I feel your pain. A USB-A adapter or two will definitely be a requirement for many of us, and I can certainly see how being required to connect to various aging displays on the road could lead to a bag full of adapters.
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Leaked Photos May Show Upcoming MacBook Pro's Top Case With Space for OLED Touch Panel, Four USB-C Ports
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I feel your pain. A USB-A adapter or two will definitely be a requirement for many of us, and I can certainly see how being required to connect to various aging displays on the road could lead to a bag full of adapters.
Apple has more market share now than they did when they dropped all legacy ports in favor of USB. They drove the industry wide change to USB in 1998 with the iMac.
It's not like there isn't precedence for this. One of the best laptops I ever bought was my PowerBook G3 FireWire. They replaced all ADB, Serial and SCSI ports with USB and FireWire. I was completely screwed. Not a single peripheral I owned was compatible with it, and the adapters that were available at the time were expensive, hard to get, and unreliable.
It took me a while to switch over to native peripherals, but that laptop was one of the most beloved and best selling of Apple's laptops. It was a laptop for the future, and though it caused me a lot of angst initially, it lasted over 7 years until I bought the first MacBook, which didn't require me to update anything because all the ports it had were switched over in my last PowerBook. If I had still been using a PowerBook G3 from one year earlier than mine for instance I would have had to go through that painful transition then, not to mention still working on 1980s technology, buying more legacy hardware to use on my outdated ports rather than moving forward.
This is the price one pays for progress. If someone truly needs a MacBook full of a variety of ports, Apple will likely still offer the current MBP, which is a more than capable product, and at a nice discount as well. By the time a "pro" customer needs to upgrade that, the need for all those different ports may well be minimal, just as my need for ADB, Serial & SCSI reduced year after year as I was able to embrace newer tech with my PB G3.
I like your text, but this:
...has never been done before, so I think it is not going to happen.
...has never been done before, so I think it is not going to happen.
Most people don't buy MacBook pros that cost >$2000 either. Apple can neuter the rMB and MBA for all I care. Besides, Apple is taking away 2 ports. Considering that one of the usb c ports will be taken by a charger, the new mbp has less parts than its predecessor, so you're not gaining anything.
The latest rumor from 9to5Mac for an external 5k display with an inbuilt graphics card will go nicely with the new rMBP's. USB-C over thunderbolt, single wire connection and perhaps remove the dGPU from the 15".
It would be better if Apple makes it a customizable panel so you could rearrange and add your actions to "keys". Launch spotlight, expose, launch apps, maybe watch some system info and do other stuff...
Guess what, you're not the only person on Earth and there are people whose hand won't evolve bigger anytime soon. Don't assume just because you're fine with a particular design, everybody else is.
I prefer a smaller MBP (I LOVE my Air), and yes, for ME, the current rMBP is still too thick/heavy. And I very much prefer the tapered design.
The SD card slot works consistently better than plugging the camera in via usb cable. Some cameras don't work connected directly. I have never had a problem using the sd card reader... and for me personally, it means I don't need to carry a usb cable around.
On my Fuji X-Pro2 it uses 2 cards and I record raw to card 1 and jpg to card 2. It is so easy to pick the card that I want to import (Raw or JPG).
Having the SD card reader built in to my MBP is of significant value to me. I use it all the time.
i bought one and gives me the nicest kernel panics ever and turns off and on by herself when she needs to use one of the two graphic cards.
Apple never fixed it for me and wanted 310 dollars to do it.
I have been using it like this for approximately 3-4 years. I might buy a new Macbook, hopefully it won't be a POS.
The current MBP 13" has these data ports:
2 * Thunderbolt-2, their previous does-everything port
2 * USB-3, the world's most common connector NOW
1 * Headphones - and BTW bluetooth audio sux
1 * SDXC slot - yes yes yes love love love
1 * HDMI slot - even though thunderbolt can also do this
Sure they've removed stuff. But they've also added stuff. My statement was that the MBP has always offered a variety of ports with a balance of past/present/future at the time of design/release. That is true.
Bottom line:
- Number of USB-C devices I currently own: 0
- Number of USB-C ports on the rumored new MBP: 4
- Number of USB-3 or ANY OTHER ports on new MBP: 0
There, you said it yourself. So you don't care about an adapter/reader for your CF card, but do so for the SD? Strange, indeed.
My 7D Mark 1 only has CF, so does my 40D. I prefer this over SD any time. Also, our audio equipment (working in acoustics) uses CF to record to .... there are more 'pro' usages than just photography, you know.
I don't do either and its fine with me because multiprocessing is multiprocessing and fast storage is fast storage. Both work well for the types of data analysis I do.
That is a dubious definition of progress. I have been in at least 40 different offices/work spaces in the past year and not a one of them cares about being on the bleeding edge and every single one of them would not consider it progress to remove the port that works for 90+% of equipment out there.
Anyway, everyone who just wants to get work done, will figure it out and do what is necessary. But the term 'progress' is mainly a marketing concept that serves the interest of obsoleting stuff to put pressure on users to buy more. Apple is not serving my interests by taking away useful ports. They are serving their own. Which they are free to do... but cut the pretense that somehow it is for my own good.
Current MacBook Pro: Dedicated charging port, four data ports, one SD card slot
This new design: four data ports.
