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I have seen places where every projector had an Apple TV attached.
I've been to office where they set up a Mac mini on every meeting room as a hub for the projection.
But this is extreme rare cases. Go outside the startup/tech environment, and VGA is still the standard, with some using HDMI. Now, of course this is solvable with a dongle, that is if Apple wants to start putting lightning connectors on Macs (unlikely). An all USB-C mac is not too farfetched though.
 
Steve Jobs would never have surveyed his customers on anything. He would have designed what he thought people would like, and put it in front them.
 
It is a question that I was already asking myself... I listen to music at work using my 3.5mm audio jack and my iPhone's EarPods with my MacBook Pro. As soon as I get an iPhone 7 or higher, what am I gonna do? Will there by a Lightning-to-Audio-Jack-Adapter? Will new MacBooks have a Lightning port just for audio? Same question, if I want to connect my Lightning EarPods to my iPar Air 2...

Will I eventually buy AirPods for the sake of not carrying around adapters?

Lightning ports on the Macs.
 
Let' see:
1) Audio jack for headphones at work and on train - CHECK
2) Thunerboldt -> mini-display for external monitor - CHECK
3) USB ports for charging phone/wireless mouse/external keyboard - CHECK
4) Magsafe so I don't kill the laptop every time someone yanks the cords - CHECK
5) SD card - NOPE

So looks like 4/5 are actually useful to me ... *sigh*
 
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No it isn't. It is a laptop and meant to be carried around. The 15" MBP is seriously heavy.
Your confusing a laptop with an ultrabook. 2kg is "seriously heavy"? Go to a Gym, do some weights.
I used to lug around 5kg+ schlepp tops in my carry-on back in the days when box cutters were allowed on planes.

Gamers still carry 3-4kg 17" monsters around to their meetups.
 
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I think the reason for getting rid of MagSafe is that the laptops are getting lighter. The sharp tug of a tripped-over cable used to be enough to snap the MagSafe out of its socket. With an ultralight laptop, that same sharp tug would likely send the laptop flying anyway.

They could reduce the strength of the MagSafe magnetic connection, but then it would come loose more often when there was no emergency. Just sliding the laptop across your desk might cause the MagSafe connector to fall out.

I don't get this argument. First people complained the magnet for the MagSafe gen 1 was too weak, now they complain gen 2 is too strong. I have never had either problem with my 2013 MBA, but magsafe has saved my MBA many times--even from myself.

What's more interesting is the questioning about whether I need to use a MacBook Pro anymore after answering YES to owning iPad Pro. I answered honestly, my Mac is gathering dust and I don't need it now I have the super computer with a gorgeous touch display.

I wonder if they are seriously considering killing the Mac off? That would be courageous and very forward thinking.

Want to give your MBP to someone in need? PM me ;) Ok, mods, it's a joke:rolleyes: Pls don't censor it :D
 
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Newer camera models have WiFi data transfer, so this maybe Apple's way of nudging photo professionals to upgrade their camera gear as well?
Yeah, kick simplicity right out the door and lets all make a merry mess out of every outdoor shooting.
(massively) Increased energy consumption is truely awesome when your away from power supplys...
To take away the sd-card reader from the mbp would be the final nail in the coffin for me when it come sto upgrade...
My work setup is already Lumia 950xl + Surface pro 4 (btw...even that one does have a micro sd slot) for private (mainly foto) use it is still the 2012 mbp (retina) that travels inside my camera bag: reasonable battery stamina, resonable screen size to evaluate shots and no hassle due to sd-slot being integrated...well, I am pretty sure I could save a few pounds by exchanging the mbp for a surface and retain functionality...even though it has been ages since I last used windows for photo related work...plus loosing cloud based photos would be a bit sad...probably should start to scan for alternatives...
 
Hah, I still want my Ethernet port back. I'll take an extra Thunderbolt and USB-A port while they're at it. The only port I don't use frequently is the SD card slot, and even that I use occasionally.

Yes to headphone jack and SD card slot! Anyone else missing a built-in Gigabit Ethernet port?

I would really like my Ethernet port back, too. Other PC manufacturers manage to include it. And didn't its removal result in a hit in the speed of file transfers?

I have 2 Macs wired via Ethernet and file transfer is much faster (and more reliable) than wireless.


I also receive a similar market research survey today about my 5K iMac with a few questions about ports (questions about all the ports).

