Why Apple couldn't (shouldn't) include USB-A

[kre62]

While i agree that there is history in Apple being influential in these sorts of things, this one feels like a huge whiff that will not resonate with customers. The thing is, what consumers use now is just fine. Floppys were limited but the usb a connector is juuuust fine.

Apple is making all the wrong calls lately. And they are obviously wrong calls. No one cares about thinness if it means compromise. The new macbook pros are nothing but compromise. Terrible keyboards, no usable ports, ram limitations, the list goes on. And schiller and cook dont have the coolness/star power to convince people to buy it anyway. I think apple needs to pivot off their entire current product line or its Scully 2.0.

 

[jjlannoo]

While i agree that there is history in Apple being influential in these sorts of things, this one feels like a huge whiff that will not resonate with customers. The thing is, what consumers use now is just fine. Floppys were limited but the usb a connector is juuuust fine.

Apple is making all the wrong calls lately. And they are obviously wrong calls. No one cares about thinness if it means compromise. The new macbook pros are nothing but compromise. Terrible keyboards, no usable ports, ram limitations, the list goes on. And schiller and cook dont have the coolness/star power to convince people to buy it anyway. I think apple needs to pivot off their entire current product line or its Scully 2.0.

When will people understand the ram limitations are intels fault and probably won't change till 2018. Its like we are talking to a brick wall. No usable ports? huh?

 

[tubeexperience]

at the same time, people forget all the changes apple made that didn't work during the steve jobs era. i think the biggest difference is steve was better at selling things to us than tim cook or phil. both are horrendous at communication.

That's just it:

Under Steve Jobs, Apple was willing to try new things, even if it falls flat on his face.

Under Tim Cook, Apple has becomes risk averse and focuses entirely on profit.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

That's just it:

Under Steve Jobs, Apple was willing to try new things, even if it falls flat on his face.

Under Tim Cook, Apple has becomes risk averse and focuses entirely on profit.

under tim cook, we got the trash can mac pro. never forget.

 

[AdonisSMU]

While i agree that there is history in Apple being influential in these sorts of things, this one feels like a huge whiff that will not resonate with customers. The thing is, what consumers use now is just fine. Floppys were limited but the usb a connector is juuuust fine.

Apple is making all the wrong calls lately. And they are obviously wrong calls. No one cares about thinness if it means compromise. The new macbook pros are nothing but compromise. Terrible keyboards, no usable ports, ram limitations, the list goes on. And schiller and cook dont have the coolness/star power to convince people to buy it anyway. I think apple needs to pivot off their entire current product line or its Scully 2.0.

I disagree on this. USBA isn't just fine. It's slow as all heck and Chrome Book Pixel comes packed with USBC ports. Even the phones are using the USBC ports. It's not a bad bet by Apple at all. I actually think the USBC is a really safe bet tbqh. The two biggest tech companies in the world fully embracing USBC....

I think you are just wrong. Apple can shed a few dinosaurs so they can stay ahead of the game. If they listened to their customers they never would've made an iPod or an iPhone or done many of the things that lead them to becoming one of the most successful comeback stories in history.

 

[WolfSnap]

Jobs wasn't the first one to think this...

Even Henry Ford thought customers didn't have a clue:

 

[cmaier]

If Apple had included a USB-A port, people would have simply complained that there aren't enough USB-A ports.

Just put on your big-boy/-girl pants and replace your cables where it makes sense, and buy a couple USB-A -> -C adapters. It'll be fine.

 

[tubeexperience]

under tim cook, we got the trash can mac pro. never forget.

Power Mac G4 Cube redux

 

[kre62]

I disagree on this. USBA isn't just fine. It's slow as all heck and Chrome Book Pixel comes packed with USBC ports. Even the phones are using the USBC ports. It's not a bad bet by Apple at all. I actually think the USBC is a really safe bet tbqh. The two biggest tech companies in the world fully embracing USBC....

I think you are just wrong. Apple can shed a few dinosaurs so they can stay ahead of the game. If they listened to their customers they never would've made an iPod or an iPhone or done many of the things that lead them to becoming one of the most successful comeback stories in history.

Mark my words the new macbook pro will see declining sales and will prompt people to go windows.
[doublepost=1478410514][/doublepost]

Jobs wasn't the first one to think this...

View attachment 670559

Even Henry Ford thought customers didn't have a clue:

View attachment 670560

Yes but jobs and ford were visionaries who actually could envision the future. Schiller and cook are winging it and are making things thinner cause steve liked thinner and steve eliminated formats so lets eliminate ports and formats - they are in way over their heads.

