Major benefit of the single USB-C

[6749974]

So while we're second guessing Apple, WTF is up with the audio jack? Hello, reality check: everyone has an iPhone, right? Get your tunes on your iPhone and use your iPhone for music, dudes and dudettes. Why are we wasting COMPUTER functionality for stuff an iPod Shuffle could do just as well???

Ha, yeah. I actually first thought they got rid of the audio-port and thought, while bold, that made sense for the following reasons

• Is in line with this minimalist-design
• popularizing bluetooth headsets (they just bought Beats, too, which has moved to bluetooth audio
• Many audio/TV devices now have Airplay (Not just Apple TV but portable speakers)

This is the main reason I would have gone 2 USB-C and omitted the audio-port should I had a choice, but then people would be cursing my name on the internet instead of Jony Ive

----------

Yeah, I'm basically OK with the dongle idea but $79 on a $1300 computer leaves you feeling a little abused.

That was my one point against Apple. I feel like symbolically they could have thrown a bone and made it less expensive. Fortunately come starting April 10 other manufactures will begin releasing very cheap alternatives.

 

[newellj]

Something posted by someone else has actually refocused me on what might be the biggest question for me, more than ports, or power, or price - whether I want to own the laptop equivalent of the iPad 1. I never owned one, though I was awed by the ones my friends bought. Bought the iPad 2 and was very happy not to have sunk any cash into the original iPad.

OTOH, Macs have very, very good resale values...

 

[Rigby]

If people like you were in charge of Apple's product decisions - we'd still be stuck using floppy drives, CD-ROMs

Apple didn't give these things up before they were clearly on the way out. USB type-A, on the other hand, is absolutely dominating its market, and will continue to do so long after Apple stops selling this iteration of the Macbook.

and VGA ports.

VGA ports are still widely used in the business world. Every Mac user I know from work has had those embarrassing situations where they were unable to do a presentation because they forgot to bring the stupid dongle.

 

[ctyrider]

Apple didn't give these things up before they were clearly on the way out. USB type-A, on the other hand, is absolutely dominating its market, and will continue to do so long after Apple stops selling this iteration of the Macbook.

Not so - optical drives were still heavily used when Apple first shipped MacBook Air in 2008. All the whining and moaning about "losing outcall drives" back then is exactly what we are seeing today with rMB and USB type-A ports.

VGA ports are still widely used in the business world. Every Mac user I know from work has had those embarrassing situations where they were unable to do a presentation because they forgot to bring the stupid dongle.

So what's your point? Apple should be shipping their laptops with VGA ports because "business world" is stuck in 2002?

 

[Rigby]

So while we're second guessing Apple, WTF is up with the audio jack?

He, good point. That's the oldest connector of them all, and analog to boot. How can Apple be so backwards.

----------

Not so - optical drives were still heavily used when Apple first shipped MacBook Air in 2008. All the whining and moaning about "losing outcall drives" back then is exactly what we are seeing today with rMB and USB type-A ports.

Your memory is very different from mine.

So what's your point? Apple should be shipping their laptops with VGA ports because "business world" is stuck in 2002?

One of the points is that Apple cannot force new standards by removing widely used connectors from its hardware. I cannot think of a single instance where this has worked.

 

[6749974]

One of the points is that Apple cannot force new standards by removing widely used connectors from its hardware. I cannot think of a single instance where this has worked.

You're right. I don't think Apple has ever (or expects) to completely eradicate an old standard. In 2015 I'm sure people still use projectors with VGA, as you so brought up.

But what is your purpose? That Apple should make a laptop thats 2 LBS, paper thin, and continue to sell CD-Roms and VGA cables? on the side? I don't think that's possible given the constraints.

Apple has a vision with each product line. That interests some people on earth. It's not Apple's concern to be 100% compatible with every electronic ever manufactured. It seems like that's your issue. But I'm pretty sure you're trolling us and don't honestly feel this way.

 

[ctyrider]

One of the points is that Apple cannot force new standards by removing widely used connectors from its hardware. I cannot think of a single instance where this has worked.

