New MacBook Pro Models Lack Optical Audio Out via Headphone Jack

[jonnyb098]

Which point and shoot camera do you use? Pros shoot in RAW and each file size is huge. When they transfer files it's usually in GB. It would take half a day to do that over wifi. The conversation is about a pro machine and there are various professions that Apple has managed to disappoint. Apple is expecting pros to keep up with their pace of change but there are pros who have invested thousands of dollars for their gear and wouldn't want to change it.

If you are talking about the masses then sure but the frustration is that if no category of pro is happy then why brand this as a pro. Make some other pro machine.

Also the new Mac might look great but you have to carry a dongle bag at least for the next couple of years which is like going to a broadway show in a shiny tux and carrying a doggie bag for dinner.

I shoot with a Nikon D750 at work and edit on a 5K iMac. There are some wireless SD card options out there too and very low cost.

As far as dongles.....EVERYONE with a laptop has a bag. Whats the big deal carrying around a couple adaptors (yes a couple which is what the majority of pros would only need).

 

[kstotlani]

I shoot with a Nikon D750 at work and edit on a 5K iMac. There are some wireless SD card options out there too and very low cost.

As far as dongles.....EVERYONE with a laptop has a bag. Whats the big deal carrying around a couple adaptors (yes a couple which is what the majority of pros would only need).

Not being sarcastic but can you let me know the wireless options. Would be interested.

And I have not seen any wireless option fast enough.

 

[superberg]

I last used optical out back in 2012 or so, when I was using a pre-HDMI Mac Mini. Still, the for the amount of slashing Apple has done with this laptop, they should at least put a warning on the purchase page:

"Warning: Not likely to work with anything you currently own."

I'll be the first to admit I've got a 15-inch on order, but the number of people praising Apple's combination of functionality removal and price hike is absolutely ridiculous. Yes, the new MBP is forward-thinking. But we aren't in the future yet. It's going to be a hassle for the next year or two, particularly because I still use ethernet, USB 3.0, and HDMI on a semi-regular basis. Thankfully, there is an all-in-one USB-C dongle for that. That only makes things a little less annoying, though.

Most of the school districts I support still use DVDs. Several have put off buying new Macs based on that alone. There is a reason Apple's edu market share is plummeting. In early 2010, schools loved Apple. I mean, nearly every adimistrator and teacher I worked with sung their praises. Now? Vitriol.

Yup. The same people complain about a car not having a wifi hotspot built in that they never wanted and never would have used.

Did you know that reveling in the frustration of others is a sign of emotional maturity?

Oh, wait, it's the opposite.

 

[H2SO4]

I saw an article in LinkedIn today. The full article is here but a telling snippet is below;

Steve Blank mentions in an article that as an operations-focused CEO, Tim Cook got rid of a lot of the chaos and turbulence in Apple and replaced it with process and structure. This is great for predictability (for the investors), but gives rise to the creative death spiral.

Steve Jobs knew this would happen when he appointed Tim Cook as CEO. In this video, Jobs talks about sales and marketing people taking over companies and pushing the creative, product oriented people out of the decision-making forums. He goes on to say, “As a result, the companies forget what it means to make great products.”

 

[obiwan]

It's why this MacBook Pro update hurts so much: when there's only one meal on the menu, it better be a good one. Windows is like an entire supermarket.

That is SUCH a good point it can't be overstated. When Mac users are out of options, it's time to switch to Windows. (And no Tim Cook an iPad Pro won't do either - last time I checked that didn't have an optical out). Mac users are running out of options fast, so there is now a more compelling reason to switch to Windows than ever before.

 

[masterhiggins]

Other way around. If we needed it, people would have been using it. Were you or anyone you know ever using a MBP to feed optical audio to a home theater?

Funny how that logic doesn't apply to the sd card reader, MagSafe connector, optical drive, and countless other things they've removed.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Does it matter? The point is: some do. I do.

So they should include ports on a machine, which cost every single buyer money, that less than 1% of users will EVER make use of?

 

[Seuck]

It's perfectly fine to slim down highly specialised features but only if:
- you make the product cheaper (in fact you have to invest extra money buying additional dongles to compensate the missing feature)
- you stop calling the product PRO, in fact it's the very definition of "consumer" a slimmed down product that matches popular common denominator.

And damn it, this new MacBook Pro costs a LOT for a tiny 13"-two ports laptop"!

