Just for the record - single USB-C port

[Narcaz]

Yes, that is exactly correct. If the next revision of the 12" rMB has a second port, they will have gone back on their design philosophy for the line. A lot has changed since the original MBA. All day battery life under typical use is a reality now. The 2011 11" MBA replaced by my rMB got 3-4 hours max. By the time the 2013 MBA's came out with all day battery life, the design was 5 years old, but there wasn't anything as far as connectivity technology that would have allowed them to do what they achieved with the rMB until now.

A lot of other technological advances have converged over just the past couple of years that have led to the rMB. The ubiquity of wireless cloud services, advances in cellular technologies as well as signal coverage of the same, CPU power and efficiency, etc. all didn't exist when the original MBA came out. It seems pretty ovbious that the rMB is actually what Apple wanted to make with the original MBA but the tech didn't exist then. I don't think we'll see a repeat of the MBA revisions with the rMB. The market is now ready for these types of laptops, and the tech exists now to provide them.

You found an interesting adapter. Thanks, i bookmarked the link.

I guess the current design stands and falls with the future of the Macbook Air. Right now Apple saw an window of opportunity to be a technology leader with a radical thin and light concept, which they could sell to small and profitable target audience. Nothing wrong with that, but Apple has a history of making adjustments of their design if they think that they can make more profit.

I don't know if the "masses" and prize sensitive macbook air buyers are ready to go fully wireless. Sure some people can, others will still rely on their cables and old equipment for the next years. It doesn't seem to be a problem on iOS devices, but i think the expectations for a notebook are still different. And things like e.g. Airdrop, Airplay (Mirroring) aren't perfect and still have a long way to go in terms of cross platform compatibility.

The Magsafe was only an example. As i said they could come up with more nifty solutions for the power plug/cable, maybe some kind of splitter charging/usb c or switch to wireless charging in the long run. I don't know if Apple did themselves a favor by not offering an accompanying USB/C Display, USB C Lightning cable and a full fledged docking station. They could have shown the world that this transition could be really smooth without loosing to much backward compatibility. But i am excited to see what will happen in the future with the next rMBP and USB/C TB3 stuff like eGPU and better wireless solutions.

 

[Truefan31]

Yes, that is exactly correct. If the next revision of the 12" rMB has a second port, they will have gone back on their design philosophy for the line. A lot has changed since the original MBA. All day battery life under typical use is a reality now. The 2011 11" MBA replaced by my rMB got 3-4 hours max. By the time the 2013 MBA's came out with all day battery life, the design was 5 years old, but there wasn't anything as far as connectivity technology that would have allowed them to do what they achieved with the rMB until now.

A lot of other technological advances have converged over just the past couple of years that have led to the rMB. The ubiquity of wireless cloud services, advances in cellular technologies as well as signal coverage of the same, CPU power and efficiency, etc. all didn't exist when the original MBA came out. It seems pretty ovbious that the rMB is actually what Apple wanted to make with the original MBA but the tech didn't exist then. I don't think we'll see a repeat of the MBA revisions with the rMB. The market is now ready for these types of laptops, and the tech exists now to provide them.

I understand the tech advances. There's still a basic functionality and utility that exists though. Wireless is very much widespread but it isn't perfect and it's not as fast as wired. Cloud is nice but not everywhere since cellular networks aren't perfect.

To have power and your utility/functionality all in one port isn't a great design imo. That port goes so does everything else. And it will be used hundreds of times for just power, let alone the other uses. Adapters are ok but a 2nd USB c port gives native options for future accessories that are coming. If design can't accommodate this then either Apple should change the design or wait until technology can accommodate it. Even a MagSafe plus USB c is more ideal.

 

[boltjames]

Nope, via USB-A in the dongle. Either a USB-C to USB-A cable and the rMB charger or using an iPad charger with a standard USB-A only cable.

Thanks. This product was launched just this week at an EU tech show, it's real and not a Kickstart, looks promising for those who want a better value and more of a Swiss Army knife toolkit. According to their website, it launches in October.

