously owned the15-inch MacBook Pro (2006), 13-inch MacBook Air (2012) and the 15-inch MacBook Pro (2015), I find 15-inches to be the ideal size and in the Air form factor it is just perfect.
I compared the 14-inch MacBook Pro and the 15-inch MacBook Air before buying mine and was surprised by how much smaller (screen-wise) and heavier the Pro felt even though on paper the difference seems small. Do go and check out the 13-inch Air and the 15-inch Air side by side in the store before you buy one but I would recommend the 15-inch any day.
(not to criticise, but just because I find it interesting)
Regarding screen sizes, I think it’s very easy when not seeing them in person to gloss over the fact that the sizes are actually decimal points beyond just 13/14/15/16.
The sizes are 13.6 / 14.2 / 15.3 / 16.2.
As percentage increases (diagonal measurement, starting at 14” over 13”):
4.41% / 7.75% / 5.88%.
As decimal increases:
0.6” / 1.1” / 0.9”.
I bought the 15" M2 MBA for my wife and took her 13" M2 MBA. Honestly, while closed I cannot tell the difference unless they’re sitting next to each other. If cost is no issue, go for the 15 inch.
To be honest, that’s what’s driving me the 13” way - I don’t think I’ve ever used a 13” laptop and gone “You know what, I wish this was larger”. Most of the time I want a larger screen, I’m actually at a desk, so am able to plug it in to a monitor.
Though I’ve happily used 14” Windows laptops now for a while and have thought that they’re pretty much the sweet spot and looking online, the 15” isn’t that much larger than the Lenovo T480 I’ve been using.