Call that what you want, but that's a reduction.
I get that the data ports are all Thunderbolt 3, and that'll be awesome for the first few years when I need a USB-C to USB-A dongle and a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 1/2 adapter for damn near anything I attach. But if I want my machine hooked to the charger, I am only going to have the functionality of three of those ports unless I pony up money for yet another adapter.
The thing you fail to realize is that this isn't the machine for the next five years. This is the machine for the five years after the next few years. That's how it was for the current Retina MacBook Pros. That's how it will be for this next generation of MacBook Pros as well. Apple is quite often too bleeding edge for its own good.
Looks interesting. I would rather have a 13"-14" screen though. I wish they would keep magsafe though. It's saved me too many times. I'm sure Apple with figure something out.
I never use external devices so I don't care about USB-C. I'm glad they are making them thinner though. A 14" bezel-less screen would be perfect!
And has others have stated, time to bring the prices down to reality.
[doublepost=1464814391][/doublepost]
Welcome to technology. Keep up or get left behind. Adapt your workflow accordingly.
I never use external devices so I don't care about USB-C. I'm glad they are making them thinner though. A 14" bezel-less screen would be perfect!
And has others have stated, time to bring the prices down to reality.
[doublepost=1464814391][/doublepost]
Welcome to technology. Keep up or get left behind. Adapt your workflow accordingly.
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I'm sure I'm not the only one who has ZERO devices that are USB-C compatible. I also agree with others that widespread adoption is a few years away. If you upgrade your Mac every 2 years, you might spend that entire time dragging around dongles or not using the only kind of port on the machine.
This reminds me of Sony and the Beta Max. Sony bet the bank that it would beat VHS - and we all know how that worked out.
Apple is not always right. The bigger question is whether they can afford to blow off too many people in the laptop market, especially since the iPhone is losing ground.
Before the rMB was released, there were rumors that it would be a MB Air w retina. Close but not quite. I wouldn't mind if this rumor turns out to be a 13 or 15 inch rMB and not the rMBP. Neutering the MBP and making it useless w/o dongles for years to come would be unforgivable.
This reminds me of Sony and the Beta Max. Sony bet the bank that it would beat VHS - and we all know how that worked out.
Apple is not always right. The bigger question is whether they can afford to blow off too many people in the laptop market, especially since the iPhone is losing ground.
Before the rMB was released, there were rumors that it would be a MB Air w retina. Close but not quite. I wouldn't mind if this rumor turns out to be a 13 or 15 inch rMB and not the rMBP. Neutering the MBP and making it useless w/o dongles for years to come would be unforgivable.
Interesting, but begs the question, why can't they do this with the trackpad? Think of a built in "iPhone" like experience on the trackpad. Also hoping they integrate Touch ID in there somehow. I hate typing passwords anymore.
Photoshopping this together it seems very unlikely this will happen, the keyboard pads are too close together, the touch strip is too small, compared with other Apple laptops the form factor is way different.
Bingo. Think about this for a moment: the ubiquitous thumb drive. Those are everywhere and have become the go-to standard for saving off photos, music, and generally exchanging files. You will not be able to plug a thumb drive into Apple's Flagship Laptop without some stupid adapter that will crimp and fail after 3 months, from over-use, if you don't lose it by then.
That is just ridiculous. There is simply no good reason for this. Period.
Photos have leaked depicting alleged components destined for the rumored redesigned MacBook Pro, giving us a look at the thin body of the device, the space where a rumored OLED touch panel will be positioned, and its possible ports.
Shared by Cult of Mac, the photos came from an anonymous source who claimed to work for Apple's manufacturing partner in China.
The images feature the body of what appears to be a MacBook Pro, which, based on size, seems to be the 13-inch model. The trackpad and the keys have not yet been put in place, but noticeably absent is a function row at the top of the keyboard, which rumors say will be replaced with an OLED touch panel.
Size wise, the MacBook model in the photos appears to be slightly thinner than existing MacBook Pros, and in pictures of the sides of the device, a total of four USB-C ports are available, with two on the left side and two on the right side. A headphone jack is also included, as are thin speaker grilles on either side of the keyboard.
Rumors have suggested Apple is working on completely revamped 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro models with a thinner and lighter form factor and a dedicated OLED display touch bar that replaces physical function keys. A dedicated Touch ID button is expected to be built into the bar, as is support for USB-C and Thunderbolt 3.
According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new MacBook Pros will feature the "most significant upgrade ever undertaken by Apple," with the machines set to be released during the fourth quarter of 2016. Many were hoping for a WWDC launch, which early rumors hinted at, but if Kuo's information is accurate, we will need to wait until the fall months to see the launch of the new devices.
Article Link: Leaked Photos May Show Upcoming MacBook Pro's Top Case With Space for OLED Touch Panel, Four USB-C Ports
Look at how huge that Trackpad is. The current trackpad reaches from the Spacebar to the Command Key. This one appears to be significantly wider
Btw, did anyone notice how those photos look a lot like the Razer Blade Stealth? http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade-stealth Which in turn looks a lot like the current MBP.
Well, that's the old entry-level 13" inch, I still don't think we will find the flagship 15" rMBP model in a similar position in a few weeks...