Bloomberg: Next MacBook Pro to Feature SD Card Reader

[Rob_2811]

Touch Bar going, terrible keyboard gone, MagSafe and sd card reader reintroduced.

Just slowly walking back the dreadful product decisions they've made with the laptops since 2016.

 

[theluggage]

I used to love MagSafe until I upgraded to a 16" MBP. The ability to charge it on any side of the laptop has been surprisingly convenient.

That option doesn't have to go away. The choice of being able to charge via TB3 (possibly via a 1-cable docking station) is good. Being forced to "waste" a TB3 port to attach a plain old charger, and losing the magnetic breakaway feature on the only port where it makes sense, is bad.

What would be a step backwards would be going back to a proprietary charger with a captive cable, and I'd hope it would be implemented via a detachable cable that could be replaced by a USB-C charge cable if that floated your boat.

 

[ntlman]

Charging solely via USB has proven to not be entirely efficient for the MB. There are configurations that can overheat the CPU—in particular having peripherals plugged into the same side that is charging—causing significant throttling. Which means you don't really have the freedom to charge from either side as advertised. So it makes sense then to just go back to having a dedicated separate charging port, so a user never has to rejigger their connected peripherals to prevent the overheating and subsequent CPU performance throttling.

Are You Charging Your MacBook on the Wrong Side?

Yes, you read that headline correctly. There is apparently a “right” way and a “wrong” way to connect devices to a M acBook with Thunderbolt/USB-C

lifehacker.com

 

[Lemon Olive]

What? So, because the very first AS entry-level laptop has 1 TB port, that translates into every AS Mac that Apple ever makes is limited to 1 TB port? What kind of nonsense is that?

Every AS Mac? No. Every one with the M1? Yes.

 

[Lemon Olive]

Can you share with us how you know that the M1X, M2 (whatever it will be called) that will be in this year's 14" and 16" MBP will not be able to have 4 Thunderbolt 4 ports?

How do you know the IO limitations of a SOC that has yet to be announced?

I think its's already incredibly obvious. The M1 dropped support for so many TB ports. The rumors now all talk about "the return" of other ports. The writing is on the wall here.

 

[RednBlue]

I'm so glad I never replaced my 2015 MBPr which still works perfectly with Big Sur - and is just as fast and more useable than the M1Mac Mini I recently tried.
Magsafe - brilliant concept that works faultlessly and prevents accidental damage through inadvertent cable snags; SD card slot - convenient for quick transfer of images from my Sony Camera to my Mac.
I think they had the 2015 MBP dead right - never needed the Touch Bar anyway.

 

[cupcakes2000]

I think its's already incredibly obvious. The M1 dropped support for so many TB ports. The rumors now all talk about "the return" of other ports. The writing is on the wall here.

It didn’t do any such thing. The base model m1 laptops still have the exact same ports that the models they replaced have, including a controller per port, instead of one split between two ports which I believe the models they replaced had.
The jury is out on the mini, but it dropped in price so I’m assuming it’s a new base config and that’s why there was a port reduction.

You have some dubious information and you’re spreading it as fact.

 

[MallardDuck]

Why? What device do you have where you can’t just swap out the cable?

There's lots of USB-A devices that have built-in cables.

 

[theorist9]

FWIW, this website has a nice table showing the memory card formats used by each of 71 DSLRs (at least all the model names I recognize are DSLRs). It seems to be reasonably current, since it includes the Nikon D6, which was released in May 2020.

Of these, 57 are SD-only (some are single-slot, some are dual-slot where both slots take SD). 14 are dual-slot cameras that take SD in one slot and a non-SD format in the other. And only 7 (these tend to be high-end professional cameras) don't accept SD.

Memory Cards and Everything You Need to Know About Them

In this article, we go through everything you need to know about memory cards, their types, specifications, speeds and which format is here to stay.

photographylife.com

Of course, a more accurate picture would be obtained if these were weighted by ownership numbers, but getting that data would require a research project.

It also has a nice table comparing the performance of the different formats.

