Thunderbolt is not Apple's, but Intel's tech. Apple helped develop it. The Lightning connector is Apple's.
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USB-C in 12-Inch MacBook Adds Limitations but Opens Up Possibilities
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Thunderbolt is not Apple's, but Intel's tech. Apple helped develop it. The Lightning connector is Apple's.
The price is a bit high for a 12" laptop but the biggest issue I have is the lack of upgrade options, they are basically sealed so not meant to be opened. They are basically an iPad with a keyboard in the way they are built.
Personally I prefer the MBP, which for many is a much better deal. You can swap out the HDD, upgrade the RAM and replace parts in the older ones. Not sure about the current MBP 15".
rMBPs may get classic MBA shape in due course!
I loved, loved, LOVED my 11" MBA for its portability, yet expandability (at home I would hook it to an HDMI display, do video and photo-editing and even the cheeky Minecraft session here and there).
The New Macbook could never replace this machine for me (also what on Earth is up with this gaudy gold colour recently?) - but I don't think it has to. It is a completely different machine, not meant for me and my usage. Instead, I think that the rMBP-line will take over the aspects of the MBA line, which I grew to love so much, and combine this with the rMBP's processing power.
The rMBPs will get thinner and thinner and perhaps the same wedge shape as the MBA. They will keep a substantial amount of ports (perhaps drop the Thunderbolt if Apple really doesn't see a future for this technology). With the rMBPs undoubtedly getting thinner and more battery-efficient, Apple had to come up with something initially extreme looking for the ultra-portable line, otherwise the classic MBAs would have soon been indistinguishable from the ever-thinning rMBP line and Apple would have cannibalized sales left and right.
So, that's - in my opinion - the strategy behind this weird new Macbook. It's not meant to replace the MBA line, because in very due course the rMBPs will merge with the classic MBA line combining the MBA's thinness with the rMBP's productivity. So if anything, the future rMBPs will "replace" the classic MBAs plus adding power.
If anything is being dropped, it is the notion that laptops for productivity must automatically be in a heavier, fatter category. The future rMBPs will be thin like classic MBAs and the ultraportable line is hence becoming thinner and thinner (some users may argue unnecessarily so) to retain a distinction between the two product lines.
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PS: Speaking of "dropping". I could imagine a large reason for the lack of the MagSafe is that the new Macbook is too light for it to work. I knocked my 11" MBA a couple times off the table when I fell over the cable, because it was so light, the MagSafe wouldn't go off in most cases. With the new Macbook being even lighter, I can see the MagSafe becoming even trickier to engineer...
I loved, loved, LOVED my 11" MBA for its portability, yet expandability (at home I would hook it to an HDMI display, do video and photo-editing and even the cheeky Minecraft session here and there).
The New Macbook could never replace this machine for me (also what on Earth is up with this gaudy gold colour recently?) - but I don't think it has to. It is a completely different machine, not meant for me and my usage. Instead, I think that the rMBP-line will take over the aspects of the MBA line, which I grew to love so much, and combine this with the rMBP's processing power.
The rMBPs will get thinner and thinner and perhaps the same wedge shape as the MBA. They will keep a substantial amount of ports (perhaps drop the Thunderbolt if Apple really doesn't see a future for this technology). With the rMBPs undoubtedly getting thinner and more battery-efficient, Apple had to come up with something initially extreme looking for the ultra-portable line, otherwise the classic MBAs would have soon been indistinguishable from the ever-thinning rMBP line and Apple would have cannibalized sales left and right.
So, that's - in my opinion - the strategy behind this weird new Macbook. It's not meant to replace the MBA line, because in very due course the rMBPs will merge with the classic MBA line combining the MBA's thinness with the rMBP's productivity. So if anything, the future rMBPs will "replace" the classic MBAs plus adding power.
If anything is being dropped, it is the notion that laptops for productivity must automatically be in a heavier, fatter category. The future rMBPs will be thin like classic MBAs and the ultraportable line is hence becoming thinner and thinner (some users may argue unnecessarily so) to retain a distinction between the two product lines.
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PS: Speaking of "dropping". I could imagine a large reason for the lack of the MagSafe is that the new Macbook is too light for it to work. I knocked my 11" MBA a couple times off the table when I fell over the cable, because it was so light, the MagSafe wouldn't go off in most cases. With the new Macbook being even lighter, I can see the MagSafe becoming even trickier to engineer...
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Only one port?! -Beyond stupid.