 

[WolfSnap]

Mark my words the new macbook pro will see declining sales and will prompt people to go windows.
[doublepost=1478410514][/doublepost]

Yes but jobs and ford were visionaries who actually could envision the future. Schiller and cook are winging it and are making things thinner cause steve liked thinner and steve eliminated formats so lets eliminate ports and formats - they are in way over their heads.

You do know that Schiller and Cook are not making decisions in a vacuum. Other than Jobs, everyone else who made the Mac, et al, great, are STILL alive and at Apple.

If Jobs were still alive, I'm convinced that nothing would be different with their product line -- except for one thing..

Steve Jobs would tell people who were pining for a USB-A port that they're being stupid, and to stop wishing for faster horses.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

You do know that Schiller and Cook are not making decisions in a vacuum. Other than Jobs, everyone else who made the Mac, et al, great, are STILL alive and at Apple.

If Jobs were still alive, I'm convinced that nothing would be different with their product line -- except for one thing..

Steve Jobs would tell people who were pining for a USB-A port that they're being stupid, and to stop wishing for faster horses.

at the same time jobs famously would nix ideas and is said to balance out jony ives within apple. my view is that apple made a lot of mistakes under jobs but nobody really remembers them because jobs was such a good communicator. while i don' tknow if apple would be in a better place today with jobs still alive, i don't think it'd be the same place becuase jobs would never allow a camera hump (as an example)

 

[WolfSnap]

at the same time jobs famously would nix ideas and is said to balance out jony ives within apple. my view is that apple made a lot of mistakes under jobs but nobody really remembers them because jobs was such a good communicator. while i don' tknow if apple would be in a better place today with jobs still alive, i don't think it'd be the same place becuase jobs would never allow a camera hump (as an example)

Jobs was NOT always right -- The Cube comes to mind.. Also, the large screen on the iPhone 6+/6s+/7+ has been the reason Apple now earns 104% of the profit from Mobile Devices.

The new MacBook Pro is magnificent. Jobs would have loved it.

If Apple put one USB-A port, everyone would have screamed about how they needed two of them. Include a dongle, and everyone would STILL be annoyed with only one port.

The only thing silly they did was not include the USB-C Lighting cable in the iPhone box, OR, in the MacBook Pro box. Or, a free cable sent to you if you own both (based on iCloud account/serial numbers/whatever). Apple did the same thing for the iPhone 4 with the free case offer... They had you download an app on your iPhone, and it then placed an order for a free iPhone 4 case. Why can't they do the same thing today? Get a free Lightning USB-C cable if you own a new MacBook Pro and an iPhone 5/5s/6/6+/6s/6s+/7/7+..

Otherwise, this new MBP is very much Jobs approved -- unfortunately, he's not here to ask, but, having been around the block a time-or-two myself, I'd put pretty good money that if we COULD ask Jobs, he'd be supporting Cook/Schiller, while simultaneously insulting every one of the nay-sayers.

 

[ThE.MeSsEnGeR]

at the same time jobs famously would nix ideas and is said to balance out jony ives within apple. my view is that apple made a lot of mistakes under jobs but nobody really remembers them because jobs was such a good communicator. while i don' tknow if apple would be in a better place today with jobs still alive, i don't think it'd be the same place becuase jobs would never allow a camera hump (as an example)

Okay, this. Did he personally tell you this? People are going all over the place repeating "Jobs would never do this or that". You do not and never will know what Jobs would have really wanted in future Apple products. He's gone, get over it already.

 

[jjlannoo]

Power Mac G4 Cube redux

I loved my Cube, awesome computer.

 

[maratus]

I have nothing against Phil Schiller, but when a marketing person talks instead of an engineer, you know the company isn't doing it right.

Where is Bob Mansfield? What the hell is going on with the iPadisation of rMBP?

 

[tubeexperience]

When will people understand the ram limitations are intels fault and probably won't change till 2018.

Dell don't seem to be running into these same limitations despite using Intel processors.
[doublepost=1478417469][/doublepost]

I disagree on this. USBA isn't just fine. It's slow as all heck and Chrome Book Pixel comes packed with USBC ports. Even the phones are using the USBC ports. It's not a bad bet by Apple at all. I actually think the USBC is a really safe bet tbqh. The two biggest tech companies in the world fully embracing USBC....

