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Thunderbolt 3/USB-C Adapters, Cables, and Hubs for New MacBook Pro

zhenya said:
The irony is that so many of you are so caught up in the group-think here that you can't see that long-term, the new Thunderbolt 3 ports will greatly streamline connectivity on the MBP. Those of you who still want your HDMI, mDP, usb-a, magsafe, etc. would have a mass of cables connected to both sides of the MacBook any time you were set up with all these peripherals. With Thunderbolt 3 you can have a dock hidden away and 1 clean cable connecting to the laptop. Even cleaner than the iMac in the picture.
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No... what we are caught up in is a money grab from Apple. Since we all have laptops with the ports we find necessary, and likely a workflow built around that connectivity, changing out to a new laptop means either changing all other connective hardware or buying adapters to fit our workflow. If the necessary adapters were low cost or free, that would be less of a gripe. However, paying another $100 for adapters on top of the price of a laptop that is substantially more expensive than it ought to be is nothing less than a thumb in the eye.
 
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People who don't want "tons of" adapters hanging off their Mac forget that with legacy ports you still had the SAME number of things hanging off your Mac. They didn't need adapters, but they were still there.

Thank goodness I want the thinnest, lightest pro performance I can get. If I wanted a massive brick full of legacy ports, I'd be sad too.
 
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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.
 
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Most importantly, there also appear to be USB-C magnetic charging cable attachment dongles.

I don't plan to spend that much on a new MBP until it can be reasonably cat/trip-proofed.
 
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Altis said:
Nothing says "Pro" like showing up to a job with a handful of adapters and dongles.
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Correct, it says you KNOW the products, product lines and are prepared for all eventualities. Looks even better when you have them neatly and logically set up in part of the carry bag that your laptop sits in. And it sure as hell beats getting there and spending the next 20 minutes seeing if someone else in the place has the cable you need.

I have been carrying around cables of one sort or another for over 20 years.

Seems there are only 2 outcomes for Apple every time

"WHAA whaa whaaa... apple has not innovated , it the same as last year, Apple is rubbish"

or

"WHAA whaa whaaa... apple has changed things , its not the same as last year, Apple is rubbish"

Get your big boy panties on, time moves on, changes happen, you are NOT in control of those changes, that is life.
 
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I have no use for ports anymore. I have converted everything to wireless.

I don't connect the printer to the computer; it is connected through wifi
I don't connect external drives; Time capsule on the local network and icloud for offsite storage
I don't connect the phone; it syncs OTA
I don't connect the camera; I bought one with wifi capabilities
I don't connect a monitor; I airplay to the TV using ATV on the network
I don't connect a mouse or keyboard; they are BT
I don't connect a CD/Blu Ray drive, I am all digital and converted everything over years ago

The only thing that I currently connect to my computer is a power cord.

To be fair, I still on occasion get a thumb/flash drive or a DVD/CD/Blu Ray as a present. So for those time I may need something or just use my work computer and send it drop box.

But the point is that although we can whine about the disappearing ports, the need for them is also disappearing. Frankly I would love to have wireless charging so we can get rid of the lightning port, but not before they actually release the BT headphones (airpods).
 
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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.
 
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This is an absolute, unbelievable joke. The result of Apples crusade to make the Mac thinner and lighter is that we have to have hundreds of adapters that take up much more space in a laptop bag than does a mac with a 0.5 mm thicker profile. But hey, "courage". Courage to piss off their users more like!
 
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I was thinking of upgrading. With the lack of ports and my need for for all these dongles, I will not even consider a new MacBook. I am now considering a surface. I haven't owned a windows box in over a decade. This is a perfect example of when a designer oversteps their roll. I blame Ives for this mess
 
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leroypants said:
That's a joke right, Apple cant seriously wants it's users to pay 25 dollars for an adapter just to charge you Iphone.
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Not quite, as every iOS device is sold with its own charger, which is way more efficient than any computer port. The joke is in having to use the dongles for anything else, though.
 
Just purchased a Drobo C (USB-C) for my work. Guess what came free in the box? One guess..... Yep, USB-C to USB-A adapter.

Not including at least a USB-C to Lightning adapter is just a slap in the face Apple.
 
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