Uhm.. actually yes they can. And it's worked in just about every instance, be it hardware (optical drives) or software (Flash). When Apple leads - market follows.

Just watch other premium laptops shed USB-A ports in favor of C. Google just shipped their flagship Pixel laptop with only USB-C ports. Others will follow.

 

[6749974]

Uhm.. actually yes they can. And it's worked in just about every instance, be it hardware (optical drives) or software (Flash). When Apple leads - market follows.

Just watch other premium laptops shed USB-A ports in favor of C. Google just shipped their flagship Pixel laptop with only USB-C ports. Others will follow.

Also, to add to your point, unlike other times, the entire industry is alongside Apple this time in moving to USB-C because the entire industry wants to sell new, thinner, simpler devices in the coming financial quarters. There's a race to innovation here.

 

[PittAir]

Like the name says, I've had every Air since the first one. I've wanted thinner and lighter with every iteration.

I'm the use case for them--I travel, give talks, need the Office suite, do emails, surf the web, use a VPN to connect back to records and sign documents and orders. I'll use Skype. Occasionally I'll upload photos and videos.

Interestingly, for work I do have occasional to do some DNA sequence analysis at home. For this I have a Retina iMac with a 3.4 GHz i7 and 32 GB of ram. I certainly am not doing DNA sequence analysis on the road.

As I type this on my 11 inch 2014 MBA, I have my iPhone plugged into the USB port, charging, while the MBA is being charged from a hotel outlet.

For me, that is the only issue with the single port--charging the darn iDevices at the same time as your notebook, without having to carry another charger. It looks like I'll have to buy the dongle, and perhaps a USB hub as well that allows charging.

A pain in the touchas to be sure, but one that I'll accept to get thinner and lighter. I can't wait to put an iPhone, MacBook, and an iPad (for movies and the NYT crossword, among other things) in a small case that I can throw in my roller bag. Could we ever imagine 5 years ago this much capability in such a small footprint? Imagine where we will be in another 5?

Remember, this is only the first generation of these things. I'll bet the roadmap has induction charging sometime in the near future (to get rid of power connector cables). That to me seems to be what Apple is thinking with this single USB port.

 

[Rigby]

Uhm.. actually yes they can. And it's worked in just about every instance, be it hardware (optical drives) or software (Flash). When Apple leads - market follows.

Not to rain on your parade, but I had a Sony Vaio without optical drive in 2005, long before the Macbook Air was presented.

Just watch other premium laptops shed USB-A ports in favor of C. Google just shipped their flagship Pixel laptop with only USB-C ports. Others will follow.

Google Pixel has two USB Type-A ports.

 

[ctyrider]

Google Pixel has two USB Type-A ports.

https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/6164568?hl=en

External ports: Two USB Type C ports

edit: yes, they still offer 2x USB3 ports, the point still stands.

 

[Rigby]

External ports: Two USB Type C ports

Have you tried reading the line below that?

edit: yes, they still offer 2x USB3 ports, the point still stands.

If you say so.

 

[consumeritis]

If they had removed the audio jack that really would have been a deal breaker.

A laptop you can't plug your headphones into? Starbucks would end up pretty noisy!

 

[Newtons Apple]

Then buy an Air or Pro.

I own both but building machines without ports looks to be Apple future.

Would rather have Apple hardware WITH the ports.

Even if it upsets some of YOU! Love the way Apple fans will turn on posters who does not agree with Apple.

 

[nebo1ss]

Uhm.. actually yes they can. And it's worked in just about every instance, be it hardware (optical drives) or software (Flash). When Apple leads - market follows.

Just watch other premium laptops shed USB-A ports in favor of C. Google just shipped their flagship Pixel laptop with only USB-C ports. Others will follow.

This is hilarious. Apple has finally decided to adopt a universal standard which they have been avoiding doing for years and we have talk about them inventing it and being first and others following.

