Bit disappointed with new MBP!

[Ploki]

I had one, called "nifty mini drive". Speeds were abysmal and i got annoyed very fast with it, also fairly unreliable...

 

[Clix Pix]

Ah, yes, Nifty Mini Drive -- I do recall that name, too! I think my friend's was a Transcend, which is probably why I remember the name of it.

 

[SDColorado]

Actually, I have a Delkin USB-A memory card reader which is similar to what you post above, but what I'm talking about was actually a special SD card made by Transcend and a couple of other companies which actually slid into the SD card slot on the older MBPs and which served as an extra drive. One extracted it either with a special tool or a fingernail and it stuck out of the slot a little bit. A friend had one in his 2013 13" MBP to supplement the smallish internal storage available; I think he used the extra one for his iTunes library or something. I've always used external drives (first HDD and now SSD) to supplement my storage if needed, as well as for the usual backups. I needed this with my 512 GB 15" MBP more than I do now with my new MBP that has 1 TB of storage.

That Vanja looks like a very handy device to have, especially for travel! I'll have to look into that.....

Gotcha. Yeah, the Transcend JetDrive and MiniDrive. They used MLC chips and came in capacities, I believe, up to 256GB. They would mount in flush as semi-permanent storage. BaseQi had a similar product, which came in aluminum and I believe used MicroSD cards.

I do like the Vanja since I am often having to get data off SD/Micro SD card and also use it between my MBP and Surface (USB-A)

 

[iApplereviews]

I was thrilled to be bought the new 15" 2018 MBP for my birthday last September but the joy has been somewhat tempered by the lack of features I've come to love.
For a start I couldn't much with it until I went out to buy an adapter for all my peripherals, USB port but mainly the SD slot!
I am a wildlife photographer and the SD slot was a very important feature for me. I've just been on holiday and forgot to take the bloody adapter with me!
Another annoying missing feature is the charge indicator - now we have to open the lid to see if its charged.
Not your best offering Apple!

This makes no sense. You bought a computer knowing it didn't have the same things as your previous model. You knew you would need an adapter you knew it had USB C not magsafe and you buy it anyway only to complain about what you already knew.

 

[hm17]

This makes no sense. You bought a computer knowing it didn't have the same things as your previous model. You knew you would need an adapter you knew it had USB C not magsafe and you buy it anyway only to complain about what you already knew.

He didn't complain about what he already knew. He complained that it's a newly added hassle with the redesigned MBPs because you now have to always remember to take along multiple adapters. And I completely agree. I would have been due a new MBP, but decided to get a maxed-out used 2015 last summer instead, precisely because of that reason (and the awful keyboard). Traveling is already stressful as it is... I'm pretty sure there would have been countless cases of me ending up with no adapters at my destination. It was just more convenient when you didn't have to remember packing all sorts of additional adapters. I completely agree with the poster you replied to (in such a needlessly condescending way, btw) that this removal of ports is an unnecessary regression of functionality and usability.

 

[Mendota]

This makes no sense. You bought a computer knowing it didn't have the same things as your previous model. You knew you would need an adapter you knew it had USB C not magsafe and you buy it anyway only to complain about what you already knew.

Perhaps you should take the time to read the post, and the history following. He didn't buy it. It was a gift and he discovered that it had some things that made it less convenient than his previous Mac.

 

[Mackinjosh]

Not having magsafe is a huge plus. Every single, and I mean literally EVERY single, power cable I've had from Apple has cracked and fallen apart. Now I can buy any USB c cable I want and not worry about Apple providing garbage cables.

 

[Ploki]

Not having magsafe is a huge plus. Every single, and I mean literally EVERY single, power cable I've had from Apple has cracked and fallen apart. Now I can buy any USB c cable I want and not worry about Apple providing garbage cables.

true, but i still want that Ebay usb-c magsafe...

It's true that these laptops need power less than the macbooks of yesteryear, so you're less likely to connect it all the time compared to the old ones.

