Five Things You Still Can't Do With a MacBook Pro

[Thebrochure]

These are five things I have never cared about.

 

[jakey rolling]

Forget it. Move on. It’s 2022.

They don't make devices that plug into USB-A in 2022?

 

[abowlby]

#6 No USB-A port.

Or ZIP drive. Sheesh.

 

[kyjaotkb]

Other things my MacBook Pro can’t do:
- open and manipulate large (200MB+) Excel files lag-free. Excel remains by far the most taxing program on my MBP 14.
- 8K video output. There are reasonably priced 8K TVs and a Dell monitor out there and Mac OS seems not to handle 8K very well. Some people with Mac Pros and dual DisplayPort outputs have been able to make it work, though. Why show us all these benchmarks around 8K encoding if their computers can’t display 8K?
- let the user select the default webcam, app by app. I use an external c920 and Camo in different use cases and Mac OS is always confused about which one to use where.
- remember the layout and resolution (in points) of external displays after rebooting.
- external video cards.
- show me the level of battery charge at a glance, on the case, with the lid closed (hello 2009 MacBook Pro)
- let me change keyboard brightness with the keyboard by default. Why put a Spotlight button? Everyone presumably uses cmd+space.

I still love it of course! But it’s not perfect. And it’s large and heavy (my MBP 2015 with all its ports looks so much more slender).

 

[ipedro]

I would love a brick with an Ethernet port. surprised it's not an upgrade option.

How is this surprising to anyone, including to the author of this article? MagSafe only carries power. A MagSafe connector that could carry data would be far larger and more complex. Look at the size of the iMac power connector.

The MacBookPro's new MagSafe connector has 5 contacts, the iMac's that also carries ethernet data has 12.

 

[SFjohn]

Point 1 makes it sound like you can't get 4K at 120 at all, but you absolutely can over DisplayPort/Thunderbolt (even past 120hz). Just not over HDMI.

EDIT: The article cites the technical specs for the M1 Pro and M1 Max, which only states 60hz, but that's a bit misleading because it is saying the M1 Max supports, all at the same time, running the built-in display at full resolution, three 6K displays, and one 4K display, at 60hz. As in you have the internal display AND four monitors running at 4K or above all plugged in at the same time, it can handle that at 60hz.

If you aren't using all that bandwidth at the same time it is more than capable of handling two 4K displays at 144hz over DisplayPort/Thunderbolt.

Please provide proof. I’ve been holding off waiting for an HDMI 2.1 port to handle 4K UHD Dolby Vision.

 

[4jasontv]

Some? At least one? Because a very large number of people who do work with their computer have devices that they might want to plug into their laptops, the cost of adding a port is negligible in both real estate and money?


Again, yes? At least one? Because almost every other manufacturer in the entire world has at least one on their laptop, so it's not really an engineering feat to have to add one?


Either would be better than the status quo which is a big fat none.


Enough to last a work day performing most computing tasks. Again, this is pretty standard across all manufacturers nowadays.

About as much as any professional level laptop? Less than a watermelon, more than an orange.

Ask a photographer. There's more to "professional" computing life than Photoshop.

I hope you get my point. Laptops everywhere that don't sport a bitten Apple as a logo already have almost all these things. They are the textbook definition of "basic". Apple not including basic things in a premium priced laptop is laughably sad.

Thunderbolt supports all those things. No reason to have a dedicated port when you can have a multifunctional one.

 

[california_kid]

Nobody wants the audio optical output except for me?

How about smudge free keyboard?

 

[John Kotches]

It’s a small audience. I use an external DAC off my thunderbolt adapter for the optical out.

 

[SFjohn]

I agree on HDMI 2.1 and perhaps ethernet at the adapter, though a usb-c to ethernet dongle which are inexpensive works just as good, the other points seem rather too new or too niche for computers that were basically ready to release to manufacturing on the first half of 2021 such as WiFi 6E and UHS-III…

I’m sure next versions will solve the HDMI 2.1, the UFS-III and the WiFi 6E part…

I really hope you’re right. Apple is penny pinching even on their high end machines currently

 

[ipedro]

You don't need USB-A built into the device, though. Every USB-A cable and integrated device works with USB-C adapters. And most of the time, you can replace a cable with a straight USB-C cable. For instance, your drone or camera most certainly have a USB port, likely a B or C, and you can get cables to convert straight from C to B and C to C cables are super common.