Can you post the questions?
 
I own an Asus router, but research it before you buy. Netgear has the better AC router currently and the Asus routers have a design flaw(?) which causes the power button (which is not a mechanical switch) to fail shortly after the warranty expires (planned obsolescence). There are fixes, but this defect occurs without fail. Check the small net builder forums.

I was thinking of getting the Asus RT-AC68U:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320174

Main reason I want that one is because it supports HFS partitions for external drives when connected to the USB port. Thoughts?
 
Leave it to Apple to concentrate their energy on removing connectivity and usefulness. That kind of nonsense got me an HP Z over a Mac Pro replacement and most likely will result in an HP laptop when my 2012 MBP bites the dust.
I'm looking at the Samsung Notebook 7 series (13") or 9 series (15") myself....they have all the ports + USB-C and upgrade-able RAM/SSD.

My 2011 MBPro macOS Sierra will no longer AirDrop to my iPhone; so I'm already starting to get force-weaned off of the ecosystem.

Never thought that I'd change from Apple, but I'm leaving if they effectively take the "Pro" out of the "MacBook Pro".
 
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That's... great. So, when are you gonna make the switch instead of trying to speak for the masses? You don't want thin, you want a myriad of ports, you want this that blah blah blah. Key word, you. Sure, others too, but not "we" without clearly stating whom. To be honest you're probably over the age of 30, not that there's anything wrong with that, but Apple is marketed not to you, nor does it market to the Pro market. It's marketed towards 20-somethings whom are less tech-savvy judging by recent decisions including app permissions changed in MacOS, as well as its general direction with thinness, device aesthetics, emojis, watch bands, new colors, etc etc.

For some annoying reason, though, the misconception of the "Pro" moniker never dies down. Pro does not mean professional. It means a more computationally powerful version of the device WITHOUT the pro moniker. The Macbook. Just like how nobody would argue Surface Pro is for professionals. It's merely a more powerful Surface. Get that in your heads and stop the cognitive dissonance. Frankly, Apple hasn't even tried to market the MBP to traditional professionals, rather the average prosumer who doesn't need a plethora of ports or connectivity. Macbook Pro is simply a more powerful Macbook, not a workstation device marketed towards Professionals. You have the Dell Precision Mobile Workstation as well as the Lenovo Thinkpad line for your intensive needs. The average "Traditional Professional" around Macrumors is sounding a lot like a lost dog that Apple itself doesn't want, but it keeps barking and sitting at Apple's doorstep. Go move to Dell or Lenovo.

He's not trying to speak for "the masses". But you're right, him and I are in the same demographic. I am "over 30" for the last 2 decades IYMK. Steve died and left a generation behind that loved the Apple he had built, especially after his return.
We keep lamenting and occasionally barking at the idiocy that is the new Tim Cook Apple.
What's wrong with liking that philosophy of simplicity and "just works" from 1997-2011 ? It took Apple from the near-bankruptcy to the Mega corporation it is now. The iPhone was a genius invention, but a curse at the same time. Apple and its investors got drunk on its revenue stream and started to neglect every other product line, but especially the Mac!

Sounds to me like he's already made the switch. I'm still debating and my current Apple products are sufficient and not in need of upgrades. But unless things change, I will also slowly migrate away over the next 5 years.
 
Apple has lacked consistency across devices lately. So I'll guess they kill the 3.5mm headphone jack and let us use a $29.99 dongle from usb-c to lightning, available 6 months after new Macs come out. Haha. As much as I want to say that as sarcasm, I have some fear over what may happen. It likely depends on what they see as the better long-term option, lighning or usb-c. People tend to keep Macs much longer than phones.

And to original question about removing headphone jack? I can live without it. Just give me something that I use as a quasi standard wired connection for a least a little bit into the future. Audio wireless is not yet up for all uses.
 
How about Apple survey existing Mac Pro customers about user-replaceable parts and internal upgrade capabilities? Those of us who want a headless desktop machine but did not buy the 2013 cylinder Mac Pro did not buy that model for a very particular reason. It was not the system we want or need. That does not mean that we do not want a capable desktop Mac, only that we did not want THAT desktop Mac.

I think the Mac Mini should be split into two models. A much smaller, lighter, perhaps even ARM-based model, and a slightly larger but more powerful model with dedicated video equivalent or (hopefully) better than the iMac.

