The Best Laptop Size to Maximize Productivity for Software Engineers

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Computers are the tools of the trade for Software Engineers - without one, it's pretty hard to write any code. Most engineers opt for laptops for their versatility and portability but choosing a laptop can be difficult - there are a lot of options and many are expensive.

Here I want to give my thoughts on what sized laptop is best for software engineers - pulling from my own 8 years of experience working as a software engineer and usage / testing of ~9 different laptops over that time.

Does the size of your laptop matter?

First let's cut the bikeshedding - the size of your laptop is probably not an important factor in software engineering efficiency. Yes you will be more efficient if you use a laptop that is comfortable for you but this is not a make or break decisions.

So if you find yourself wondering if getting a different sized laptop will be the magic ingredient to all of a sudden become a cracked coder - the answer is it won't. There are plenty of people coding fine on 12, 14, 16, 18, 32 inch screens all around the world so size doesn't matter (that much).

With that out of the way - let's get onto the very real differences between these laptop sizes.

The different attributes of a laptop

So obviously we're comparing size here. Size for laptops usually affects a few things:

Screen Size - The larger the screen the more you can fit on it.
Portability - Usually the larger a laptop the harder it is to carry around as it's bulkier and usually heavier.
Performance/Cost - Typically the larger laptops will be more powerful and smaller laptops may cost MORE for the same specs but it really depends on the make and model.

We can't really make any generalizations around performance / cost cause it really depends on the model so we'll drop those for now and focus on screen size and portability.

Portability

Both 14 and 16 inch laptops are pretty portable. 12 inches will feel more like a tablet and 18 inches will feel pretty large and not fit in many backpacks. But both 14 and 16 inch laptops fit nicely in most fullsize backpacks.

Most software engineers just carry their laptop to and from work so as long as it fits in a backpack it's probably portable enough for your purposes. If you're someone that likes to code while on a plane / on the move a lot then a smaller 14 inch might be more usable in more scenarios.

Screen Size

This is the most important distinction for most software engineers when it comes to laptop size. Software Engineering is largely about referencing information and writing code based on it. This often means that it's useful to have two windows up at once.

When you're in an office you can achieve multiple windows with monitor peripherals - I usually like to have two monitors displaying three windows myself. But the whole point of a laptop is to be semi portable which likely implies working away from a desk.

This past year I've spent a lot of time with 3 laptops: (referrals)

While I loved my T14S "baby computer" for its portability, the screen wasn't quite big enough to fit multiple windows on it at the same time comfortably. This is what triggered my foray into portable monitors because it just wasn't big enough for me to have both my reference and writing windows up at the same time.

Enter my work and new 16 inch P1 and I can comfortably code / write on just this one screen for hours. It's not as good as a full workstation with multiple monitor peripherals of course but it's good enough that I don't feel the need to carry a portable monitor around with me. I like to code in my freetime and I found this to be surprisingly freeing.

So while I think you can get by with a 14 inch laptop for coding - I personally find a 16 inch gives just enough more screen room to feel comfortable for longer.

What sized laptop should you get?

Ultimately it's going to depend on your preferences and the scenarios you find yourself in.

Generally my rec is:

12 inches or smaller - Probably too small for serious coding.
14 inches - Okay for coding but text may be a bit cramped and may not do multiple windows well. Good if you need portability or will mainly be plugging it into a workstation (cause then you can just use the monitor peripherals).
16 inches - My choice for coding. Still portable but large enough screen to support multiple windows easily.
18 inches or larger - A little too big, often don't fit neatly into backpacks which is one of the main points of a laptop.

Going forward I'm going to bias towards 16 inch laptops. I find them portable enough and they are much easier for me to be productive with.

I doubt I'll ever go back to a 14 inch or smaller laptop but as my eyes continue to weaken I may end up with an 18+ inch eventually (and hopefully Meta releases somes goggles good enough to replace physical monitors for good).

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