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Does someone find the "new ports" the same useless as me ?

M

Micka88

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 25, 2019
351
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After few years of USB-C only Apple added back some old pre-historic ports. I personally find them quite useless, while the fourth removed USB-C is often missing (for more external discs etc.).

HDMI is useless since there are cables HDMI- USB-C working perfectly (so it brings no advantage)

SD card: it is much quicker and easier to connect the camera via USB-C cable (not speaking of the fact that when you have 2 and more SD cards in the camera you see them all together.

Mag Safe charging connector: makes no sense at all (plus keeps disconnecting as soon as you move with the laptop)

The only thing that would be really useful is the normal USB connector which for some strange reasons is not there ... (because many older devices have only this connector and one has to look for a reduction all the time)

So I don't find this old stone age connectors renovation useful at all.
 
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Micka88 said:
After few years of USB-C only Apple added back some old pre-historic ports. I personally find them quite useless, while the fourth removed USB-C is often missing (for more external discs etc.).

HDMI is useless since there are cables HDMI- USB-C working perfectly (so it brings no advantage)

SD card: it is much quicker and easier to connect the camera via USB-C cable (not speaking of the fact that when you have 2 and more SD cards in the camera you see them all together.

Mag Safe charging connector: makes no sense at all (plus keeps disconnecting as soon as you move with the laptop)

The only thing that would be really useful is the normal USB connector which for some strange reasons is not there ... (because many older devices have only this connector and one has to look for a reduction all the time)

So I don't find this old stone age connectors renovation useful at all.
Click to expand...
i've had issues in the past with dongles for hdmi, particularly with older displays.

sd card is useful for things other than camera's, on top of that not everyone has a brand new camera with type c. my main camera is from 2008, it still takes great pictures but other than SD there's no way to get data off of it.

magsafe has saved my macbook pro from death more times than i can count.

i agree that a USB A port would be the icing on the cake on the new ones.

this is why i still use a 2015 MacBook Pro that has all the old ports the new ones added back, + usb type a.
 
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Actually, the ports have made my dongle collection useless.

  • My camera isnt USB-C so I like the card slot (although microsd would have been better for me personally).
  • It was really useful having the HDMI when I visited my father over the holidays.
  • I like MagSafe but agree that it feels superfluous.
 
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CalMin said:
I like MagSafe but agree that it feels superfluous.
Click to expand...
you've obviously never been around clumsy people... i've had various macbooks over the years that would have all been dead within months after i got them if it wasn't for magsafe. you also won't believe how many pc laptops from friends i'm asked to repair because someone tripped over the cord and broke their charging port.
 
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Coming from 2013 MBP, I held on to this computer longer than I should have simply because I didn't want dongles. Rather amusing watching colleagues run out of the meeting room to grab their HMDI they left elsewhere. New MBP solves this.
Likewise I regularly use SD cards as my camera's are permanently mounted (in-car motorsport cameras) and it's not practical to connect my cable, nor quick enough. So again the SD card slot is a well return.

I agree a USB-A port is the only omission that still requires the occasional adaptor.
 
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I actually find the MagSafe relatively difficult to remove. I have been thinking that I am not so sure it would disengage as it should it I accidentally trip over the cord.

I find it very secure in the slot.
 
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Ah yes, as everyone knows HDMI is in the process of being phased out. SD cards too.


while the fourth removed USB-C is often missing (for more external discs etc.).
Click to expand...

If you need four USB ports for disks and such on a laptop, then you should be using a dock, a hub, or a desktop.
 
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Micka88 said:
After few years of USB-C only Apple added back some old pre-historic ports. I personally find them quite useless, while the fourth removed USB-C is often missing (for more external discs etc.).

HDMI is useless since there are cables HDMI- USB-C working perfectly (so it brings no advantage)

SD card: it is much quicker and easier to connect the camera via USB-C cable (not speaking of the fact that when you have 2 and more SD cards in the camera you see them all together.

Mag Safe charging connector: makes no sense at all (plus keeps disconnecting as soon as you move with the laptop)

The only thing that would be really useful is the normal USB connector which for some strange reasons is not there ... (because many older devices have only this connector and one has to look for a reduction all the time)

So I don't find this old stone age connectors renovation useful at all.
Click to expand...
Send me your HDMI port then. I'd love to graft it onto my M1 MBA.
 
Micka88 said:
After few years of USB-C only Apple added back some old pre-historic ports. I personally find them quite useless, while the fourth removed USB-C is often missing (for more external discs etc.).

HDMI is useless since there are cables HDMI- USB-C working perfectly (so it brings no advantage)

SD card: it is much quicker and easier to connect the camera via USB-C cable (not speaking of the fact that when you have 2 and more SD cards in the camera you see them all together.

Mag Safe charging connector: makes no sense at all (plus keeps disconnecting as soon as you move with the laptop)

The only thing that would be really useful is the normal USB connector which for some strange reasons is not there ... (because many older devices have only this connector and one has to look for a reduction all the time)

So I don't find this old stone age connectors renovation useful at all.
Click to expand...
Useless for you only.
 
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I like having MagSafe back. Feels like a proper MacBook. Have no use for the SD slot. Already had a usb-c to hdmi dongle (which I don’t use but have in case) so it’s nice to not have that dongle in my small cable/dongle bag anymore. It’s kinda annoying when my 5k is plugged in because now only have 2 ports left over instead of 3 but that’s minor.
 
I'm with the OP on this one. I use my 14" with the LG external 99% of the time, I've gained no benefit from the 3 new ports, and constantly notice the missing 2nd USB-C port on the right side.

So, you're not alone!
 