The current Mini is still surprisingly large considering how underpowered it is. The move to 16/14 nm processes and solid state only storage should support both of these things.
 
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I answered "No" on the survey. I use a USB connected DAC/AMP for my headphones and really don't care about the outdated headphone jack.
 
Hi Apple, in case you are reading this forum, I would appreciated it if you kept the MagSafe connection, SD card slot and headphone ports, in that order.


MagSafe connection is one of Apple's most innovative feature on the MacBooks. It's quick, safe, easy to connect and disconnect, tells you at a glance when your Mac is done charging --- all great features that Apple should hold on to!!
I had to join MR just to add my voice to yours. MagSafe is an incredible feature! It is at the heart and soul of Apple. Someone must be feeling courageous again.
 
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Also MacBook Air users:
 

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It makes perfect sense they are looking at this. Having n different kinds of special purpose ports is an historical artifact. It is much more desirable to standardize on one kind of port that does everything. USB-C might be it. Rather than having a separate audio port, digital port(s), power port, it makes sense for each device to have multiples of one single port that can be used as the customer sees fit. Different devices would just have different numbers of this standard port. A Pro laptop might have 4-6 of this standard port, a consumer mini-laptop might have two, a pocket device might have one. Combine this with wireless, and you have a much better solution than today's mess of too many special ports taking up too much space.

Other than the minor and solvable issues around device discovery, the only real difference between a USB and analog-input headphone is due to where the D/A convertor lives. Right now, having a centralized high quality D/A convertor in the computing device, rather than a different one in each output device, saves some cost for the consumer. We are currently at a point where there is a small but crucial (to audiophiles and professionals) quality difference between cheap and better D/A convertors, but again that difference can be diminished by moving the market faster toward all-digital interfaces, which Apple can help push.

Apple is right to be thinking about this, and to be analyzing the current market as part of that. Hence this survey. This is where the world needs to go. It will take a bit of time to get there, but it's the right direction.

Well stated.
 
Pathetic if Apple left the 3.5mm jack on the MacBook after removing it from the iPhone. They would be complete hypocrites for doing this because they told us the 3.5mm jack was inferior and obsolete, and they had the "courage" to remove it from the iPhone.

Why didn't they have the "courage" to survey iPhone users if they wanted to save the 3.5mm jack.
 
As a photographer I use the sd slot daily
Yep and that is gone for sure! 100% gone. They're no longer making the right i/o choices for their market. I love my current mac sans cd drive because that makes sense. But these raft of new views on ports are getting out of hand.

When you drop usb 3 support you're pushing people to buy new everything when there isn't the ecosystem of products. You need to have transition products to apples or you'll look us. The iphone 7 lost me for sure now the laptops! I guess I'm out of these products until there are complimentary products available 3-5 years time then. I'm not alone that's a fair amount of lost revenue just for not giving a a selection of new and old ports.
 
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While Apple makes some decent products, recently the "simplification" and feature removals from the hardware and software made this company an average one.

It seems Apple started to target only a specific young demography only, with products that have very short lifetime (which contributes to more electronic pollution). An older Apple device was usable before or donated to be used in developing countries, now these new devices are basically landfill after 1-2 years.

Removing features and lying to the customers that this is moving forward, will alienate the core of the Apple users, who helped build up this ecosystem.
 
You guys are going to look back at this and laugh in 10 years. Wireless everything will be everywhere (including power, USB, etc), batteries will last much longer, and nobody will give Apple even partial credit for helping to kick the industry down the road by forcing innovation of new design and technologies in this space.

As a matter of fact, I'm going to set a reminder for September 15, 2026 and start a thread about how stupid everyone was. My kids are going to say "What's a jack, dad?" and then they'll respond "You mean you really had to plug in some rope to your ears to listen to music? Were you born in the 1800s? Did you even have color TV growing up?"

Innovation is difficult. Change is more difficult. This isn't the last we've seen of the Apple W chip, and this is far from the last Apple device that will lose a headphone jack. Brace yourselves—your first world problems are about to get worse.
 
I'm glad that Apple is doing a survey of, presumably, Mac owners regarding the future feature set of a product. That should provide them with feedback from users that actually own and use their products instead of people that just want to bash the company. Don't get me wrong though - sometimes Apple (like all companies) do bone-headed things and need to be called out.
 
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