Before we start, I have a confession: It’s been about 10 years since I bought a MacBook. I’ve used plenty of them over the years through work and on loan from Apple, including the latest M1 MacBook Pro, but the last time I actually owned a MacBook was the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display in 2012.
So when I saw a recent deal on the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro at Costco, it was too good to pass up. Even though I had read the reviews, I didn’t expect all that much to be different between the M1 MacBook Pro and the M1 Pro MacBook Pro—a little faster, a little bigger, a little newer. But I was pleasantly surprised. The 14-inch MacBook Pro is a whole new machine that’s far more than just a faster version of the M1 MacBook Pro.
The extra inch makes a huge difference
I never had a problem with my 13-inch MacBook Pro. I’ve gradually downgraded my laptop’s display over the years—17 inches to 15 inches to 13 inches—as I rely more on an external monitor, so I didn’t think much about the size of the new MacBook. It’s not even a full inch bigger than the M1 MacBook Pro (13.3 inches vs. 14.2 inches), but it makes a massive difference. Thanks to the smaller bezels, the screen feels much larger than 14 inches and downright massive compared to the 13-inch model. The rounded corners and slim bezels help give the screen a more immersive feel making the extra nine-tenths of an inch feel more like three inches. I’ve used my external display a lot less since switching, and no longer feel tethered to my desk.
Read more at MacWorld.com