Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Please, no more cables. What we really need is fast wireless connections, with power from witricity.
 
The macbook should have had two USB-c ports not one!

Yes. Nothing wrong with pushing new tech -- that's not what most people are angry about.

They're angry because you can't charge the computer and use the USB for other stuff (video/sound transfer, hard drive etc) at the same time, unless you buy a splitter.

How hard would it be to just have another USB-c port on the right side? I'm sure the minijack could be moved a few centimetres.
 
why didn't apple incluse a thunderbolt 3 port instead of that usb-c? usb 3.1 is way inferior than thunderbolt 3, thunderbolt 3 deliver data at 40 gigabits per second instead of 10 gigabits of 3.1 ( but apple usb 3.1 transfer data at only 5 gbps...)

and to all people that are saying that the future is cordless, well maybe but try to transfer 1 terabyte of data on a wireless network.. wireless is not stable is not fast, even 802.11ac is not fast enough.. try again when wireless networks will transfer data at 10 gigabits per second.

and to me apple was wrong when it removed floppy drive on their macs, i don't know in the usa, but here in italy people still used floppy discs in 2003
 
Yes. Nothing wrong with pushing new tech -- that's not what most people are angry about.

They're angry because you can't charge the computer and use the USB for other stuff (video/sound transfer, hard drive etc) at the same time, unless you buy a splitter.

How hard would it be to just have another USB-c port on the right side? I'm sure the minijack could be moved a few centimetres.


This is the future
Mac-Pro_2013_Mac-Pro_2013.jpg
 
Maybe this laptop was going to be Skylake with wireless charging. But they removed that due to the delay. Would have been quite a bit easier having it charge wirelessly leaving the port open for accessories.
 
Wth!

I was so excited to see the video and soon realized that excitement gone when I read the specs. I see by reading a majority of the posts I'm not alone. With only ONE port, Apple needs to provide a USB-C Adapter FREE w/ purchase. Yes there will be plenty of people who will buy these MacBooks but I will hold out until they tweak it to offer more flexibility and usability. You can get a MB Pro Retina for the same price and get 1 more hour of battery life. I suspect at the announcement in June that the whole tablet line will have have an improved facelift. Until then I wait :)
 
you would think Apple would have learned there lesson from when they made the same mistake with the first gen mba.

you need at least a couple of ports and a sd card slot. because even though were are moving to an all wireless world, the vast majority of computers are still using removable storage.
 
Last edited:
I thought USB-B was the square connector seen on so many USB printers?

"USB-A" refers to the rectangular port that has been the (up until now) standard "computer-side" port.

"USB-B" refers to the "device-side" port - and there are actually many of these. "Standard USB-B" is the squarish connector (and with USB 3, that connector with an extra square slapped on top.) Then there is "Mini USB-B" which was standard on 'small connector' devices like digital cameras and compact portable hard drives. "Micro USB-B" is the current 'small connector' device plug, on most mobile phones and portable hard drives - and it ALSO has an "extension" version for USB 3 that nearly doubles its width.

"USB-C" replaces *ALL* of those. USB-A and all the versions of USB-B. (Technically, there were also mini-A and mini-B, but those were EXTREMELY rarely used.)

Ah, here's a picture showing all the 'B' variants:
dsc3525.jpg

Type B, mini B, micro B, micro B-3.0, Type B-3.0
 
USB 3.0 or 3.1 ?

I thought I read that while the new Mac uses the USB Type-C connector for power, its still only using USB 3.0 for data (the reason being Intel has not incorporated 3.1 into their chipset yet).... This article seems to be in conflict. USB 3.1 is 2X faster than 3.0

The standard is very confusing due to all the options and various combinations available. e.g. 100W but only if you have a 20v implementation, if I'm not mistaken the 12v version is limit is ~60W.... enough to power most laptops
 
I get the concept of this computer, it's basically an iPad with built in keyboard that runs OSX. I see it as a replacement iPad for people that want great portability, but also the better productivity features that OSX brings.

For me this will replace my work iPad, which I use for emails, 4Projects and viewing PDFs, but will add the ability to use Excel, Word, PowerPoint etc. on the go.

When I need CAD, Photoshop, Lightroom etc. I will be using my rMBP or my windows desktop.