BJ

 

[boltjames]

If the rmb is forward thinking it'd make sense that USB c will become a standard among many oems. If it's just for charging and not for data that'd be even more reason for an additional port. I'm not saying a Swiss Army knife of ports. Just 2 USB c. Because the market for native USB c cables/accessories is coming soon. Having 2 USB c would be a great benefit especially because it supports many formats. It'd reduce wear and tear on a single port. Again if that port that gets used probably hundreds of times for both power/display/data breaks, you have a brick. Apple of all companies know this on laptops hence the MagSafe magnetic charging. If people wanna say 2 USB c ports couldn't work for whatever reason, then a MagSafe port/USB c would still be much better imo.

I agree, if there was no impact to cost or size or battery consumption why not, add a second port, no problem.

But I thought about it over the weekend and looked at what other notebook manufacturers are doing with USB-C and its almost like they are putting a single port on there and letting the aftermarket solve the legacy connectivity issue. Not saying its right for consumers, but it looks like they are putting this powerful port on there as the all-in-one solution and taking advantage of the smaller form factor and lower licensing costs and walking away from the peripheral side of things.

If you think about it, the most popular 'computer' in the world is the iPhone and it's existed quite comfortably for a decade with nothing more than a single port and the aftermarket either solved some connectivity needs or owners found wireless workarounds. Cloud instead of SD cards, Dropbox instead of external hard drives, Airdrop instead of thumb drives, Airplay instead of HDMI, etc. There is nothing so special about a notebook compared to an iPhone or iPad except the fact that we are conditioned to use physical peripherals when they are becoming less important and replaced by superior technologies. With the exception of a mouse, a Macbook is really an iPhone with a keyboard if you think of it in 2015 terms.

BJ

 

[Truefan31]

I agree, if there was no impact to cost or size or battery consumption why not, add a second port, no problem.

But I thought about it over the weekend and looked at what other notebook manufacturers are doing with USB-C and its almost like they are putting a single port on there and letting the aftermarket solve the legacy connectivity issue. Not saying its right for consumers, but it looks like they are putting this powerful port on there as the all-in-one solution and taking advantage of the smaller form factor and lower licensing costs and walking away from the peripheral side of things.

If you think about it, the most popular 'computer' in the world is the iPhone and it's existed quite comfortably for a decade with nothing more than a single port and the aftermarket either solved some connectivity needs or owners found wireless workarounds. Cloud instead of SD cards, Dropbox instead of external hard drives, Airdrop instead of thumb drives, Airplay instead of HDMI, etc. There is nothing so special about a notebook compared to an iPhone or iPad except the fact that we are conditioned to use physical peripherals when they are becoming less important and replaced by superior technologies. With the exception of a mouse, a Macbook is really an iPhone with a keyboard if you think of it in 2015 terms.

BJ

The iPhone is a phone not a productivity laptop. It doesn't have 8 gb ram or ability to display 4k to monitors, nor a qwerty physical keyboard and trackpad. There's no option for a 512gb ssd let alone the base 256 gb and there's no processor upgrades either.

 

[boltjames]

The iPhone is a phone not a productivity laptop. It doesn't have 8 gb ram or ability to display 4k to monitors, nor a qwerty physical keyboard and trackpad. There's no option for a 512gb ssd let alone the base 256 gb and there's no processor upgrades either.

I didn't mean it literally; I meant it figuratively.

BJ

 

[SSD-GUY]

Can anyone here confirm that Skylake Core-M has the capability to have a 2nd USB-C port?

My understanding was that Core-M Broadwell only allows one USB-C port?

 

[SSD-GUY]

Because people like you are constantly flooding any Macbook-related forum with made-up gripes. The actual owners are generally highly satisfied with the device as-is.