You may not like it, but it is fully compatible, at least for data purposes. That's probably why they didn't add A back in, the adapters are now common for A to C and cables are available for most port type conversions.

This is what I don't get from those who insist on USB-A ports. Almost certainly, your devices that came with a USB-A cable will work the same with a USB-C cable. Replace the cable, it costs a few bucks. No dongles needed after that.

 

[SFjohn]

If USB-A ports are as obsolete as you say, why are the manufacturers including them in practically every single dock/hub?

Cause they are dirt cheap and make super budget customers happy. (Not Apples’s Market)

 

[MacRS4]

Run Microsoft Project (on an M1). I have to keep my old Intel MBP around just for that.

Works pretty well on Parallels/Win11 ARM, as does Visio.

 

[platinumaqua]

This is what I don't get from those who insist on USB-A ports. Almost certainly, your devices that came with a USB-A cable will work the same with a USB-C cable. Replace the cable, it costs a few bucks. No dongles needed after that.

It's about the convenience of having all devices work even if you accidentally forget the adapter. Some devices like mice, keyboard, and flash drives have the connector/cable built in and can't be replaced.

Cause they are dirt cheap and make super budget customers happy. (Not Apples’s Market)

even $300+ thunderbolt 3 docks designed for Mac professionals have more than USB-A ports

 

[SFjohn]

It's about the convenience of having all devices work even if you accidentally forget the adapter. Some devices like mice, keyboard, and flash drives have the connector/cable built in and can't be replaced.

even $300+ thunderbolt 3 docks designed for Mac professionals have more than USB-A ports

Are those thunderbolt 3 docks made by Apple?

 

[platinumaqua]

Are those thunderbolt 3 docks made by Apple?

No, but not sure how is that relevant.

 

[SWHighlander]

How about face recognition the way some Windows has been using for years. So much easier and faster than passwords and Touch ID.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I think the article title and purpose thereof is misleading and biased. In my opinion, the things mentioned are very niche and not indicative of the overall user base.

 

[sunny5]

There are NO UHS-III. That's why Apple is still using UHS-II. This is not Apple's fault. All major brands are not even using UHS-III and therefore, it's not a problem.

 

[ThailandToo]

I would love a brick with an Ethernet port. surprised it's not an upgrade option.

Think how big the plug is on the back of the iMac. An Ethernet cable uses eight wires in it. The MagSafe only has five pins for power. So you want them to add MagSafe with thirteen pins or do you want a plug as big as the iMac has in it plugged into the, where bottom?, of your MacBook Pro. This was a dumb one for them to include. It doesn’t look at simple physics or how electrical engineering works in the slightest bit.

Any of the other four arguments could be made. However, anyone with an iPhone can instantly share data without doing anything from the iPhone and just selecting the hotspot.

I would want the Wifi 6e and an HDMI 2.1 port. I have two $4k cameras and they use CF Express Type B not SD cards nowadays. I do think the SD card slot is a wasted slot. But I also thought the HDMI 2.0 port was a waste. When the Thunderbolt cable does more than the port it’s being replaced with it loses capabilities. I never really understood why people didn’t like all the USBC/Thunderbolt ports. They gave us maximum throughput/utility per available port. The good news is we still have three usable ports.

 

[mtnDewFTW]

Ethernet Ports??? WTF?

 

[zacheryjensen]

120hz 4k works perfectly fine with a display port adapter of sufficient quality, even supports FreeSync for dynamic refresh rates.

This is some low grade clickbait trash MR.

 

[jakey rolling]

Thunderbolt supports all those things. No reason to have a dedicated port when you can have a multifunctional one.

You forgot the asterisk after the words "all those things*"
...*as long as you carry around a hub, or several dongles, or just don't give a crap.

 

[SFjohn]

120hz 4k works perfectly fine with a display port adapter of sufficient quality, even supports FreeSync for dynamic refresh rates.

This is some low grade clickbait trash MR.

Awesome, so how do you use a display port adapter of sufficient quality to send a 120hz 4K UHD signal to my two LG OLED TVs (65” & 77”) that have HDMI 2.1 in? Please elaborate.

 

[mtoddy]

What adapter should I use to connect a 4K 120Hz TV to a 14 inch base MacBook Pro?

I use these: https://amzn.to/3ysEBHG