So the single USBc is not a problem....its genius.
 
I just cannot go without magsafe. It really is one of the main reasons why I buy Apple Laptops. i know it sonds stupid but to me it is the difference between being nervous when working on a plugged in notebook or be totally relaxed. Because even IF someone tripped over the cable nothing would happen.


I was hoping they would figure out a magsafe solution.

Here's the dilemma... you can't have more than one charging port on a computer without running into potential problems. If you keep Magsafe, you can't allow charging through the USB-C port which defeats half the purpose of having it in the first place. Same can be said for having multiple USB-C ports. This is not to say there aren't potential work-arounds or safeguards that could be built into the Macbook but clearly Apple hasn't reached that point.
 
re: standards-based approach?

Well, arguably, Apple never adopted the previous standards for connectors because they weren't suitable solutions for designing a device that's thinner/smaller than the competition, or used fewer cable connections to get things done.

If you go all the way back to the proprietary Apple ADP video connector, for example? It made sense from the standpoint of providing not only the video signal but also power for a display -- allowing a single cable hookup. Nobody in the rest of the PC world had such a thing.

Many of Apple's dongles serve the purpose of allowing cables to attach that have larger connectors than the entire thickness of the device (such as the ethernet dongle for the Macbook Air). Yes, other companies resolved this issue in other ways (including ethernet jacks where the bottom swings open, sticking out below the laptop frame, when a cable is inserted), but the dongles still provide a valid solution to the problem.

I completely agree though.... This new Macbook should have at least offered 2 of the USB-C ports. I'd gladly sacrifice a little slice of battery capacity/life for that second port on one. Either that or include a dongle that acts as a hub/splitter turning the one port into 2 or 3 of them.


Surprising that Apple has adopted a standard and used it as the only (real) port on its newest laptop.

I'm glad to see a standards-based approach.

It does need more than one port, though!
 
So, I was right in not buying an expensive Thunderbolt-only RAID enclosure.
....
Let's see what happens with the next rMBPs. Hopefully there will be a Thunderbolt dock firesale.

Huh? You mean the next, after this "next" rMBP. Apple refreshed both the rMBP 13 and MBAs along side this system with Type C connector. Thunderbolt 2 is still there in the refreshed rMBP 13" and MBA's were upgraded to TB v2. Apple backtracking from TB?? Not really in evidence.

Signs are that TB v3 will merge with the Type C connector as yet another alternate mode.

" Lower Z height , adapters for backwards compatibly , multiple modes for USB , DisplayPort , etc ... "
http://www.extremetech.com/computin...-and-100w-power-delivery-for-single-cable-pcs

Sounds alot like Type-C and with the associated necessary a-b-c switching necessary:

DPMux_575px.png

From DP alternate mode article.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8558/displayport-alternate-mode-for-usb-typec-announced

Merge the MUX Connector orientation switch into the Thunderbolt controller's implementation and have yet another alternate mode where just have to connect the variety of inputs to Intel's drop in solution. Thunderbolt would gain legacy direct connection compatibility modes of USB and DP with legacy cables and be able to mux DP and PCIe out to remote perhiperals in pure TB mode.

It is just too early for this specific Macbook. When the future Macbook version goes to next Core M iteration ( Skylake ) there is probably going to be an associated TB v3 chipset to go along with it. If the battery placement can be re-jiggled and add some space to the logic board and move the chipset close enough to the port .... the future Macbook could go back into the alignment with rest of Mac line up with Thunderbolt added to the pot of the single ports mix of modes.

There will be a new round of TB docking stations with a new connector, but I doubt the old versions are going to go into fire sale status immediately.
 
Will the technology support a USB-A to USB-C cable (as in a single cable, not an adaptor)?
 
Will the technology support a USB-A to USB-C cable (as in a single cable, not an adaptor)?

there's a $19 adapter, female usb to male usb-c, so seems reasonable to think there will be such cables.

that $19 adapter will allow us to plug in our iphones, etc. the world will NOT fall apart with apple's move to usb-c, and one port.
 
Nice. I really have zero understanding of how the USB-C tech interacts with USB-A but it'd be really cool to be able to carry around the macbook and a single, light USB cable - lots of places have USB charging stations now.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.