You better be real confident those adapters won't short out and destroy your MBP. Benson Leung is a Google engineer who was testing USB-C adapters, cables, and hubs, after a cheap USB-C cable destroyed his laptop. He has lost two more laptops while testing different brands and is now taking a hiatus as a result.
I have the 12-inch MacBook, and I purchased the very well made OWC USB-C hub about 18-months ago and it works great. Unfortunately, when I plan to use it with the new 15-inch, it will take a bit longer to charge because it's rated at 60 watts. It should do until OWC invariably makes a new hub to match the 85-87 watt spec. I'm okay with a USB hub, or a couple of dongles. I do believe that Apple should at least include one with the purchase of the new MacBook. This simple gesture might help to tamp down the resentment of MBP customers, myself included.
There are other shortcomings of the new MacBook Pro that bother me more than the dongle thing'. Since they didn't speak at all about the WebCam, I have to assume it's the same POS from the 12-inch MacBook which is very grainy and embarrassing to use.
This issue of power pass-through was discussed on MR previously when it was made known that Apple's own multi port AV adapter with power pass-through only pushes 60W and so is unable to charge the 15" MBP while being used.
I'm glad you're so optimistic about OWC, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for them. I will wait until someone actually demonstrates a hub with power pass-through working properly before even considering to purchase the new MBP.
Oh come on guys, stop the whining.
How many actually have REAL-life experience? How many of you already use the retina Macbook? How many have used the Macbook Air of the first (or later) generation?
How often did you REALLY need adapters?
In almost 9 years of owning Macbook Airs, I've NEVER needed the ethernet adapter. I've used HDMI maybe once or twice. I needed an VGA adapter to connect my Macbook to projectors once in a while. I can't remember the last time I actually plugged in a USB thumbdrive. I use dropbox like almost always. I do use external drives quite frequently, but not really on the go, so a dock sitting on my desk or a teeny-tiny adapter will just be fine. I don't own cameras with SD, so I've been using external card readers since forever.
For me, nothing much will change. I look forward to just buying either a small dock or a bunch of USB-C to USB-A cables for my external drives.
Seriously, you're making a mountain out of a molehill.
I own a MBA 2013, so I will answer you.
I have needed an Ethernet adapter in order to troubleshoot my router on several occasions.
I used my HDMI port regularly until I purchased an AppleTV.
I plug in thumb drives all the time, in addition to using DropBox.
I use both TB and USB hard drives every day.
Apple's decision is not a molehill for me. I expected to buy an adapter or cable with the advance of TB--no big deal. This happened to me with FireWire as well, but it is an advance in one technology. When USB transitioned from 2.0 to 3.0, I gradually updated peripherals. I still have a mix for different reasons.
But the other changes were transitional. USB 2 worked with USB 3, you just didn't always get the highest speed on older peripherals. Most of the time, only one, maybe two ports changed, but the adapters needed did not cost an average of $25 each and I usually only needed one new cable or adapter. The biggest problem here is that a computer with only USB-C creates an acute moment of change rather than allowing for a more gradual transition. The high cost of proper (i.e., not cheap Chinese knock offs that will destroy your PC) adapters, the need for adapters for not one thing but for everything, the lack of appropriate adapters in some cases (a person should never plug an adapter into an adapter), and the inability of adapters to function properly (I'm looking at you power pass-through), just demonstrate just how early we are into the lifecycle of USB-C and just how unprepared Apple was for this transition. If Apple wants to go all-in on USB-C, fine, but they should have ensured properly functioning adapters were available for or provided to its customers in order to smooth the transition. That's what the best companies do.
These factors and the increased cost of the Mac coupled with some of the design and product (e.g., no grounded power cord) decisions made by Apple brought about the perfect storm and these forums are a reflection of that.