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I am all in into these new ports. My use case:
I have M1 Air 512Gb with only 2 usb-c ports.
I am a budget concious buyer and this is my second Mac after 2012 retina 13 pro, which means i don't have caldigit $300 dock stations, as well as thunderbolt charging expensive displays.

My daily struggle:
Since my budget is not a resin to stretch, I do own hdmi display(got for cheap, you might have it from previous years) or also DP display. Display is connected using usb-c to dp cable, so that is minus 1 port.
I am also charging it, since the display won't charge, so that is -1 port to charging cable.
In the end i am left with bad ergonomics: don't know where to put my laptop, the only place i can reach is in front of me to use the keyboard and trackpad. But then it blocks my display, so i have to raise it on a cardboard box from kid's puzzles, so it will stand above my laptop's display and not blocked my view.
Sometimes i want to have a mouse. I have great wired mx518 mouse, but to use it i have to unplug the power and work on battery. Then my battery drains and if i have to go out then i can't - laptop is not 100% charged. So that is a wiggle plug-unplug-plug-unplug througout my day.
SD card? Well another dongle which also eats usb-c port and i have to turn off mouse and charging.
I want my laptop to set aside in clamshell? No way, i have to get bluetooth keyboard and mouse which is $$. I do have my preferred wired mx518 mouse and i like to type on wired steelseries apex 7 or be able to use cheapo $10 wired keyboard and not be urged to buy $100 bluetooth keyboard which will not make my experience better.

My case could be on a new Macbooks:
Charging. I don't need to care about gone usb-c port, because now it is magsafe.
I can plug-in my midrange display and save some money, because thunderbolt version is more expensive. That is -1 port to my external display.
I have 2 more ports. That is for my wired keyboard and wired mouse. If i ever need to edit photos, i do have sd card reader built-in. I can use hdmi to connect to my old 1080 display, which is comfortable to work on.
In this scenario, i will only feel strugle for a moment only when connecting external ssd. I can live with that.
 
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Micka88 said:
After few years of USB-C only Apple added back some old pre-historic ports. I personally find them quite useless, while the fourth removed USB-C is often missing (for more external discs etc.).

HDMI is useless since there are cables HDMI- USB-C working perfectly (so it brings no advantage)

SD card: it is much quicker and easier to connect the camera via USB-C cable (not speaking of the fact that when you have 2 and more SD cards in the camera you see them all together.

Mag Safe charging connector: makes no sense at all (plus keeps disconnecting as soon as you move with the laptop)

The only thing that would be really useful is the normal USB connector which for some strange reasons is not there ... (because many older devices have only this connector and one has to look for a reduction all the time)

So I don't find this old stone age connectors renovation useful at all.
Click to expand...
I remember my dad got a brand new 2018 15 MacBook Pro in 2018. I recall me telling him it was silly Apple got rid of MagSafe. He said he didn't really care. In a month or two one night his laptop was charging on his nightstand and the cat pulled on the charging cord and the laptop went flying. So there's a good reason for MagSafe!

Since I got a 2021 model I have used HDMI on a regular basis. at least 2 or 3 times a week. Super useful on the go connecting to TV's and monitors that don't have USB C handy.
 
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USB-A is by far the most useful port to me.

I'm on a 2013 MBP, and I want more USB-A ports—not none.

There is no equivalent "flush" USB-C flash drive (the ones that barely protrude from the computer like wireless receiver dongles).

And I am constantly using USB-A to charge things.

I don't think the concept of legacy ports works on computers anymore because computers themselves are legacy, at least in terms of being one of many computing options available.

Apple was able to help force a change to USB-A with the original iMac because people had to use wired connections and because the personal computer was the only computer people used.

Now wired connections are not as necessary and the personal computer is one of many options of "computers" to buy.

So it should play to its strengths and not try to be like the other computer options (the smartphone, the tablet. etc). To that end, I am not agains them having added the ports they did, but not adding USB-A was a mistake. It if's going to be big, brutish, a bit ugly, and have lots of ports, why not go all the way in making it as utilitarian as it can be?
 
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Perhaps Apple realized that:

1. Perhaps using USB-C constantly for power causes the port unreasonable wear and warranty work - MagSafe is just more cost effective over time.
2. Magsafe - it's the one time that you wish you had it that causes catastrophic damage.
3. Making a thicker, heavier MBP while still requiring dongles, dongles, dongles was not a good move
4. Most users wanted these ports back...there return would encourage those foot-dragging pre-2016 MBP owners (like me) to finally upgrade.
 
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swingerofbirch said:
USB-A is by far the most useful port to me.

I'm on a 2013 MBP, and I want more USB-A ports—not none.

There is no equivalent "flush" USB-C flash drive (the ones that barely protrude from the computer like wireless receiver dongles).

And I am constantly using USB-A to charge things.

I don't think the concept of legacy ports works on computers anymore because computers themselves are legacy, at least in terms of being one of many computing options available.

Apple was able to help force a change to USB-A with the original iMac because people had to use wired connections and because the personal computer was the only computer people used.

Now wired connections are not as necessary and the personal computer is one of many options of "computers" to buy.

So it should play to its strengths and not try to be like the other computer options (the smartphone, the tablet. etc). To that end, I am not agains them having added the ports they did, but not adding USB-A was a mistake. It if's going to be big, brutish, a bit ugly, and have lots of ports, why not go all the way in making it as utilitarian as it can be?
Click to expand...
I think it's because USB A is truly on its way out. There shouldn't be any new products made with USB A since USB C does everything USB A does but better. Buying a couple new cables that convert it isn't that big of a deal. I kind of get killing USB A, it's the 30 pin connector of the era. Everyone screamed about 30 pin being removed in 2012 but give it a couple more years and we won't really even remember USB A imo.
 
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