 

[Pootmatoot]

So they should include ports on a machine, which cost every single buyer money, that less than 1% of users will EVER make use of?

No, on their consumer line.

Yes, on a line once aimed at prosumer and professionals, who use these sorts of ports a lot more.

The MacBookification of the Pro means it's now just for the consumer.

 

[kcamfork]

Did u buy one? Are you planning on ?? If you are then **** and stop complaining for the sake of complaining - if your not going to buy one - stop complaining for the sake of complaining


People are getting seriously over the constant belly aching.. sheesh!!
[doublepost=1478259250][/doublepost]


Good bye don't let the door hit you on the way out!

It's because this "update" is a steaming pile of excrement. How can you not see that? Why are you defending Apple? The only people who would see the list of extremely bad news about the once beloved MacBook Pro as acceptable, in my humble opinion, are Apple employees and apple shareholders.

If you're one of those. Go away and let us complain. If you're not, what is wrong with you? Do you enjoy getting reduced functionality with your products?

If so I have a couple of items to sell you.

1) A wallet without any credit card slots! We courageously took out all the card slots and any place to hold money. Since you can pay everywhere with Apple Pay, there no longer is a need to carry anything in your wallet! Starting at $199. $299 for the built in state ID model (non removable - when it expires you need to buy another one for $299).

2) A vacuum cleaner without any bag or storage of dirt. Are you constantly vacuuming and amazed at how much dirt you pull out of your carpet every day? Well I have good news for you! Our new vacuum cleaner saves you the time and energy of pulling the dirt, dust, and dog hair up out of the carpet fibers and blows them 5 feet away so you can rake it all up later. Who wouldn't love this product? Vacuum starts at $799. Corded version $899. Corded version with 16 gb storage $999. Optional magic rake $99.

3) last but certainly not least, the new MacBook Pro! Starting at $20,999.

 

[flehman]

Tomorrow's headline today: "2016 MacBook Pro uses Samsung Galaxy Note 7 batteries."

This deal is getting worse all the time...

 

[peter2]

So they should include ports on a machine, which cost every single buyer money, that less than 1% of users will EVER make use of?

Don't be ridiculous. The cost saved is pennies per unit. Irrespective, the "save" does not make the MBP less expensive for the buyer, it just makes Apple's profit bigger. There were times when Mac was used by less than 1% of the computer users - still today it's just few percent. By your logic Mac should be eradicated due to lack of popularity. Now how would you feel if someone took away this minority need/choice of yours?

 

[macduke]

Update cycle doesn't matter....the fact that people are still buying it in large numbers even with all the complaining from EVERYONE about EVERYTHING regarding this machine is what speaks volumes (pun intended).

And if you plan on a new iMac thats awesome. And for Apple they still get money!

Yeah, I'm not anti-Apple, I'm anti-this-device. It keeps getting worse. Apple won't stay on top forever selling stuff like this. Pent up demand for an upgrade, then they realize what they're getting for their money and start looking elsewhere nextime. This is how you start a decline. It's all cycles and the next one might falter if they keep this up.

 

[PowerGala]

So they should include ports on a machine, which cost every single buyer money, that less than 1% of users will EVER make use of?

Was there really a cost savings by using the older version of the port? 10 cents maybe? As it is now I think you have to buy a USB-C to USB-A dongle then buy a USB-A to TOSLINK.

It just seems like a weird thing to remove. I just hope that they don't remove support from the next iMac or Mac Pro.

 

[symphara]

You can't be serious. Are you actually suggesting someone might switch to Windows just because there's no longer an optical output on the MacBook anymore?

Do PCs even offer optical output in a standard configuration?

Funnily enough I think they do, at the very least SPDIF over coax. And most motherboards I bought in the last 10? years have a full size TOSLINK connector too. Of course if you actually fork money for a separate sound card, you'll also get a digital out. And the HDMI ports that most PCs have naturally support for digital audio.

 

[netwalker]

How could I dare to use my $3000 laptop to play movies and connect multi-channel surround audio instead of using an AppleTV box.

lack of customers using the functionality

How would they even know? Did they do a representative survey to find out who uses what?
I use my optical audio out regularly and am glad I just bought the old model.

 

[NY Guitarist]

Apple is gutting the 'Pro' hardware the same way they dumb-down the 'Pro' apps.

