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Is anyone else struggling to transition to new Apple products because of the lack of ports?

Hieveryone

Hieveryone

macrumors 603
Original poster
Apr 11, 2014
5,632
2,347
USA
I bought an iPhone 7, but the lack of a headphone jack was too much. Yes there's an adapter but it's inconvenient and I heard the sound quality is slightly hindered. I am an audiophile and have good headphones, so I need a headphone jack.

Now comes the rMBP. Yes it's expensive, but what makes it worse for me is that now I have to get a bunch of inconvenient adapters which also cost money just to use the external devices I've been using for years.

For heaven's sake at the very minimum, I need a USB port to charge my iPhone, connect my pen drive, and so on.

Can anyone else relate or is it just me? I'm kind of frustrated because I love their new products, but buying them seems more a hassle than I want right now.
 
The audio quality should be better because it is digital and not analog on the iPhone 7. Now having said that I'm delaying upgrading my rMBP till next year in hopes they reverse and add more ports.
 
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I'm only really put off by the keyboard. I did not like the rMB keyboard at all, although I'll reserve judgement until I test a 15" in store.

I'm not thrilled about using any kind of dongle, but that alone wouldn't stop me from buying one. Even if I find the keyboard OK, I may or may not get a 2015 model on a sale. I found the top spec 2014 under $2k at BH Summer '15.
 
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I don't mind buying a replacement cable for my USB devices. But I understand that is what being an early adopter of tech is about. If you are good with your current setup then stick with it til USB-c is mainstream enough for you.

If you need to upgrade, then best to factor in the cost of the replacement cables.

And no you are not alone...there are plenty out there that have a hard time with adopting the new tech...you just have to understand that over time it will be the norm, just like past revisions of which ports are in our laptops.
 
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The devices were definitely designed with the future in mind. The trouble is, very few devices actually use USB-C now. Things will improve in the next couple of years, but right now it's definitely a hassle.
 
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I totally see how it's a hassle for some. Some people plug a lot of stuff in.

Fortunately for me, I don't really plug things in too often with the occasional exception of a flash drive and a video output adapter.

I ordered a new touch bar 13". Along with it, I've ordered a flash drive that has a USB-C plug on one end and a conventional USB-A plug on the other. That solves the flash drive problem. $17 for a 32GB SanDisk on Amazon. Besides, we mainly share files via cloud services anyway at work and amongst friends.

I already have an Apple 29W USB-C charger & USB-C Lightning cable for my iPad Pro, so I won't have to deal with a USB-A Lightning cable when I travel. And Apple's $9 USB C to A adapter is pretty small and fits in to any laptop case should I need it. There are even smaller and cheaper ones on Amazon, too.

And I'm already used to carrying around an mDP to VGA adapter from my previous two laptops (2011 11" MBA and 2013 13" MBP, neither of which have a VGA port on them), so to carry a USB-C to VGA dongle isn't any different. Projectors at work are all VGA and only a few also have HDMI (and VGA works fine for 1280x1024 and 1024x768 projectors). Granted I do have to pay for a new adapter once the new laptop comes, but really that's the only new dongle I'm going to have to pay for.

Time Machine backups at home are over wifi, so no worries about USB hard drives. And even if so, I could always just leave an adapter on the USB hard drive cable. Since it wouldn't ever need to come off, I see no difference between that and a native USB-C hard drive cable.
 
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apfelmann said:
why struggle? I just bought a new 2015 15" at a super price! perfect machine
Click to expand...

Gonna be a bitch when all new peripherals transition to USB C over the next year or so. It's ok, you will probably be able to get a dongle though, albeit with reduced performance. :p
 
Marshall73 said:
Gonna be a bitch when all new peripherals transition to USB C over the next year or so. It's ok, you will probably be able to get a dongle though, albeit with reduced performance. :p
Click to expand...

LOL over next year. Keep dreaming buddy, USB C is not taking over for at least another 2 years. Good luck with carrying annoying dongles around for 2 years.
 
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Marshall73 said:
Gonna be a bitch when all new peripherals transition to USB C over the next year or so. It's ok, you will probably be able to get a dongle though, albeit with reduced performance. :p
Click to expand...