No Thunderbolt?! -Stupid
No standard USB port?! -Stupid
No MagSafe power connector?! -Stupid
Display Port (high data rate port) one way only?! -Stupid
Yet another new connector standard? -Seriously annoying
Shaving a fraction of an ounce and a fraction of a millimeter at the cost of buying and toting a bag full of port adapters & expansion hubs?! -So far beyond stupid that it seems like nobody is driving the train.
Go fix it Apple; wake us up when you get it right.
No Thunderbolt?! -Stupid
No standard USB port?! -Stupid
No MagSafe power connector?! -Stupid
Display Port (high data rate port) one way only?! -Stupid
Yet another new connector standard? -Seriously annoying
Shaving a fraction of an ounce and a fraction of a millimeter at the cost of buying and toting a bag full of port adapters & expansion hubs?! -So far beyond stupid that it seems like nobody is driving the train.
Go fix it Apple; wake us up when you get it right.
So your argument is that because Steve Ballmer made a terrible and biased prediction regarding iPhone 8 years ago, that no one else on earth can express their views about Apple technology with any credibility?
Really?
No I'm simply saying this will be like the 12th and 13th (being the watch) thing Apple has done that sends people into absolute hysterics that looking back now seems totally the right thing to do. At least have some faith. Have they not earned even a modicum of your trust at this point?
Geez. What have you done for me lately Apple!?!?!?!?!?
No need to because nobody ever needs to say plug in a flash drive while using an external display and needing more run time than the battery can supply?
Or no need to because the port arrangement on this computer is so stupid that nobody should ever buy one until Apple fixes it, so it doesn't matter?
The result was a similar headache of consumers not being able to use their already purchased peripherals and other accessories until they bought adapters, or in some cases replacing the device outright for one with a different connectivity method. It wasn't an improvement then, either.
And the number of ports was increased in later editions of the iMac for that exact reason.
Also, while the iMac was a big departure for connectivity methods compared to the desktop Macs of before, it's worth noting that the power cable was still a separate cable, you got a plain industry-standard Ethernet port, and you got more than one USB port even in the original system.
You're right about the target , but I think that it's a larger audience than you suggest. I see many people at work who carry around an iPad and keyboard all day, going from meeting to meeting. Better than an iPad alone, but less versatile than a laptop for replying to email, writing documents, or creating presentations. The new MacBook will be perfect for them at only a few ounces more weight. It's not aimed at users who need a MacBook Pro or even a MacBook Air, though the line between the MBA and MacBook will blur over time. Just ask Robin Thickehe'll tell you what the verdict is.
For right now, I see USB-C as mostly a consumer all in one solution. While it can provide many ports like thunderbolt can, unless manufactures of such professional hardware also get on the boat with USB-C as well it won't take off in the pro world. If they still consider it more for the average consumer. Thunderbolt is currently still faster, probably with faster speeds planned in the future.
Wow, talk about rewriting history.
Check out the third answer down for an accurate description of the part Apple played in the adoption of USB (hint: not much).
http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/2785/did-apple-jumpstart-the-usb-market
The problem for me is not the port, it is the number of them.
If it had two I would have purchased it as I love the size and form factor. However with just the one I'll pass at this time as how I would use it now the trade off of having to use dongle(s) just isn't worth it.
If it had two I would have purchased it as I love the size and form factor. However with just the one I'll pass at this time as how I would use it now the trade off of having to use dongle(s) just isn't worth it.
Just like everyone doesn't need more than one Thunderbolt port because it can be daisy chained?
Yet iMac has 2 of those, and the latest MacPro has 6, yes SIX of those ports.
Same case with USB C, there will be tons of it on a Mac if the situation allows it, i.e on a desktop Mac where weight and size is not constraint.
Given I agree with you, what does Apple have in mind we will adopt later against our will.
There aren't any Macs yet that can drive a 5K external display, so why would they offer one?
It's unlikely that any vendor will make a drive that only provides a USB-C cable-- they will all support USB 3 as well. And the Apple adapter will support charging and USB 3 drives simultaneously, which will be fine for almost any use to which you want to put this laptop. If you want to do an ultra-fast data transfer, you can unplug power for that brief time. But for most uses, such as Time Machine, USB 3 will be fine.
Actually over the last 3 years, i've been losing faith in them. This constant trend towards turning their computers into sealed, tamperproof, un-upgradeable "gadgets" is a massive issue for me.
Next they will bring this philosophy over to software and lock down the OS, this I am certain of. I don't want to buy a Mac in 5 years time and have to jailbreak it but that is where we are headed.