 

[SDColorado]

Not having magsafe is a huge plus. Every single, and I mean literally EVERY single, power cable I've had from Apple has cracked and fallen apart. Now I can buy any USB c cable I want and not worry about Apple providing garbage cables.

Right on. I just ordered a replacement for the POS as flexible as a wire hanger cord that shipped with my 2018 MBP

true, but i still want that Ebay usb-c magsafe...

I ordered one of those Griffin ones back in 2016 for the MBP I had at the time. It was miserably bad. Hoping the newer ones are better but hesitant to try again.

 

[cheddar-caveman]

You’re right, you do that via HDMI, which you need a dongle for. I still don’t really understand why people are parroting Apple’s marketing. I’m a software developer, so a “pro” as you might say, and I wouldve had much more use out of normal USB3 and HDMI. It’s incredibly annoying going to a customer to present something and you forgot to take your dongle.

I can understand why some people need super fast I/O at the inconvience of this situation, but how large is that group of people really? I’m not just talking about the MBP, but also at devices more targeted towards regular consumers, like the MBA.

Why wouldn’t Apple leave at least 1 USB or HDMI port on there? Easy answer: to sell more dongles.

Thank you, my point exactly.
[doublepost=1548032393][/doublepost]

true, but i still want that Ebay usb-c magsafe...

It's true that these laptops need power less than the macbooks of yesteryear, so you're less likely to connect it all the time compared to the old ones.

I agree about the Magsafe also having gone through several cables, but I still miss the charge indicator telling me when the MBP is charged!

 

[DeepIn2U]

I was thrilled to be bought the new 15" 2018 MBP for my birthday last September but the joy has been somewhat tempered by the lack of features I've come to love.
For a start I couldn't much with it until I went out to buy an adapter for all my peripherals, USB port but mainly the SD slot!
I am a wildlife photographer and the SD slot was a very important feature for me. I've just been on holiday and forgot to take the bloody adapter with me!
Another annoying missing feature is the charge indicator - now we have to open the lid to see if its charged.
Not your best offering Apple!

Let me get this straight.

You’ve been handed, given, for FREE a 2018 15” MBP which starts at $24xx US and you’re complaining about what a $40-80 adapter your forgot (which more than likely another been purchased during travel)?!

Talk about being ungrateful for a machine that can outperform most likely what you had before just simply about a less than $100 adapter?

Rule of thumb: when you travel choose one bag and ensure it has what you need within. Heck create an iOS shortcut if you have an iPhone, if not then a list on your phone of what to carry.

Like seriously? You’d do wel with many corporate employees that just wine or try to nickel and dime corporate expense for accessories. Sorry but your post screams of entitlement whining.

 

[cheddar-caveman]

Let me get this straight.

You’ve been handed, given, for FREE a 2018 15” MBP which starts at $24xx US and you’re complaining about what a $40-80 adapter your forgot (which more than likely another been purchased during travel)?!

Talk about being ungrateful for a machine that can outperform most likely what you had before just simply about a less than $100 adapter?

Rule of thumb: when you travel choose one bag and ensure it has what you need within. Heck create an iOS shortcut if you have an iPhone, if not then a list on your phone of what to carry.

Like seriously? You’d do wel with many corporate employees that just wine or try to nickel and dime corporate expense for accessories. Sorry but your post screams of entitlement whining.

Whatever

 

[Ploki]

im already used to dongles since 2008 macbook pro, but it took a while to get used to. i can completely understand how annoying can it be when you forget it.

 

[Arctic Moose]

If you did not understand what you were purchasing, then the problem is yours... why are you disappointed? If you understood the features on your computer before you purchased it... why are you disappointed that you received what you ordered?

"NEW FEATURE: NOW NO CHARGE INDICATOR!" is not listed on the web page or printed on the box.

 

[Ploki]

it now makes a loud sound tho.

"NEW FEATURE: NOW NO CHARGE INDICATOR!" is not listed on the web page or printed on the box.

 

[Mendota]

Let me get this straight.

You’ve been handed, given, for FREE a 2018 15” MBP which starts at $24xx US and you’re complaining about what a $40-80 adapter your forgot (which more than likely another been purchased during travel)?!

