I’m still rocking my mid 2012 rMbp. Be a great move if Apple re-introduce more ports. They are certainly needed. Maybe now Ives has departed the designs can become more practical.
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Bloomberg: Next MacBook Pro to Feature SD Card Reader
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This is what I was thinking. Ive may have been a great "how it should look" designer, but he had Sh** for brains when it came to actual usability.
Only on macs, and only in the last couple years. Micro-sd was NEVER something that was built-in to the vast majority of machines. And it’s also not used nearly as much as SD is used.
How do we know this is not the case? Are those slots different? At the very least I expect the SD Express slot to be similar?
As an intern I heard discussions about listening to the PRO users. I think Apple is finally starting to listen. Back then, it was when the ESC key was brought back as a separate key (as well as TouchID) and I think these rumors are a reflection of that same thinking: Bring back and do things that the pro users (the actual market for these devices) want.
Definitely this too. I think Apple is getting smarter about listening to it's fan base and make bigger splashes with these new M-series chips. New chips + old features people love and miss? 100% instant hit. I mean personally it'll take a lot of willpower to stop me from buying these new machines. Many people will too.
Oh Apple!
2016: Let's make a MBP without ANY of the ports that people use, get rid of magsafe and bring in a new charger and cable. Also add a useless touch bar.
2021: Now that users are heavily invested in all our dongles (including SD dongles), USB chargers and cables...let's get rid of all of them! Put back all the old ports, remove the touch bar that nobody asked for (and supposed a $400 raise in the MBP price) and introduce a new magsafe, so we can sell those new chargers and cables as well.
Bonus: Blame intel!
2016: Let's make a MBP without ANY of the ports that people use, get rid of magsafe and bring in a new charger and cable. Also add a useless touch bar.
2021: Now that users are heavily invested in all our dongles (including SD dongles), USB chargers and cables...let's get rid of all of them! Put back all the old ports, remove the touch bar that nobody asked for (and supposed a $400 raise in the MBP price) and introduce a new magsafe, so we can sell those new chargers and cables as well.
Bonus: Blame intel!
*Stares in 2016*. I have a 2015 MBP and I would Kill for the same machine, same form factor, but with upgraded internals.
True... but you'll still have the "octopus" problem regardless of dongles. 🐙
While a built-in SD card slot would eliminate one dongle... you've still got a power cable, maybe an external monitor, perhaps an external hard drive, audio interface, headphones, etc.
People are begging Apple to go back to the days of many ports. Well guess what plugs into all those ports?
Cables! A rat's nest of cables!
The SD Card reader makes no sense to me at all. You can buy one that is USB-C compatible for less than $15. Few users need one. Why would Apple invest in such a strategy?
/IELTS filterOn
Would you, please, be so kind to effective and immediately cease all verbal meanderings, so as to forcibly receive by yours truly paper bills as taxed transaction for your upcoming product.
/IELTS filterOff
Would you, please, be so kind to effective and immediately cease all verbal meanderings, so as to forcibly receive by yours truly paper bills as taxed transaction for your upcoming product.
/IELTS filterOff
OK, so you don't use SD Cards?
I use them frequently - download photos off a camera - far quicker than Wifi. Also on a semi regular basis, writing RaspberryPi images on to an miniSD Card, which is attached to a SDCard reader via an SD Card adapter. Writing map files to an SDCard..
OMG please not the B...that's the single worst connecter ever developedHaving anything hanging off a laptop kills portability...
But if you must plug an external hard drive into a Macbook... I'd suggest switching the cable to a USB-C to whatever the hard drive uses.
For instance:
View attachment 1717680
Except for the inconvenient detail that the M1 actually has two thunderbolt controllers and, now that Thunderbolt hubs are available, can support the same bandwidth as the previous higher-end 4 port Intel Macs.
Thunderbolt on the M1 Mac mini – When 2 Actually Does Equal 4
I have read a lot of complaints about the new M1 based Macs only having two Thunderbolt ports. Having only two ports doesn't seem like enough for professional use. Both my 2019 16 inch MacBook Pro and my 2018 Mac mini have four Thunderbolt ports, and I can't imagine using a Mac with only two...
eshop.macsales.com
Many (non-iPhone) phones have a SD card slot - useful for music and movies as well as photos.
Set-top boxes like the FireTV use them, too.
Dash cams,
GPS units.
Some car stereos,
Drones,
Sports cams (Go Pro and knockoffs)
Raspberry Pis and similar "maker" boards
Music stuff (E.g. some Eurorack modules that use SD cards)
Yes, those are niche uses, but they are a lot of niche uses that add up to a lot of potential users... and failing that, you can get neat, flush-fitting 256GB SD cards like the JetDrive that are perfect for storing your music library, movies, archived files etc. and freeing up expensive SSD space.
Firewire is a legacy port. VGA is a legacy port. DVI is a legacy port. RS-232 is a legacy port. People still use them, a few people need them, but they're rarely found on recent equipment outside of a few specialised niches.
Ports like USB-A, HDMI and SD slots, which are featured on a metric shedload of brand new products on sale today including several current Mac models are not "legacy".
Last I looked, I could buy SD cards, HDMI and USB cables in my local supermarket. There is only one reason for that: a lot of people still use them.
This is a step in the right direction. It looks like the king of MBP’s (the 2015) is coming back and this time it’s taking no prisoners!
Along with a truss so you can carry it around. I'm no Ivy fan, but the lighter form factor has been really nice for my aging back and shoulder.
Firstly this is just a rumor and nothing is being stated as fact. Also I wouldn't joke about Apple and innovation because they are killing it with their M1 and shaking up the industry right now, they've especially got Intel shaking in their boots.
All these new rumors make me feel like they just sacked Tim or something. Good news.
just because you can buy them does not mean there should be ports in a 2021 laptop ...
It's the computer industry that introduce USB in the first place, and USB has evolved, same for other types of ports ... the computer industry including Apple has always been the first to go to new(er) technology, Apple should lead us to the future, not back.
