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MH01

Suspended
Feb 11, 2008
12,107
9,297
Being a MacBook owner, already have to carry a few :(

The issue with these is the horrible experience of having to buy a USB-c to tb2 adapter....so an adapter for a dongle to a dongle....poor.
 
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tuzzanti

macrumors member
May 9, 2016
51
146
If your going to restrict people to YOUR hardware to run YOUR OS's then you need to nail every hardware release and Apple is FAILING at it NOW!

MacBook Pro can't use lighting headphones? Are you kidding?

MacBook Pro can't charge an iPhone without buying a cable?

No separate Touch Bar Keyboard? Do you think designers and developers use the MacBook Pro keyboard all day with multiple monitors?

MacBook Pro needs new cables or docking station for monitors. More money!

iPhone is an incremental release with a HUGE price. Removed headphone jack and then fail to release Apple Air-pods on time. Now it looks like Air-pods won't be out till 2017.

How do you release a Magic Mouse with a charging port at the bottom so you can't use it?

Apple copies every aspect of Google Photos but decides that you need to configure ALL PEOPLE people in your photo collection on every device you own. It doesn't sync anything! Are you calling WASTING TIME now innovative?

Hey, I jumped on the Apple bandwagon after decades of Microsoft but it seems that Microsoft is now innovating. Microsoft is thinking how you can have LESS devices and not FORCE YOU into more devices like Apple.

I read an article about how Johnny Ive and his team have been designing EVERY aspect of the new Campus down to custom tables and workstations. Well, now we know why were getting the products we are getting.

Apple has lost its way.

Tim
 

62tele

macrumors 6502a
Apr 11, 2010
739
674
Ugh... nickel & dimes, nickel & dimes.

Yes, more ways for Apple to squeeze every last drop of blood (money) from a stone (it's customers).
I realize that it's price of admission to own Apple products but, sheesh, aren't they making enough cash with these ridiculous new laptop prices?
For my applications I see little advantage to touch bar. I wish this would have been a simple update with just CPU improvements for a baseline MacBook Pro.
 

Garsun

macrumors regular
Oct 20, 2009
181
183
From all accounts I'm the only one who's ecstatic about USB-C with thunderbolt and the fact the apple is removing all other ports from their computers. Just think of the result if the entire industry switches.
When connecting a peripheral to my computer I currently have to weed through rat nests or usb cables to find the correct ends.
I currently have in use.

Type A to Type B.
Type A to micro B.
Type A to micro-B Superspeed.
Type A to Mini B.
And the Vive even has a Type-A to Type-A

Then there are the piles of DVI, HDMI, display port,and mini display port cables of different lengths.

Also the box of adapters, DVI to HDMI, display port to mini display port, HDMI to CAT5 extenders USB extension cords and let's not forget power bricks for each of the different types of USB.

It might take a couple years to age out all my peripherals, but after that happens I'll have a box of one type of cable that will do everything.
Not only will clean up the rats nest, it will also reduce my luggage when traveling by eliminating all the different cables I have to take.

Of course, Apple will have to get rid of lightning port for my dream to come true

The seemed a more appropriate thread then the last time I made this comment
 

VulchR

macrumors 68040
Jun 8, 2009
3,373
14,242
Scotland
You know, perhaps if the price had gone down because so many ports had been removed I might have considered purchasing the MacBook Pro. Now it just seems to me that Apple have rather lost the plot. Perhaps they're trying to move everything to wireless, but doing it in a ham-fisted way (too expensive and too inelegant)?
 
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baryon

macrumors 68040
Oct 3, 2009
3,877
2,924
I remember when I had my 2008 MacBook Pro, I waited 6 weeks to get an SD card reader for the ExpressCard slot from China. Though to use it, you'd have to take it out and put it back in each time, I was still really happy that I didn't have to use an external card reader to hog up my 2 USB ports anymore. Then the next release of the machine had the SD card reader built in, and I though to myself that Apple is really smart, doing exactly what I needed. I use the card slot every day.

For the 2008 machine I also had to get a VGA adapter, because the computer only had DisplayPort. I took it with me everywhere because I did lots of presentations. No projector had a DisplayPort. It was a hassle and people kept borrowing it and not giving it back. Anyway, the next machine had a built in HDMI port. Wow, again, Apple doing the right thing, it's so practical, I use it all the time!

What I find strange is that Apple often does something great, but it only lasts a few years. They then step back and remove the cool feature as if it was no longer a good idea after all. You'd think that once you've achieved something that proved useful and welcome in tech, it would remain that way.

