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Comment by deathanatos | Hacker News Reader

To me, MBPs long ago reached the point where additional thinness provided no utility, or at least, was greatly outweighed by the utility of having more or better ports.

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Yes. I continue to hope they make a slightly thicker Macbook with a battery that lasts twice as much (~20-24 hours). I'd buy it in an instant, since it would mean I don't have to carry the charger with me everywhere I go.

I still hope they'll put the pro back into Macbook Pro - larger form factor, bigger battery, bigger screen, more key travel for heavy typing, etc.

Isn't the limiting factor the max battery size that is allowed to be brought on an airplane? Nobody wants a laptop that can't come on the plane with them.

100 watt-hour limit on batteries, you must ask for permission to fly with anything larger and if it isn't installed in a device / it's a spare it must be in checked baggage.

The 13" MBP has a 54Whr battery, the 15" an 83Whr battery.

https://www.casa.gov.au/standard-page/travelling-safely-batt...

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/as...

https://www.apple.com/au/macbook-pro/specs/

U.S. DOT: Spares, max 2, are forbidden in checked baggage.

Lines 7-8: https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/safe-travel/batteries

In your FAA document, page 2, line 3.

Note that, generally, batteries must be in carry-on baggage, not checked.

I believe the battery capacity is limited by restrictions on the size of batteries that you are allowed to take on flights.

I love USB-C, you know you can use both the 19W and 29W charger on both the 13” and 15” MacBook?

Carrying a charger in your backpack is worse than having a laptop that weighs 500g more?

The weight is likely a wash. Its 2 different items so more opportunities for one being lost/broken. It’s easy to forget the charger. A charger is only useful if you have a place to charge. And finally, a charger means a cable sticking to an outlet, potentially out in public, which isn’t just more annoying than simply having the laptop, but increases the risk of damage.

I’m finding it hard to see a scenario where I would prefer a charger over a little additional weight on the laptop itself.

Yeah the 2014ish Retina MBPs are thin enough and the latest ones don't even feel any thinner.

Having both near me, the 2018 feels much thinner/lighter than the 2014.

But guess what? It doesn't really matter. I'd still pick the 2014 chassis if it was specced the same as the 2018.

I much prefer the new chassis simply because it's noticeably less of a pain to carry around while retaining the same performance.

I do hope the next chassis will fix the keyboard and maybe even add back the sd-card reader, not to mention introduce top spec non-touchbar models.

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