...and left with a 14” MBP. I really, really, -really- had expected to go
and get the Air, but in the end - nope.

So, for most people I think the Air would be the better choice. The screen is
bigger, if you set it to the “More Space” option it still looks pretty
good and rivals the 16” Intel I’m typing on right now. It’s lighter,
and it’s clearly better value for money too. They had a Midnight out which
I thought I was going to buy - honestly within the week it was out it already
looked a bit tatty. Fingerprints everywhere. Am sure they’re lovely out of
the box, but be sure to keep them very clean.

In the end three things swayed me - the quality of the 14” screen is
noticeably better than the 15” even if the space isn’t quite there. The
ports - many won’t care here, but in the world of plugging music kit it
having ports available is a good thing and a fair few of my hardware synths
use SD cards too. The monitor support - supporting only a single monitor is a
bit limiting, and although right now I only -have- a single monitor I plan to
get a lower cost one to sit next to my Ultrafine in portrait mode, just
displaying the three messaging apps I regularly have running.

CPU on the MBP is better too which is a bonus, but that wouldn’t have
driven me - seemed the M2 was handily enough for what I’d be doing. It was
screen, ports and monitor capacity that made me plump for the 14” in the
end. I doubt I’d have gone -wrong- with either, just a question of what
you’re looking for.

Cheers,
Ian

On 24 Jun 2023 at 19:55:03 CEST, "Ian McCall" <ian@eruvia.org> wrote:

> ..and left with a 14” MBP. I really, really, -really- had expected to go
> and get the Air, but in the end - nope.

Thanks, that was interesting to read.

> They had a Midnight out which
> I thought I was going to buy - honestly within the week it was out it already
> looked a bit tatty. Fingerprints everywhere. Am sure they’re lovely out of
> the box, but be sure to keep them very clean.

You'd think that is something a company of that size would have tested, but I
have an IKEA kitchen that's also a fingerprint magnet.

> In the end three things swayed me - the quality of the 14” screen is
> noticeably better than the 15” even if the space isn’t quite there.

What's noticably different about the screen?

Daniele

In article <kfotunFj0tgU1@mid.individual.net>, D.M. Procida
<daniele-at-vurt-dot-org@invalid.com> wrote:

> > In the end three things swayed me - the quality of the 14² screen is
> > noticeably better than the 15² even if the space isn¹t quite there.
>
> What's noticably different about the screen?

micro-led hdr display.

Am 24.06.23 um 19:55 schrieb Ian McCall:
> ..and left with a 14” MBP. I really, really, -really- had expected to go
> and get the Air, but in the end - nope.
>
> So, for most people I think the Air would be the better choice. The screen is
> bigger, if you set it to the “More Space” option it still looks pretty
> good and rivals the 16” Intel I’m typing on right now. It’s lighter,
> and it’s clearly better value for money too. They had a Midnight out which
> I thought I was going to buy - honestly within the week it was out it already
> looked a bit tatty. Fingerprints everywhere. Am sure they’re lovely out of
> the box, but be sure to keep them very clean.
>
> In the end three things swayed me - the quality of the 14” screen is
> noticeably better than the 15” even if the space isn’t quite there. The
> ports - many won’t care here, but in the world of plugging music kit it
> having ports available is a good thing and a fair few of my hardware synths
> use SD cards too. The monitor support - supporting only a single monitor is a
> bit limiting, and although right now I only -have- a single monitor I plan to
> get a lower cost one to sit next to my Ultrafine in portrait mode, just
> displaying the three messaging apps I regularly have running.
>
> CPU on the MBP is better too which is a bonus, but that wouldn’t have
> driven me - seemed the M2 was handily enough for what I’d be doing. It was
> screen, ports and monitor capacity that made me plump for the 14” in the
> end. I doubt I’d have gone -wrong- with either, just a question of what
> you’re looking for.

THX! Interesting and helpful! Enjoy your new MBP!

--
Gutta cavat lapidem (Ovid)

Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> wrote:
> ..and left with a 14” MBP. I really, really, -really- had expected to go
> and get the Air, but in the end - nope.
>
> So, for most people I think the Air would be the better choice. The screen is
> bigger, if you set it to the “More Space” option it still looks pretty
> good and rivals the 16” Intel I’m typing on right now. It’s lighter,
> and it’s clearly better value for money too. They had a Midnight out which
> I thought I was going to buy - honestly within the week it was out it already
> looked a bit tatty. Fingerprints everywhere. Am sure they’re lovely out of
> the box, but be sure to keep them very clean.
>
> In the end three things swayed me - the quality of the 14” screen is
> noticeably better than the 15” even if the space isn’t quite there. The
> ports - many won’t care here, but in the world of plugging music kit it
> having ports available is a good thing and a fair few of my hardware synths
> use SD cards too. The monitor support - supporting only a single monitor is a
> bit limiting, and although right now I only -have- a single monitor I plan to
> get a lower cost one to sit next to my Ultrafine in portrait mode, just
> displaying the three messaging apps I regularly have running.
>
> CPU on the MBP is better too which is a bonus, but that wouldn’t have
> driven me - seemed the M2 was handily enough for what I’d be doing. It was
> screen, ports and monitor capacity that made me plump for the 14” in the
> end. I doubt I’d have gone -wrong- with either, just a question of what
> you’re looking for.

I’ve been thinking about getting a new MBP or MBA for a while but I’m even
less certain what to purchase now ;) The MBA has a bigger screen and is
cheaper and probably matches the performance on my M1 MBP. I trust you’ve
tamed the Hog now? Thanks for the review.

--
Cheers, Alan

On 25 Jun 2023, Alan B wrote
(in article<u78re5$e602$1@alanrichardbarker.eternal-september.org>):

> I’ve been thinking about getting a new MBP or MBA for a while but I’m even
> less certain what to purchase now ;) The MBA has a bigger screen and is
> cheaper and probably matches the performance on my M1 MBP. I trust you’ve
> tamed the Hog now? Thanks for the review.

It’s really not a clear cut choice. Had I gone Air I think I’d still be
happy and as said I think for most it makes more sense. Only if you get into
the realms of “hang on, I want to plug things into this a lot, including
monitors” does the 14” start to pull away, or if you need the CPU (which
is definitely faster plus higher memory speeds too).

I was unexpectedly struck by the screen difference too - the Air’s handily
matches my 16” Intel’s quality, but the MBP is a step beyond once again.
Currently faffing with the Intel to get files copied from it and moved around
the place, after which it goes for trade-in (you get 14 days after purchase,
which is nice).

Hog now fully under control. All my main apps are now, and it’s a matter of
quart into pint pot as I didn’t go 4Tb this time. Expense has its limits,
and the world of Apple Silicon isn’t exactly a budget one.

Cheers,
Ian