 

[BarcelonaPaul]

Oh for God sake. For years, this forums users have complained that there are no new MacBook Pro's. Now we have them and... it's full of people bitching and bitching. Get a life people. How many of you use the optical output daily? Can you not appreciate the beautiful design, the build quality, the four USB-C sockets that will soon be able to offer most of your requirements?
Seriously, such horrible horrible, negative moaning about a great new design. Don't buy it if you don't like it, and move on. Life is short. Get out there and LIVE IT!!!

 

[FreshBoy]

From all the bad publicity associated with the new MacBook Pro none of the "issues" have made me want to cancel my preorder.

 

[H2SO4]

How could I dare to use my $3000 laptop to play movies and connect multi-channel surround audio instead of using an AppleTV box.

How would they even know? Did they do a representative survey to find out who uses what?
I use my optical audio out regularly and am glad I just bought the old model.

This is what I was wondering. It must be that any logs shared with Apple have that info as to what and how often it’s used. I know for one though that I turn all that crap off.

 

[xflashx]

Only question I ask myself is: why remove the optical out in the first place when they kept the headphone jack (other than for profit of course)?

I admit I never have, don't and will never use optical out, but I understand a lot of (Professional) people did so I think it's (again) a bad decision from apple.

It appears that this MacBook is madness, every day there's some new (bad) news about it.

(Yes although I'm an apple fan and generally love their products I'm not on their side at all with this new MacBook "pro")

 

[macs4nw]

I'm with Apple on this one. I wonder how many people used this feature on the previous gen. Just because it's there doesn't mean it's useful. If you call yourself a "pro" you're probably using something else for your digital I/O needs.

After initial skepticism of this new MBP, mainly over price actually, I accept most of Phil's explanations as valid and sensible, certainly the ones about the lack of the SD card slot, as well as the lack of optical audio out.

Moreover the screen on this new machine is reportedly off-the-charts gorgeous with its greatly improved brightness and colorspace. Also the much faster Flash storage and vastly improved graphics on the Radeon-equipped 15" units should be much appreciated by Pro users. After the compatibility issues with the TI controller chips are worked out, the USB-C port exclusivity which is where the market is heading anyway (incidentally supporting TB3 and USB3.1 v2 on some though not all ports apparently), while somewhat of an inconvenience during the transitionary period, should not be an insurmountable hurdle for most users.

And once TouchBar applications with their seemingly limitless opportunity for additional functionality start showing up in software and Apps, I believe the T-Bar could be a very useful addition, and a timesaver in access and shortcuts especially for pro users. Software developers will no doubt capitalize on its multitude of possibilities, after which we'll get used to it so quickly that we'll wonder how we got by without it before.

Can you tell I'm excited about the upcoming 4-port versions of the new MBP? You betcha!
Is there room for improvement? Always.

 

[vpro]

People love reporting bad news just as much as sheep love to cry wolf. Why is this even relavent again? This is the way of tech giants who set industry standards, is it their fault that the rest of the industry can't catch up in time, decked out with all the USB-c functionalities along with Apple's new releases?

By the time everything catches up to Apple, oh, uh oh what is this? Apple took a drastic and sharp 83 degree turn, up a steap slope towards a cliff, everyone, you better got your wings on, we're in for a ride !

 

[SeaFox]

I'm with Apple on this one. I wonder how many people used this feature on the previous gen. Just because it's there doesn't mean it's useful. If you call yourself a "pro" you're probably using something else for your digital I/O needs.

Many people were likely unaware of the capability because they hadn't personally found a need for an optical output and it has no visual difference to a regular 3.5mm jack.

The question you should be asking is "what is the difference in component cost between a plain jack and an optical capable one"?

We're talking about a computer that costs thousands of dollars and a company making plenty of profits from it. Why not just stay with what they had?

 

[Pootmatoot]

People love reporting bad news just as much as sheep love to cry wolf. Why is this even relavent again? This is the way of tech giants who set industry standards, is it their fault that the rest of the industry can't catch up in time, decked out with all the USB-c functionalities along with Apple's new releases?

By the time everything catches up to Apple, oh, uh oh what is this? Apple took a drastic and sharp 83 degree turn, up a steap slope towards a cliff, everyone, you better got your wings on, we're in for a ride !

There's been USB-C ports on many premium PCs since before the MacBook.

There are no premium professional PCs with only USB-C ports, because it makes zero sense in 2016 for most users. The only PCs with only USB-C ports are the ultra-portables aimed at web browsing and coffeeshop typers... because it makes sense in that context.

No-one needs to "catch up" to Apple... they are not at the head of the pack as they were 2006-2013.