1. If USB-A is slow, why would you consider USB-C acceptable since both have the the same transfer speed?

2. How many people even bought the ChromeBook Pixel (aka glorified web browser) ?

3. Phones are a different matter because I doubt that many people connect peripherals to their phones regardless.

 

[Queen6]

Simple answer from a business perspective, dongles & adaptors will now more than ever be an additional revenue stream for Apple, with the percentage of profit margin being vastly higher than on the devices themselves. Apple is now nickel & diming it`s customers in an attempt to exact as much profit as possible from a declining market.

Q-6

 

[Wildkraut]

Simple answer from a business perspective, dongles & adaptors will now more than ever be an additional revenue stream for Apple, with the percentage of profit margin being vastly higher than on the devices themselves. Apple is now nickel & diming it`s customers in an attempt to exact as much profit as possible from a declining market.

Q-6

Thats sounds like a conspiracy theory.
I say no, because people will simply buy third party adapters or docks "on demand" over Amazon.

 

[Queen6]

Thats sounds like a conspiracy theory.
I say no, because people will simply buy third party adapters or docks "on demand" over Amazon.

Well people may well find that all dongles & adaptors are not equal especially with USB C, as it`s vastly more complex than previous iterations. If not executed correctly USB speeds drop massively, even today there are very few power pass through (2015 rMB owner) to me it`s just adding another layer of complexity that much of the world has little or no interest to adopt right now. Apple would have served many of it`s customers better with a 2 x USB A & 2 x USB C/TB-3 solution, transiting to fully USB C in 2020.

Over a year with two USB C notebooks, across multiple facilities based in multiple countries I have yet to see "one" peripheral that I would be able to connect natively to USB C port. Nor is there any momentum to change outside of tech forums. As much as USB c is a significant advancement in connectivity, more so with TB-3, however USB A will remain relevant for a signifiant period of time for several reasons...

Sorry can't but help think that Apple has become overly focused at extracting every $$$$ at every possible opportunity from it`s customers; from services, hardware and now ancillaries, with some very deliberate decisions, which IMHO degrades the experience. That said it`s just my opinion, equally my $$$$

Q-6

 

[Abazigal]

under tim cook, we got the trash can mac pro. never forget.

Am I the only one who thinks it looks awesome?

Or am I just looking at things through rose-tinted lenses because I don't actually use one?

 

[username:]

Jobs wasn't the first one to think this...

View attachment 670559

Even Henry Ford thought customers didn't have a clue:

View attachment 670560

That is a massive misquote. If you go back and watch his keynotes, he CONSTANTLY refers to market research and says stuff like "we asked you guys what you wanted and..."

 

[aoaaron]

Yesterday I had to get an SD card from my 3DS and plug it into my laptop. I was short for time and not in my apartment. Got the SD card, smacked it into my MBP.

2 days ago I had a date and she was coming over. Had to put a few films for us to watch onto my external drive to watch. Was running around, found the external somewhere, smacked it in, got the film not here in a few minutes.

This morning I forgot to add some episodes of an anime I'm watching onto my phone. The cab was coming for me to hit the gym. Quickly smacked it in and boom files transferred in no time.



I associate dongles and all that unintuitive ******** with my windows gaming rig.



Stripping the floppy made sense. It was very underused. Stripping the CD drive made sense, it was becoming underused by a huge population of MBP users. I don't think USB-A or SD card slots will ever be underused. Not to mention SD cards were a very nice space saving solution to storage which is still extortionate.

 

[Goratrix]

There are billions of USB-A devices being used every day. People are not going to throw those away "in a year or two" just because a company with a pathetic 7% market share tells them to.

 

[mrex]

Apple is incredibly influential. By adding USB-C ports, Apple will have the industry supporting USB-C en masse. BUT, if Apple had included even a single USB-A port, the industry would have seen that USB-A was still an option -- and stuck with it.

usb-c is already here if you havent noticed, apple just jumped with it like others have done and will do. apples influence? masses dont use apple devices.. it is negligible.

but thank god apple is using standard usbc - like others do - and you have many options of devices which are able to work with your apple device.

 

[Meicyn]

I'm one of those filthy casuals that had a MacBook Air and am going Pro, so it's funny listening to all the screaming about dongles. I've already been doing that for awhile now since I don't have an HDMI, VGA, or Ethernet port for my Air and I've needed these dongles in various situations.

I do appreciate all the complaining though! Now I can buy one more dongle, a USB-A to USB-C dongle so I can connect those other dongles to that dongle in those rare moments that I need one of them for just $9.