The counterpoint to your complaint, for the 100th time, is that adding a second usb-port at this point in time would not have been possible without altering the design in some way. If it were even something they would have wanted to do, ignoring the fact that the physical design would have to be changed to accommodate it, they still would be up against the limitations of USB-C on this Core-M chipset. The two available USB 3.0 ports are muxed, which would limit bandwidth available to both. That would mean that you could not connect a full speed USB device to each one, you couldn't drive a display from both at the same time, and it would require significant extra wiring to support charging on either port. Further, each additional feature activated on-chip requires more power. That would leave Apple in the position of adding a second port that looked identical to the main port, but was significantly crippled in features and consumed more battery power just by being there. Not very Apple-like. (Take note that the Yoga 3 Pro on the same chipset has just a single usb 3.0 port - the second is usb 2.0 http://www.anandtech.com/show/9061/lenovo-yoga-3-pro-review)

As for the cost of the adapter, this is no dongle. This is a full docking station in miniature. Considering docking stations for other high end laptops typically start at $150 and often approach $300, I find the Apple one to be fairly priced given that it is the ONLY one on the market at any price right now. Sure, I would love more options, but as an early adopter, I can wait, and for now, the Apple one works perfectly fine.

Doesn't the Yoga 3 Pro have 2 USB 3.0 Ports, as well as a USB 2.0 port?

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/yoga-laptop-series/yoga-3-pro-laptop/#specs

• 2 USB 3.0, 1 DC-in with USB 2.0 function, 4-in-1 reader(SD, MMC, SDXC, SDHC out, audio combo jack

 

[Mac 128]

I agree, if there was no impact to cost or size or battery consumption why not, add a second port, no problem.

But I thought about it over the weekend and looked at what other notebook manufacturers are doing with USB-C and its almost like they are putting a single port on there and letting the aftermarket solve the legacy connectivity issue. Not saying its right for consumers, but it looks like they are putting this powerful port on there as the all-in-one solution and taking advantage of the smaller form factor and lower licensing costs and walking away from the peripheral side of things.

If you think about it, the most popular 'computer' in the world is the iPhone and it's existed quite comfortably for a decade with nothing more than a single port and the aftermarket either solved some connectivity needs or owners found wireless workarounds. Cloud instead of SD cards, Dropbox instead of external hard drives, Airdrop instead of thumb drives, Airplay instead of HDMI, etc. There is nothing so special about a notebook compared to an iPhone or iPad except the fact that we are conditioned to use physical peripherals when they are becoming less important and replaced by superior technologies. With the exception of a mouse, a Macbook is really an iPhone with a keyboard if you think of it in 2015 terms.

BJ

The iPhone does not allow access to the the file structure, nor does it have the same capacity to even store the file sizes which would make a high speed wired port important for the device. I have traditionally had 16GB devices, and that will only hold a couple of movies displayed well below 1080p. Whole different ballgame with a MacBook.

The way I see it, the recent release of the Pencil and TV Remote using a Lightning interface is the signal that Apple may be getting ready to eliminate the mini headphone jack from their products and embrace Lightning. The fact that the mini headphone jack is the largest diameter port on the mobile devices, and the rumors suggest the iPhone 7 will be even slimmer than the 6S, suggests Apple will be looking for a way to eliminate legacy ports of all kinds. A Lightning port on the rMB would at least give users the option to plug in an alternate power source, and supports almost all the other features of the USB-C port, albeit currently in a limited fashion. And Apple's new Lightning earbuds for the iPhone, based on the standards they just released in December, will handily plug into the port, iPad, iPod Touch, and legacy port equipment with an adapter.

 

[maxsix]

Had this rMB since launch week and never ONCE have I had a situation where the single USB-c port has been an issue.

Still struggle with the keyboard. No issues on power, lag, compile speeds, running database daemons, programming tools or really anything else..

I enjoy everything about this model.

The keyboard is easy to acclimate to. Just slow down deliberately for a couple of days. Soon you'll notice you're right back up to speed.

I routinely switch between my new MacBook and my new 15" MBP without a second thought.