 

[AppleFeller]

MagSafe and SD make sense, while allowing Apple to maintain their meticulous thin design profile, they won't add USB A or a HDMI as both those port heights are too compromising on the minimum height of the chassis.

 

[theorist9]

MagSafe and SD make sense, while allowing Apple to maintain their meticulous thin design profile, they won't add USB A or a HDMI as both those port heights are too compromising on the minimum height of the chassis.

Yup, that's exactly the problem with USB-A and HDMI ports, both of which require a vertical opening of ~4.5 mm. There's barely room for their height on my 2014 MBP.

The only way I can see to make room for them (without making the device thicker, which they are not going to do just to add those ports), would be to take away the curve on the underside at the very back of the machine (I think they could only take it away at the back, because it's needed elsewhere along the sides so the machine can be picked up from a flat surface) (or add a gate, which they're not going to do, because they're kludgy).

 

[Stephen.R]

that's exactly the problem with USB-A and HDMI ports, both of which require a vertical opening of ~4.5 mm.

I am going to laugh like a crazy person if they "bring back HDMI", only to use HDMI Type-C or Type-D (HDMI mini/micro respectively) ports because they're thinner (~2.4/2.2 mm respectively).

I may or may not also do a dance yelling "You want some HDMI, here's your HDMI". If the luddites thought it was annoying needing a USB-C to HDMI adapter, wait till you need an even more obscure one.

 

[theorist9]

I am going to laugh like a crazy person if they "bring back HDMI", only to use HDMI Type-C or Type-D (HDMI mini/micro respectively) ports because they're thinner (~2.4/2.2 mm respectively).

I may or may not also do a dance yelling "You want some HDMI, here's your HDMI". If the luddites thought it was annoying needing a USB-C to HDMI adapter, wait till you need an even more obscure one.

Ha! I'm imaging Al Pachino saying "Say hello to my little HDMI".

Kidding aside, let's be reasonable here—it's not really fair to call someone a Luddite because they want a port that works with maybe 90% of the current installed base of lecture hall projectors.

 

[Stephen.R]

Ha! I'm imaging Al Pachino saying "Say hello to my little HDMI".

Kidding aside, let's be reasonable here—it's not really fair to call someone a Luddite because they want a port that works with maybe 90% of the current installed base of lecture hall projectors.

I don’t think it’s fair to imply that USB-c ports are impossible or expensive or even hard to use with a hdmi or dvi or vga projector, and yet here we are.

 

[theorist9]

I don’t think it’s fair to imply that USB-c ports are impossible or expensive or even hard to use with a hdmi or dvi or vga projector, and yet here we are.

I never said that—that would be a straw man. But I am saying it is a nice convenience not to have to deal with them when using an HDMI projector. Just like wireless charging is a nice convenience.

And you sidestepped my point that it's hardly fair or reasonable to go ad hominem ("Luddite") against those who would like a port that works directly with the vast majority of the current devices they interface with.

 

[jz0309]

FWIW, this website has a nice table showing the memory card formats used by each of 71 DSLRs (at least all the model names I recognize are DSLRs). It seems to be reasonably current, since it includes the Nikon D6, which was released in May 2020.

Of these, 57 are SD-only (some are single-slot, some are dual-slot where both slots take SD). 14 are dual-slot cameras that take SD in one slot and a non-SD format in the other. And only 7 (these tend to be high-end professional cameras) don't accept SD.

Memory Cards and Everything You Need to Know About Them

In this article, we go through everything you need to know about memory cards, their types, specifications, speeds and which format is here to stay.

photographylife.com

Of course, a more accurate picture would be obtained if these were weighted by ownership numbers, but getting that data would require a research project.

It also has a nice table comparing the performance of the different formats.

The article states: LAST UPDATED ON JANUARY 11, 2020

so a year old, and a lot of cameras listed are multiple years old. SD is going down the obsolescence route.
The new standard is CFexpress and all new higher-end cameras support that, and it will eventually trickle down to all models, just like SD replaced CF ...

Another quote from the article:
Quick Summary: CFexpress is currently the fastest and the most capable memory card format on the market, and will likely be the default choice for future-generation stills and video cameras.