Why exactly are thinner computer better? Oh, to be more convenient, more portable, lighter, easier to carry, right? Now the thing with adapters is that they're less convenient, they're not travel friendly because you forget them and lose them, they make taking your computer with you a hassle because you can't just take 1 device and be set. Making the computer slightly thinner doesn't make up for that.

Add to this that the computer is far more expensive than the previous one, and requires these ridiculously expensive adapters (and maybe not just one of them!).

Maybe in 3-4 years every cable will be a USB-C cable, and Apple is helping push this forward. But it sure isn't going to be fun until then.

The computer of the future is quite a pain in the ass if you're using it in the present.
 

strukt

macrumors regular
Aug 8, 2012
122
125
Norway
Yeah its dongle-hell now. But when the industry move over to USB-C a in a year or so the dongles arent needed anymore. Then you will be happy the Mac you bought have USB-C ports. Apple have already planned / they know this.
 

erinsarah

macrumors 6502
Mar 17, 2011
468
666
What I don't understand is why they didn't add a female lighting port so that iPhone 7/7+ users don't have to carry two sets of earphones.

I know right? That has blown my mind since the announcement. Granted they want you to invest in wireless headphones (in addition to all the dongles, oh and the headphones aren't out yet....) but not everyone will do that. So wireless aside, they've essentially released a new iPhone with a special connection and then, weeks later, a Macbook that doesn't support that connection. Idiots.
 

HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
Still laughs for days that you cant even connect their latest 1.999€ laptop to their latest 899€ phone without a dongle.

What r they thinking

ancillary (nickel & diming) profits. To make our shiny toys work together, we need to spend a little extra to be able to connect them. That little extra times millions of buyers adds up. See airlines adding luggage fees and similar. Tickets still sell. People still fly. Billions in extra dollars made because people just pay up. And many of us (relatively) hate airlines... but we love/worship/will-die-for Apple, so certainly they can get away with it... even have the usual players arguing for why this is a great thing for all of us.
 
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nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,051
7,306
Many folks are using the word "dongle" as if previous MacBook Pros were highly expandable.

I am looking at one right now and it has 8 total:
  • 1 MagSafe
  • 2 Thunderbolt 2
  • 2 USB-A 3.0
  • 1 HDMI
  • 1 SD card
  • 1 3.5mm headphones
OK, if you happen to be using most of these ports, more power to you.

But I frankly use mostly 2 USB-A ports and 3.5mm headphones jack. And I often wish I can plug in at least one more USB device.

So for my usage, all I have to get for new MacBook Pros are USB-A to USB-C cables.
 
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Keerock

macrumors regular
Feb 9, 2005
225
72
Nothing says "Pro" like showing up to a job with a handful of adapters and dongles.
I would agree except you mostly just "show up" with your laptop and maybe a USB-C to DVI adapter or HDMI adapter. These dongle rigs are for your home base and who the hell cares what you look like at "home".
 
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QCassidy352

macrumors G5
Mar 20, 2003
12,028
6,036
Bay Area
welcome to dongle land. Would it kill apple to make a smooth transition on anything they make. Im sure 99,9% of the people buying the Macbook pro would prefer two thunderbolt 3 and two USB 3 instead.
Yeah it's not at all clear why they couldn't have eased into this. It isn't like removing the optical drive, where it necessarily must happen in one shot. They could and should have introduced the new port without eliminating all legacy ports at once.
 

thedommer2000

macrumors member
Sep 11, 2016
81
50
Does no one use DVI? Both my dell monitors use that. I found a usb-c adaptor. I just found it weird that the apple store didn't even have one.
 
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kdawg

macrumors regular
Dec 14, 2004
166
17
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).

Congrats on living on the bleeding edge. I have legacy equipment that works just fine. I don't want to buy more for the sake of upgrading. I have customers who also have legacy stuff it's nice to be able to plug in power, a scanner and an external drive without needing any dongles. The fact that you can't even plug in power and a usb drive at the same time is issue enough that this was poorly thought out and not worth the price point. Hopefully lackluster sales will change apples mind.
 

HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
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.

I agree. I hope Apple gets rid of that heavy, thick battery, maybe screen & keyboard next. So guys like you- and me- can get a thinner & lighter MB than even these and be proud of it. Sure we might have to buy those things as accessories- like these dongles- so we have some kind of functional, useful laptop but that's OK- whatever Apple wants to sell... however they want to sell it... our wallets are wide open. ;)
 
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