And I bought the first and second version. And I bet I'll do the same again. This new MacBook is too impressive to pass up now, waiting for the improved version.
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I don't think it will. This is Apple converting over to usb3 over Thunderbolt. I May be a sign of the future.
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But that's the thing. It won't be 90% of the time. I'd say with such a long battery life, the only time it will be plugged in is at night (like my iPhone).
Oh, so forcing everyone on to USB was a terrible terrible reprehensible UNFORGIVABLE thing. That helped no one at all. It wasn't "a Good Thing for us" -- I mean, just imagine we could still be using parallel ports, serial mice, and PS/2 keyboards still. USB could be this goofy extra port along side the RS-232, DB25, and others.
Man, I really pine for those days where everything had its own port or expansion card. Before everything was consolidated to USB and we had to use floppy disks instead of USB Thumbdrives. Oh, right, Apple axed the floppy disk drive in that model, too. Whatever were users going to do! And we barely had internet access with which to whinge about such things!
My thoughts
In the article about the Lacie Hard drive it says:
This should mean you could use the apple adapter, plug your power into the USB-C port and plug your drive in using USB 3.1 (which is backward compatlble with USB 3.0). In this configuration of this specific hardware, having to back it down to USB3.0 speeds seems like a blow - but this isn't an SSD, we're talking about a 2.5" mechanical hard drive. It's speed is bottle-necked before it hits the speed difference of USB3.0 & USB-C anyway. Hypothetically, a device with the same connection options that did have an SSD would take a speed hit - but still 5Gbps is nothing to sneeze at, particularly for an external peripheral.
All of that said, the need to use multiple peripherals simultaniusly suggests a desktop setting for which I expect hardware manufacturers to create docking solutions in the near future.
I do wonder, as others have, what Apple's plans for the Thunderbolt Display are. It is starting to have a lot of charging options it needs to support (it has MagSafe wired and includes the MagSafe-MagSafe2 adapter). The current display seems nearly completely incompatible with the new MacBook. I think it would give you grief if you tried to the Apple plug USB-C Adapter into an HDMI-male to mini-DP-female so that the thunderbolt port on the display could plug into that. I'm pretty sure that's too many connections for the HDCP-compliance to pass through. Thinking it over I'm almost sure it wouldn't work. So then why no new display?
In the article about the Lacie Hard drive it says:
This should mean you could use the apple adapter, plug your power into the USB-C port and plug your drive in using USB 3.1 (which is backward compatlble with USB 3.0). In this configuration of this specific hardware, having to back it down to USB3.0 speeds seems like a blow - but this isn't an SSD, we're talking about a 2.5" mechanical hard drive. It's speed is bottle-necked before it hits the speed difference of USB3.0 & USB-C anyway. Hypothetically, a device with the same connection options that did have an SSD would take a speed hit - but still 5Gbps is nothing to sneeze at, particularly for an external peripheral.
All of that said, the need to use multiple peripherals simultaniusly suggests a desktop setting for which I expect hardware manufacturers to create docking solutions in the near future.
I do wonder, as others have, what Apple's plans for the Thunderbolt Display are. It is starting to have a lot of charging options it needs to support (it has MagSafe wired and includes the MagSafe-MagSafe2 adapter). The current display seems nearly completely incompatible with the new MacBook. I think it would give you grief if you tried to the Apple plug USB-C Adapter into an HDMI-male to mini-DP-female so that the thunderbolt port on the display could plug into that. I'm pretty sure that's too many connections for the HDCP-compliance to pass through. Thinking it over I'm almost sure it wouldn't work. So then why no new display?
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"This adapter allows you to mirror your MacBook display to your HDMI-enabled TV or display in up to 1080p HD."
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter?fnode=bf9a3277890eba1f855928139842f8e6babf55fef88e53540c2fa7cafc62a4702d8be1c3d4b1547a8f14c15dbf497a96afa608f6a130c354719ba9b0df4fc11483e78750eae3d99dee2bd57b8fce24fcc0b0516ee729140eface49a2e8e7aa1492de2fb9a718d8855e42ebf75735c0be&fs=f%3D12inchmacbook%26fh%3D40b0%252B44c7
Printing?
I know printing seems to be antiquated these days, there a lot of non-Airprint printers compared to those that are. I just purchased a Brother which has AirPrint capability. Just wondering how much this model will force users to purchase an AirPrint capable printer?
I know printing seems to be antiquated these days, there a lot of non-Airprint printers compared to those that are. I just purchased a Brother which has AirPrint capability. Just wondering how much this model will force users to purchase an AirPrint capable printer?