 

[cmaier]

FWIW, this website has a nice table showing the memory card formats used by each of 71 DSLRs (at least all the model names I recognize are DSLRs). It seems to be reasonably current, since it includes the Nikon D6, which was released in May 2020.

Of these, 57 are SD-only (some are single-slot, some are dual-slot where both slots take SD). 14 are dual-slot cameras that take SD in one slot and a non-SD format in the other. And only 7 (these tend to be high-end professional cameras) don't accept SD.

Memory Cards and Everything You Need to Know About Them

In this article, we go through everything you need to know about memory cards, their types, specifications, speeds and which format is here to stay.

photographylife.com

Of course, a more accurate picture would be obtained if these were weighted by ownership numbers, but getting that data would require a research project.

It also has a nice table comparing the performance of the different formats.

The cf express transition has only just begun. Time will tell whether it succeeds. The fact that there are 3 form factors, at least 2 of which are used in actual cameras, is probably going to slow it down. SD is certainly a safe bet for the next few years.

 

[Stephen.R]

I never said that—that would be a straw man. But I am saying it is a nice convenience not to have to deal with them when using an HDMI projector. Just like wireless charging is a nice convenience.

And you sidestepped my point that it's hardly fair or reasonable to go ad hominem ("Luddite") against those who would like a port that works directly with the vast majority of the current devices they interface with.

And I never said you were implying it.

I'm not sidestepping your point, I am actively refuting the validity of your claim that it's unreasonable.

If people want to claim that a USB-C to <insert legacy adaptor> is some great hardship and they want their legacy ports back, I'm going to call them a luddite.

 

[theorist9]

The article states: LAST UPDATED ON JANUARY 11, 2020

so a year old, and a lot of cameras listed are multiple years old. SD is going down the obsolescence route.
The new standard is CFexpress and all new higher-end cameras support that, and it will eventually trickle down to all models, just like SD replaced CF ...

Another quote from the article:
Quick Summary: CFexpress is currently the fastest and the most capable memory card format on the market, and will likely be the default choice for future-generation stills and video cameras.

I saw the update date. Nevetheless, materially, what was in that chart seems to be an accurate reflection of the newest models. I did a quick search through Canon's website, and of the 30+ new cameras they list in the DSLR/mirrorless section of their website, I only found three that didn't take SD, and they were their three priciest: $3900 (kit), $6000 (kit) and $6500 (body). What do you think their unit volume is compared to the other 30 or so? The future may belong to a different standard. But today (and likely the next few years) still belongs to SD.

Given my user name, this may be an ironic statement to make, but you're focused on theory, while I'm focused on actual practice.

Plus the SDA is working on a new standard, SD Express 8.0, which will have about the same transfer speed as CF Express. A couple of years from now, if we have SD Express 8.0 and CF Express, what type of slot is a laptop mfr. going to want to install? An SD Express slot that is backwards-compatible with the last three generations of SD cards (and thus with their corresponding devices), or a CF Express slot? And what will DSLR makers choose? They might still want to put CF Express in their pro cameras, because it is physically better built than SD, thus reducing the chance of lost/corrupted data. But what about in all their other models?

Yes, we could speculate that, maybe, if Apple thinks CF Express is a better design, they'll throw their weight behind it and offer that port. But pure speculation is all that is.

These next-gen SD cards blow your HDD or SSD speeds out of the water

The new SD 8.0 spec packs a huge 3.9GB/sec transfers thanks to PCIe 4.0 tech, ready for 8K.

www.tweaktown.com

 

[theorist9]

The cf express transition has only just begun. Time will tell whether it succeeds. The fact that there are 3 form factors, at least 2 of which are used in actual cameras, is probably going to slow it down. SD is certainly a safe bet for the next few years.

Have you heard any word on when SD Express 8.0 (3.9 GB/s) is going to become available? Once it is, its backward compatibility with SDHC, SDXC, and SDUC could make things harder for CF Express, even if CF Express is a more robust design.