 

[zhenya]

Just from looking at the existing pictures of the device I think it wouldn't be that difficult to fit a USB Type-A port while keeping the overall thinness and the wedge shape. It would only take a minimal increase of the tapering angle of the vertical surfaces on the sides to fit the port on the hinge-side. To compensate, they could have made the curvature of the bottom slightly shallower. I doubt anyone would have noticed a difference. Apple has some of the best engineers and designers in the world. I'm convinced that they could have easily found a solution without compromising portability or aesthetics. I still hope to be proven right in the second iteration of the Macbook.

The only place the device is thick enough to accommodate any ports are where the two existing ports are behind the keyboard. If you add USB-A, what do you remove? You can't remove the USB-C port because that's what makes this device possible. So you remove the headphone jack? Bad call. Spend time in places where people use these devices - coffee shops, libraries, airports, etc. and what two ports are most commonly in use? The headphone jack and the power jack.

Apple made the right call, and like I said initially, adding additional ports would have been of course possible, but it would have compromised the design of the device. And at that point, why bother making this? They already make an entire line of nice computers that include a larger array of ports.

 

[newellj]

I agree that there are a lot of people with headphones plugged into their computers, but Apple is not shy about telling us we're doing the wrong thing. In this case, they should put a second USB C port where the headphone jack is and have people listen to their music on their iPhones. Really.

 

[6749974]

Love the way Apple fans will turn on posters who does not agree with Apple.

Ha. The debate is silly because one side is saying, "look, this is a new product line, it doesn't take away from ports on Air/Pro, if things go port less in 5 years we'll all be fine because the entire tech industry and ecosystem will have solved the kinks."

And the other side is losing their head because that future scares them. They are implying as if Apple has created the beginning of the end of computing.

And some of us just aren't having that emotional reaction. Apple is not the bad guy you claim they are. They are just a company responding to some of our needs in incremental steps.

 

[6749974]

This is hilarious. Apple has finally decided to adopt a universal standard which they have been avoiding doing for years and we have talk about them inventing it and being first and others following.

He said "where apple leads market follows" he didn't say they invented USB-C (although it's an open secret that they did, but that's not what the poster said).

What the poster said is that currently, as far as tablets/phones/laptops, Apple is the market leader. When they go retina, everyone goes retina, even if they technically weren't first to market with the first high definition screen. Market leader penetrates with high number of sales. Everyone else reacts because the leader are effecting market, shaping consumer paradigm. If Apple introduces a new spec or new criteria, or popularizes it, everyone else will follow because Apple defined the new criteria in which people weigh their buying choices.

When Apple was the underdog, this was Awesome to see. But now that they are the overdog, it happens more often, and people hate an overdog.

 

[pasadena]

I agree that there are a lot of people with headphones plugged into their computers, but Apple is not shy about telling us we're doing the wrong thing. In this case, they should put a second USB C port where the headphone jack is and have people listen to their music on their iPhones. Really.

That, or use bluetooth headphones. They are readily available, you can get really good ones for the price of the dongle. They're much easier to come by than external hard drives, or a bluetooth mouse, or a wifi printer.

But then, the headphone jack probably takes less internal space (and power) than another USB-C port.

And my guess is, people would bitch *even more* for a missing heaphone jack.

 

[newellj]

That, or use bluetooth headphones. They are readily available, you can get really good ones for the price of the dongle. They're much easier to come by than external hard drives, or a bluetooth mouse, or a wifi printer.

But then, the headphone jack probably takes less internal space (and power) than another USB-C port.

And my guess is, people would bitch *even more* for a missing heaphone jack.

Some days you can't please everyone...and some days, you can't please ANYONE! Nothing but good will behind this post, honestly. I was looking at the 2008 MBA specs and roll-out last night. It sure made me think about the rMB differently! - mostly in good ways. It also made me wonder whether we had this kind of howling and venom back then. I don't remember and I probably won't bother to go searching for answers.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Ha. The debate is silly because one side is saying, "look, this is a new product line, it doesn't take away from ports on Air/Pro, if things go port less in 5 years we'll all be fine because the entire tech industry and ecosystem will have solved the kinks."

