I will admit I have a preference for the 14" laptop size since it allows a reasonable number of ports (more is better), good specs, and portability (I go to coffee shops daily since I retired). I have a 15.6" Linux laptop which I seldom use.

Mine has a 12 inch display — not because I chose that, but because I bought the best cheap model on ebay long ago. I only wanted it as a backup and to take to libraries, so I wasn't fussy. It's an IBM X31 and will be celebrating its 20th birthday next year!

I have always wanted a 13"; I've used a lot of 12" & 11.6"; maybe a 14" (?), but dislike my 15.6", it's just too big & bulky, except being used as a desktop machine...

A 13" is perfect for traveling with a small backpack or briefcase. The late, great PPC-based iBook was quite good in that regard. However, for actual daily work a 15" is needed and a reasonable compromise between being too big and just big enough. A 17" is too big lug around, regardless of its weight.

currently using an dell inspiron 13 "cafe book". used a 14" system76 lemur 'till power port broke and couldn't recharge the battery. also have a 15.6" gazelle that weights a "ton"; used as a desktop.

My Acer laptop has a 17.3" screen so I can see. I find small screen laptops to be useless because you need an electron microscope in order to see anything on the screen.

Three laptops 15", two at 720p and the other at 1080. I can live with that maybe even less, don't know I never tried.

I've had quite a few since the mid-1990s when I first realized the advantage of using a luggable in a project in a way which saved probably 90% on the time and effort which logistical overhead would have otherwise wasted. That saved time and effort was then instead invested into the core activities of the project, plus a little bit for other stuff, for a very noticeably better result. I don't remember what that resolution was, but it was low and almost certainly 640x480.

Since then, depending one what I've been working on, I've gotten by even with 800x480 and 720p on 7" screens. The main drawback on those was the compressed key spacing and size. Something larger is needed for normal spacing on the keyboard, so I'd say that 13" or 14", with rounded corners, is perfect for something which fits in a backpack or small briefcase but is too small for a lot of my current activities. From my perspective, 17" feels like lugging a small coffee table around. I can understand the appeal it has for some people but it has always proven too large for my use-cases so the 15" or 15.6" screens are a good compromise as mentioned in the earlier post. Up until recently the market was bizarrely limited to 1080p but now WQHD aka 1440p aka 2560x1440 is now convenient to get, so that's what I have on my latest.

The metal cases seem to corrode in an unsightly manner with heavy use and the plastic ones eventually crack especially at the hinge. The metal is sturdier but the plastic lighter and interferes less with Wi-Fi range than the metal. What are people's thoughts on metal versus plastic cases?

All but one of my laptops have been plastic, if the hinges have been engineered properly they won't break, & they have been lighter - but I'm not very keen on the modern way of construction, they don't seem to want to let you inside any more.

My "go to the coffee shop" laptop is a Lemur Pro from System 76, my backup is the HP Dev One. Both are 14" and have really good screens. The Lemur has the best battery life of any laptop I own.

I like 13 & 14 the best, won't use above a 14" if I can help it. But the 14" is the best mix of screen size yet still portable IMO.

11 inch on motorcycle. Used to run 9 inch clamshells.
Nothing over a 100 bucks.

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I prefer at least a 14" up to a 15". I have 1 15", 2 14" and 1 10".

We have both a 13" and a 15". Just bought the 15" (HD 1900) because the 13" (HD 1900) was just to small for our eyes to read easily. So moved up to the 15" and much nicer. The 15" still fits fine in my travel bag and is not much, if any, heavier than the 13". Both are light. Will not buy a 13" again. Only downside with the new 15" is it didn't come with a hardwire ethernet port . Had to buy a USB-C to ethernet converter for that.... Just another cable to have around! Note I have smaller screens for some of my RPI projects, but that is for a different purpose entirely.

Oh, and we don't game, so screen size for that isn't a criteria.

And my desktops/workstation have the big screens (32" 2K and 4K) for 'work' side of things. Not 'portable' though!

I seem to be an outlier. I prefer the larger screens.