 

[cmaier]

I saw the update date. Nevetheless, materially, what was in that chart seems to be an accurate reflection of the newest models. I did a quick search through Canon's website, and of the 30+ new cameras they list in the DSLR/mirrorless section of their website, I only found three that didn't take SD, and they were their three priciest: $3900 (kit), $6000 (kit) and $6500 (body). What do you think their unit volume is compared to the other 30 or so? The future may belong to a different standard. But today (and likely the next few years) still belongs to SD.

Given my user name, this may be an ironic statement to make, but you're focused on theory, while I'm focused on actual practice.

Plus the SDA is working on a new standard, SD Express, which will have about the same transfer speed as CF Express. A couple of years from now, if we have SD Express and CF Express, what type of slot is a laptop mfr. going to want to install? An SD Express slot that is backwards-compatible with the last three generations of SD cards (and thus with their corresponding devices), or a CF Express slot? And what will DSLR makers choose? They might still want to put CF Express in their pro camerass, because it is physically better built than SD, thus reducing the chances of lost data. But what about all their other models?

These next-gen SD cards blow your HDD or SSD speeds out of the water

The new SD 8.0 spec packs a huge 3.9GB/sec transfers thanks to PCIe 4.0 tech, ready for 8K.

www.tweaktown.com

Sony‘s cameras are moving to combined SD/CF Express A slots, so it’s clearly possible to make a hybrid slot for them (Of course sony used to do that with SD and MemoryStick, too). The main problem is that Type B appears to be the frontrunner. Sony uses CF Express Type A. Canon/Nikon/Panasonic use Type B, which are bigger.

So type A is nice due to size, but it’s speed is more or less equal to what SD Express promises. So in that case, CF Express Type A seems a dead end - same speed, probably the same capacities, similar form factor as SD Express.

It’s all a mess. It’s clear that “SD” as we know it is coming to the end of the road, but not clear whether SD Express or CF Express Type B will become ubiquitous. (CF Express Type B is much faster than SD Express/CF Express Type A, and due to size would likely permit higher capacity, so at least there’s a point to it).

 

[HandITOVER]

SMH.

 

[ruka.snow]

Have you heard any word on when SD Express 8.0 (3.9 GB/s) is going to become available? Once it is, its backward compatibility with SDHC, SDXC, and SDUC could make things harder for CF Express, even if CF Express is a more robust design.

SD Express is backwards compatible but only at UHS-I speeds, so under 100 MB/s. CFExpress is taking over the camera world and competing formats rarely if ever get any traction. The CFExpress cards bought today will be used by photographers on the next 2 generations(8 years) of cameras with a potential new format making its way into the primary slot at that point.

SD Express is most likely going to make its way into consumer gear where SD already exists, though consumer cameras are struggling against the smartphones so it'll be more likely in something like a GoPro, though even they are likely to take one of the CFExpress formats. And we have to keep in mind, CFExpress will always be able to get faster than SD Express, especially Type B and Type C cards that have more lanes and can just move to PCIe 3.0, 4.0, 5.0....

 

[jz0309]

SD Express is backwards compatible but only at UHS-I speeds, so under 100 MB/s. CFExpress is taking over the camera world and competing formats rarely if ever get any traction. The CFExpress cards bought today will be used by photographers on the next 2 generations(8 years) of cameras with a potential new format making its way into the primary slot at that point.

SD Express is most likely going to make its way into consumer gear where SD already exists, though consumer cameras are struggling against the smartphones so it'll be more likely in something like a GoPro, though even they are likely to take one of the CFExpress formats. And we have to keep in mind, CFExpress will always be able to get faster than SD Express, especially Type B and Type C cards that have more lanes and can just move to PCIe 3.0, 4.0, 5.0....

and hence another argument to not include legacy ports on 2021 MacBooks

 

[Lemon Olive]

It didn’t do any such thing. The base model m1 laptops still have the exact same ports that the models they replaced have, including a controller per port, instead of one split between two ports which I believe the models they replaced had.
The jury is out on the mini, but it dropped in price so I’m assuming it’s a new base config and that’s why there was a port reduction.

You have some dubious information and you’re spreading it as fact.

They're not the same ports they were, nor do they have the same capabilities as before. You're confused and uniformed on the issue.