And the other side is losing their head because that future scares them. They are implying as if Apple has created the beginning of the end of computing.

And some of us just aren't having that emotional reaction. Apple is not the bad guy you claim they are. They are just a company responding to some of our needs in incremental steps.

I am far from upsdet and not scared what so ever. I am simply stating my wants like everyone else here. I know I am in the McRumors Forums and I know how some react to even the slightest complaint about Apple.

My orginal statement that I would rather have one with ports stands. I just bought a new fully loaded MBAir 13" and it will do nicely for a year or two.

You are right and the USB-C will become the standard in the future, maybe. That does not mean we need to eliminate ports like a SD reader just because it has USB-C or an extra USB port. More and more people are using their laptops as a replacement to their desktop and untill they make all our other hardware wireless, these ports are both needed and desired by most users. The new Macbook looks like a great machine but does not fill my needs in the field without USB ports and a SD reader. Doggles are great but a sorry replacement for the real thing.

 

[Rigby]

The only place the device is thick enough to accommodate any ports are where the two existing ports are behind the keyboard.

This is an optical illusion (as with all modern Apple notebooks). The device is actually quite a bit thicker than the height of the vertical side surfaces suggests. Again, just increase their height just a little and make the bottom a bit shallower to compensate. It should be easily possible to fit two ports on each side without changing the shape much.

If you add USB-A, what do you remove? You can't remove the USB-C port because that's what makes this device possible. So you remove the headphone jack? Bad call.

According to the "design purity" school of thought, you could just use a USB audio dongle. Or simply Bluetooth headphones ...

 

[6749974]

I am far from upsdet and not scared what so ever. I am simply stating my wants like everyone else here. I know I am in the McRumors Forums and I know how some react to even the slightest complaint about Apple.

My orginal statement that I would rather have one with ports stands. I just bought a new fully loaded MBAir 13" and it will do nicely for a year or two.

You are right and the USB-C will become the standard in the future, maybe. That does not mean we need to eliminate ports like a SD reader just because it has USB-C or an extra USB port. More and more people are using their laptops as a replacement to their desktop and untill they make all our other hardware wireless, these ports are both needed and desired by most users. The new Macbook looks like a great machine but does not fill my needs in the field without USB ports and a SD reader. Doggles are great but a sorry replacement for the real thing.

We're on the same page. I, too, value USB ports and SD readers. I have a DSLR, and a printer, and an iPhone. It's not my preference to remove these things. It's my preference that Apple create new options, like an incredibly thin and light laptop. It's not my preference that it's only 12". Where's my 15" version?

But yeah, nothing wrong with saying wants and chatting. This is why we're here. I Was simply responding to some people who get super carried away, for example stating that Apple's core reason for removing ports and introducing USB-C was the profit of removing internal components, as if creating this starting vision of the essential laptop has nothing to do with it, and dismissing the fact that there is a clear segment of Mac buyers that want an essential laptop.

That, to me, is creating its own reality in order to spin an Us vs Them debate (Apple vs Sensible people). In other words, trolling.

Also, I think we can all rejoice when Apple makes the Air retina.

 

[zhenya]

This is an optical illusion (as with all modern Apple notebooks). The device is actually quite a bit thicker than the height of the vertical side surfaces suggests. Again, just increase their height just a little and make the bottom a bit shallower to compensate. It should be easily possible to fit two ports on each side without changing the shape much.
According to the "design purity" school of thought, you could just use a USB audio dongle. Or simply Bluetooth headphones ...

I think you need to go back and review this image again.

If there were plenty of depth to work with there, they wouldn't have needed to reinvent the scissor switch their keys ride on.

Is it possible to do it? Of course, but again, it would come at a cost to the design.

If it were evident that the most common needs of the mobile user were an extra usb port instead of a headphone jack, they surely would have done so. Look at actual user behavior though, and it's pretty clear which ports are typically used on the go.