Well, I guess USB 3.0 will stay the standard 5 years minimum ... thunderbolt 1 and 2 also never took off. although I think USB C won't share the same fate, I doubt it will be a fast transition
 
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motime said:
LOL over next year. Keep dreaming buddy, USB C is not taking over for at least another 2 years. Good luck with carrying annoying dongles around for 2 years.
Click to expand...

Won't need dongles, already have external drives with USB-C and I have a USB-c lightning cable to fast charge my iPad Pro. I don't use an external display so don't need a dongle for that either. Not like it's a big deal, I already carry a ton of stuff around in my bag anyway. the new MacBook Pro is a cheap upgrade for my mid 2012 MacBook Pro which is getting a bit long in the tooth now and the weight and size reduction means that even with dongles and cables my bag is gonna be lighter than it was as the new 15" MacBook is 1cm thinner than the old 2012 unibody non retina model.
 
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I couldn't find any USB C external hard drive to buy online right now ... which USB C peripherals already exist anyway???
 
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It's not just the accessories but you have to have other machines that can use them too. When all of Apple's devices are on this standard, then it's time to move over. Now isn't it. There's simply no rush to go get this MBP.
 
This is all a joke. I've been using dongles with my 2011 Late MBP for years: a multiport usb dongle, a DVI-D to displayport dongle, a HDMI to displayport dongle.

I'm not gonna be using any more when my new macbook comes. This whole dongle stuff is blown out of proportion. Dongles don't take much more space than a cable. People just need stuff to complain about all day.
 
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For the phone, reputable tests that have been done indicate that the sound quality from the adapter is effectively the same as from previous iPhones. In fact, if you use sensitive IEM's, the near zero output impedance means better sound. Reliable impressions back up this fact.

For the laptop, today, yep it'll probably be a bit of a pain for some people for a while, but this is a total Apple move. Having lived with the retina MacBook for the last 18 months, it's really not a big deal, frankly. Buy a $9 usb adapter. Leave it connected to your lightning cable. You now have a cable to connect your phone to your new MacBook, you'll always know where the adapter is if you need it for something else, and you can leave your old iphone/ipad chargers at home because you can now charge those devices with your new MacBook charging brick. You'll actually carry less stuff than before.
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apfelmann said:
I couldn't find any USB C external hard drive to buy online right now ... which USB C peripherals already exist anyway???
Click to expand...

Just change the cable or buy an inexpensive adapter.
 
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apfelmann said:
yes, you're right. I was linked to germany. amazon.com really has some hard drives already ... but not here in europe
Click to expand...

Well that sucks...

They have a few...but there are options to just swap the cable too. I did on my drives for about $5 usd. If you have that option for an existing drive it might be the way go.
 
apfelmann said:
Well, I guess USB 3.0 will stay the standard 5 years minimum ... thunderbolt 1 and 2 also never took off. although I think USB C won't share the same fate, I doubt it will be a fast transition
Click to expand...

Depends on how you look at it, all recent and upcoming mobiles (except iPhones) have USB-c and new laptops are now shipping with USB-C. The push from Apple will help move the accessory makers push new USB-C peripherals too as they will want to cash in.
apfelmann said:
yes, you're right. I was linked to germany. amazon.com really has some hard drives already ... but not here in europe
Click to expand...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-In...UTF8&qid=1478387638&sr=8-1&keywords=USB+C+8tb
https://www.amazon.co.uk/STFE800020...UTF8&qid=1478387638&sr=8-2&keywords=USB+C+8tb
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MiniPro-RA...UTF8&qid=1478387746&sr=8-8&keywords=USB+C+8tb
 
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Capt T said:
Well that sucks...

They have a few...but there are options to just swap the cable too. I did on my drives for about $5 usd. If you have that option for an existing drive it might be the way go.
Click to expand...

I bought the 2015 15" MBP yesterday anyway ... but have fun with your 2016 MBP! I bet the brighter screen, new keyboard and "sleekness" is awesome!!! (but I didn't want to pay the extra price)
 
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