Talk about being ungrateful for a machine that can outperform most likely what you had before just simply about a less than $100 adapter?

Rule of thumb: when you travel choose one bag and ensure it has what you need within. Heck create an iOS shortcut if you have an iPhone, if not then a list on your phone of what to carry.

Like seriously? You’d do wel with many corporate employees that just wine or try to nickel and dime corporate expense for accessories. Sorry but your post screams of entitlement whining.

It was a gift and he didn't say that he didn't appreciate it. At any rate who are you to lecture him on how he should feel. Did you give it to him? No... so I think you need to stay out of his business. At 80 years, he has a right to his opinion, and I am sure that whoever gave it to him would agree.

 

[cheddar-caveman]

It was a gift and he didn't say that he didn't appreciate it. At any rate who are you to lecture him on how he should feel. Did you give it to him? No... so I think you need to stay out of his business. At 80 years, he has a right to his opinion, and I am sure that whoever gave it to him would agree.

Thank you Mendota. My son gave it to me and agreed that he didn't check the spec before buying so also supplied the dongle with SD card slot and normal USBs.

 

[SDColorado]

I can appreciate the frustration of forgetting a dongle. I have done it with that little headphone dongle for my iPhone X. I was able to purchase another at the airport, but they charged me literally double what the Apple Store charges for them and I really didn’t want two. Sometimes it’s the little things

 

[zen]

Let me get this straight.

You’ve been handed, given, for FREE a 2018 15” MBP which starts at $24xx US and you’re complaining about what a $40-80 adapter your forgot (which more than likely another been purchased during travel)?!

Talk about being ungrateful for a machine that can outperform most likely what you had before just simply about a less than $100 adapter?

Rule of thumb: when you travel choose one bag and ensure it has what you need within. Heck create an iOS shortcut if you have an iPhone, if not then a list on your phone of what to carry.

Like seriously? You’d do wel with many corporate employees that just wine or try to nickel and dime corporate expense for accessories. Sorry but your post screams of entitlement whining.

The logic in this post is quite something.

If the 2018 15" MBP starts at $24xx US... then why the hell doesn't it a) have all the ports you need, or b) come with a set of standard dongles free, in the box?

The OP got his as a birthday gift, so he can live with its shortcomings (but is still entitled to point them out). But for that price, if you were in the market for a laptop for yourself, that $24xx would go a heck of a lot further elsewhere.

 

[Ploki]

The logic in this post is quite something.

If the 2018 15" MBP starts at $24xx US... then why the hell doesn't it a) have all the ports you need, or b) come with a set of standard dongles free, in the box?

The OP got his as a birthday gift, so he can live with its shortcomings (but is still entitled to point them out). But for that price, if you were in the market for a laptop for yourself, that $24xx would go a heck of a lot further elsewhere.

I'm tired of pointing this out again but here we go:
a) because people have vastly different ideas of which ports are needed
b) see a).
I do agree a basic apple multiport HDMI/USB-A/USB-C through could have been included.

 

[DeepIn2U]

The logic in this post is quite something.

If the 2018 15" MBP starts at $24xx US... then why the hell doesn't it a) have all the ports you need, or b) come with a set of standard dongles free, in the box?

The OP got his as a birthday gift, so he can live with its shortcomings (but is still entitled to point them out). But for that price, if you were in the market for a laptop for yourself, that $24xx would go a heck of a lot further elsewhere.

Correct on the pricing and the ports (you'll need) ... may not be needed by a very small handful, yet nor here or there.

My posts logic is just fine. Our op is complaining about a free gift, a brand new laptop and saying he's not liking it because an $80 solution to resolve it and provide such ports is very easy to do vs forking over such a $24xx US cost him/herself.

Yes it's their right to complain all they want ... I'm just saying why freaking complain kicking a gift horse in the mouth vs just deal and buy the adapter ... OR as you've said ... get a machine that provides everything needed at a fraction of the cost ... supported by selling the MBP. You'd just re-iterated my logic fully.