So it seems that the next MBP revision will likely uses USB Type C ports, question is, how many ports will Apple give since that same port is USB, Thunderbolt 3, DisplayPort as well. I love the amount of ports that the rMBP has but this is Apple we're talking about who loves to reduce the number of holes from their notebook. Look at how they unified the headphone and microphone jack in their MB and 13" rMBPs. And I wonder does this mean Skylake will be the big update.
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My hope is that they replace the 2 existing DP/TB ports, and, leave everything else the same at first. Just like the FireWire transition. The problem with going to, as some have suggested, 4 Type C/everything ports is that I'm going to have to carry a bundle of adapter cables and a dock wherever I go.
But they have - the MacBook. The very reasons you post were not considered when they rolled out a brand new computer line (that looks a lot like the old MBA computer line
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Apple's done this in the past, take USB - they adopted USB in the Bondi Blue iMac over legacy ports that they had previously.
I'm not saying they'll do it with the MBP redesign, but I won't put it past them
Agreed. I'm concerned.
I sort of disagree here, the adoption of USB C was to further their vision for an ultraslim computer to it's logical conclusion, the macbook is an ultraportable with no pretensions at needing to be plugged into anything at all, in fact apple are discouraging it. That can't be said of the MBP I would expect 4 USB C ports and they'll take up less space.
As long as they stop trying to turn the MBP into an ultraportable. They already have the new Macbook and the Air. If the MBP follows suit, they will have three overlapping product lines and no portable workstation product line.
Four ports would make sense. Hopefully not fewer.
Eventually Type-C will be everywhere. I don't think Apple will keep some old ports around just for the transition period. Not really Apple's style.
That was not the case in the past. Apple did a decent job with the FW400 -> FW800 transition. Why should/would they screw this up? There is also the question of the sheer number of connections. Ethernet, High-Res display, keyboard, mouse, backup or big data (movies, pictures, data) drive, legacy FW drive or audio device or ... There is a reason why there are lots of ports overall. If everything is Type-C, you will need 7 ports and 6 of those will have dongles on them.
Yes, USB-C is the best thing that has happened to computer interfacing in a long long time. Truly great and fleexible design!
You should know better by now how Apple operates
They do not wait for tech to become mainstream, they make tech mainstream. I am fairly sure that Mac laptops will go all USB-C next year. The peripherals will follow very quickly.
I'm OK with adding a couple of USB-C ports. I'm not OK with removing all the other ports.
Exactly. It's Apples style. Simplicity.
In another thread I read about the power port issue, being that which port would you charge from? When technically it could be any. Maybe we'll see the return of the magsafe just to thwart the confusion of charging (or on the MBPro's case, keeping magsafe).
I deal with this every day. It isn't simple now, and USB-C could make it a lot worse. I already have the Ethernet dongle and DVI dongle. Now, I'm going to need a dock to connect the Ethernet, keyboard, mouse, and storage. If everything is USB-C, I'm going to have to carry around a dock. More weight, less simple. That is the real world, not the marketing fantasy of the system floating around mid-air not connected to anything.
