The only advantage is profits for Apple and its shareholders since a future version will not have that port. A large number of MBP users who actually use this port already own a dongle!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
New 16-Inch MacBook Pro is Thicker and Heavier Than Previous Generation
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It may be another option for external storage. Let’s see if Apple has done anything special with that slot as I understand it’s decently fast and doesn’t require much power.
No. External. Something of this kind.
Attachments
Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
Indeed. I've had enough of Apple jumping too far forward, too early.
It basically goes back to versatility vs convenience. I agree that all other things equal, an extra USB-C port will always be more versatile than a HDMI port, because you can transform the former in any port (or combination of ports) you want with the right adaptor.
The benefit of a dedicated HDMI port would basically be that you don't need to bring an adaptor with you to meetings (and even then, only if you are slated to give a presentation). Because back at your desk, you will likely be using a dock to consolidate all your accessories and connect it to your laptop via the USB-C port either way (which incidentally, also means that you won't be using MagSafe).
3 Thunderbolt ports is likely still plenty for most users. If you didn't need all 4, you would be indifferent between one being converted to a HDMI port, I suppose. We will see if this is something the pros really do want, and not just a vocal minority (who were never in the market for a MBP). I do hope it's the former.
I just don't get it... HDMI is a weird port to earn a spot here if I'm being honest. If it was going to be a video port over something like a USB-A, why not go for DP instead?
Not like it's a deal breaker either way, it's just a use case I didn't think actually existed to be honest.
HDMI is fairly common in meeting rooms (after finally migrating from VGA). I don’t think I have ever seen displayport being used anywhere.
It’s a MacBook “Pro” so…..of course it’s thicker. It’s the most powerful MacBook ever and one of the more powerful laptops in certain workloads to exist today.
I use SD Cards every day. Semi-pro photographer. I have lost countless dongles because my Mac doesn't have one. Often I go back to my 2015 MBP because it's easier. For HDMI, they probably could have gone mini, but people use these for presentations and or extra monitors quite often.
Well people here complain that the iphone weighs too much all the timeOh wow, it's 100 grams more and 0.06 cm thicker.
It's negligible.
True but complaining that a phone is too heavy strikes me a silly. I spend a lot of time on mine and never thought my 11PM was heavy.100 grams increase on an iPhone would be huge though.
From my experience, I have not been in any meeting room that did not have a plethora of cables to attach a display out. To me it seems a waste to dedicate a port of a legacy connector......
In my school, it was VGA for a while, and we only recently moved to hdmi. But our laptops come with a usb c and a usb a port, so it’s an adaptor either way.
I'm glad they didn't push for a thinner design. These are Pro machines. Consistent high loads at controlled temperatures matter more. Additionally, thermal headroom means a quieter machine.
Agreed, and the max is meeting pretty well the performance of a 3060. That’s not only impressive but kind of mind blowing considering the battery life. Let that sit a bit, and then consider a windows laptop with a 3060 maxq. And look at the 5 or 6 hours battery life if you’re lucky. Honestly I’m glad they made it function over form for once as these are beasts.
My only disappointment with the new MacBook Pro, and it’s a small one, is the lost opportunity of not including an Ethernet port in the power adapter like they did for the new iMac. That would have been the cherry on top.
In just got my 16” Pro Max and the size, power, weight, performance etc is exactly what over been waiting for to replace my iMac Pro. The thing is a beast
In just got my 16” Pro Max and the size, power, weight, performance etc is exactly what over been waiting for to replace my iMac Pro. The thing is a beast
I am completely in you camp on this issue. Versatility as opposed to a locked in, single use port, that is not even the most current version of the port (if I understand correctly).
It is 0.06 cm thicker. That is virtually imperceptible. I do not understand all of the comments here about Apple making a drastic change in design philosophy, suddenly valuing function over form. It is evident that they have done no such thing.
The world may never know how much faster this laptop would be able to run if they made actual changes to thickness and weight, like increasing it by a quarter of an inch to incorporate a beefy system of copper heat pipes, blowing over fins on the sides and back of the laptop (with a corresponding change to the SOC to bump up its max performance and TDP). They could even incorporate a removable battery module that increases capacity over the max allowed by TSA, for all the pros who are not jet-setters.
But that will not happen. Because Apple. The last thing they will do is sacrifice the "ooh, ahh, look how shiny and thin it is" effect in order to produce a laptop that is actually designed for professionals looking for maximum power.
The changes in the keyboard and number of ports similar to before scream of re-prioritizing function, you don’t agree? I don’t need to be a design engineer (though I am) to guess this, but, increasing the packaging needed as the result of a longer-travel keyboard plus possibly for the ports would most certainly be expected to result in a byproduct of thicker chassis. And who knows, perhaps part of the thickness increase is also functional-driven for hest transfer and cooling requirements after the last generation’s disastrous reputation over thermal management.
To an engineer at least, the current generation screams of re-prioritizing function over form, where thickness is now a by-product and not a driving factor.