The MacBook Pro 16-inch brought Apple’s once-dominant MacBook Pro range back to the top of the heap. On the other hand, the new Pro’s brilliant new keyboard (with the dedicated escape key), improved thermals, scorching performance, and some of the best laptop speakers ever competed for attention.

In terms of raw power, the MacBook Pro 16-inch is unbeatable. It’s expensive, but with an 8-core Intel processor, 64GB RAM, and an 8TB SSD, it’s unique.

Apple MacBooks were never designed to be solely gaming machines. The best gaming MacBook right now is the 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019) i7, which has many features that make it great for casual gamers. It’s also one of the best MacBooks available.

Macs last how long? We’d say five to eight years, but be aware that after five years, you won’t be able to replace any faulty parts in a Mac. Most MacBooks will last over ten years if properly cared for and not dropped or liquid damaged. They won’t run the newest OS, but that might not matter. Batteries should be changed every four years or when they start to swell.

So it comes down to size, weight, and cost. The 16-incher is a no-brainer if you can stomach spending more money and carrying a bulkier and heavier chassis for two extra inches of screen real estate. Our guess is that these compromises will turn off many professionals looking for a mix of portability and power, especially if they already have an external monitor at home or work for multitasking and other tasks that require big screens. That’s why we chose the 14-inch model over the 16-inch model reviewed here.