Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Other Why somehow more people starts to hate ports?

Shirasaki

Shirasaki

macrumors P6
Original poster
May 16, 2015
16,292
11,791
Recently reading through many tech news of Apple bringing back more ports or removing ports on various devices, and under the comment section there are always a legion of people valiantly take on the duty to defend Apple’s every single decision to remove ports, and demonstrates their ultimate hate on Apple bringing back more ports (in particular “legacy” ones: HDMI, SD Card slot).

This makes me wonder: what’s wrong with ports? Aside from being a clear “hole” for the water to sip in, what’s the downside? So the ports becomes so ubiquitous for 50 years somehow they must go? Does ports somehow become a hindrance to wireless charging? Or ports somehow create a weird OCD problem for some people? Why so much hate?

Maybe people on this forum might be able to shed a bit of light on why so many people starts to hate ports, and a bit of reason why.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ulenspiegel
HDMI and USB-C/Thunderbolt, that's it. That's all ports there should be. I wouldn't want a clusterf*** of ports, just to make every single person on the planet happy. (besides, it wouldn't even be possible)
 
  • Like
Reactions: DeepIn2U
Shirasaki said:
This makes me wonder: what’s wrong with ports? Aside from being a clear “hole” for the water to sip in, what’s the downside? So the ports becomes so ubiquitous for 50 years somehow they must go?
Click to expand...
I'm not going to argue for or against the rate at which ports are coming and going, but there's a time for everything. I wouldn't want RJ11, parallel, VGA and PS/2 ports on my computers these days. What would I use them for?

Simplifying the port mix simplifies the engineering of an already complex product.

 
The main downside I see is it give manufacturers less incentive to standardize their usage of newer superior ports. USB C selection for flash drives and monitors is still crap. If all new laptops were USB C/Thunderbolt only. All peripheral device manufacturers would be forced to support the standard.

VGA took so long to die because computer manufacturers didn't simply dump the port. If they all got on board. People would simply of bought a new monitor when they replaced their computer. Rather than keep using the same old one. Some more enterprising people would have realized they could buy an adapter.

That's what most people do. Get a new computer without understanding what to look for. Find out their old stuff isn't compatible. Gripe and grumble about having to buy more sh- uhm stuff. Then get it over with.

For most people it's a non issue anyways. They don't plug their laptop into anything. They have no external monitor, hard drive, &c. They connect to WiFi and their wireless printer. That's it. They also aren't backing up. The closest they have is storing some files in Google Drive, Onedrive or iCloud.
 
I hate having too many ports. For me the only ports a computer should bring are an external display (HDMI or Display) port and USB-C ports.

The whole point of USB was to do away with single device ports and that happened in a sense with USB 2.0, but with USB 3+ it's become a hassle trying to figure out what's what.

Apple has done well in limiting to either Thunderbolt, USB-C and a HDMI. Yes, it's a hassle to carry a dongle sometimes, but it wouldn't be a hassle if vendors stuck to a standard and forced peripherals to make it work.

Side note: Ethernet is something of a mixed bag. There are equal pros/cons for it and you can't really replace it in an enterprise environment.
 
jav6454 said:
I hate having too many ports. For me the only ports a computer should bring are an external display (HDMI or Display) port and USB-C ports.

The whole point of USB was to do away with single device ports and that happened in a sense with USB 2.0, but with USB 3+ it's become a hassle trying to figure out what's what.

Apple has done well in limiting to either Thunderbolt, USB-C and a HDMI. Yes, it's a hassle to carry a dongle sometimes, but it wouldn't be a hassle if vendors stuck to a standard and forced peripherals to make it work.

Side note: Ethernet is something of a mixed bag. There are equal pros/cons for it and you can't really replace it in an enterprise environment.
Click to expand...

I disagree.

USB-A port is very much necessary right now. I would say huge percentage of devices are still utilizing USB-A interface.

I hate my USB-C hub, it is like a cancer tumor stuck with my MacBook Air. I need this because I have tons of devices using USB-A and I am not willing to replace all of them with USB-C version (and of course if I can find them).

I also like Micro-SD card slot. I have 512GB microSD card connected to my MacBook Air via USB-C hub. I store all kinds of files, videos, pictures. And no, I don’t want upload all of them to cloud and I am not willing to get Macs with higher capacity.

I am still very upset with removal of 3.5mm jack. I still don’t get it and no matter how much Bluetooth headphone evolved, I still like connect my phone with my wired headphone.
 
Aoligei said:
I disagree.

USB-A port is very much necessary right now. I would say huge percentage of devices are still utilizing USB-A interface.

I hate my USB-C hub, it is like a cancer tumor stuck with my MacBook Air. I need this because I have tons of devices using USB-A and I am not willing to replace all of them with USB-C version (and of course if I can find them).

I also like Micro-SD card slot. I have 512GB microSD card connected to my MacBook Air via USB-C hub. I store all kinds of files, videos, pictures. And no, I don’t want upload all of them to cloud and I am not willing to get Macs with higher capacity.

I am still very upset with removal of 3.5mm jack. I still don’t get it and no matter how much Bluetooth headphone evolved, I still like connect my phone with my wired headphone.
Click to expand...

Yes USB-A is mainstream right now, because there isn't a unified front to force the switch. Which is why we get PCs with USB-A and USB-C and other ports. This in turn creates the need for dongles everywhere.

As per SD cards, they are their own world on a highly specific user base (photography); not the general population that uses USB-sticks.

The 3.5mm jack had to go the way of the dinosaurs. Keeping old tech just for keeping it sakes doesn't allow progress. Old stuff tech that has viable and reasonably economical replacements needs to be to taken out.

Otherwise, put in the DVD or 3.5" Floppy drives. Heck, add a LPT1 or Serial bus while at it.
 
jav6454 said:
Yes USB-A is mainstream right now, because there isn't a unified front to force the switch. Which is why we get PCs with USB-A and USB-C and other ports. This in turn creates the need for dongles everywhere.

As per SD cards, they are their own world on a highly specific user base (photography); not the general population that uses USB-sticks.

The 3.5mm jack had to go the way of the dinosaurs. Keeping old tech just for keeping it sakes doesn't allow progress. Old stuff tech that has viable and reasonably economical replacements needs to be to taken out.

Otherwise, put in the DVD or 3.5" Floppy drives. Heck, add a LPT1 or Serial bus while at it.
Click to expand...


I still disagree.

It takes years for floppy disk to phase out. I still remember floppy disk drive was being integrated into PCs around 2009 and it was finally phased out then.

There are still desktop PCs includes DVD drive until this day.

But 3.5mm is still used by many devices and widely used. Comparing with 3.5 mm with long dead technology is not really fair.

Until 3.5mm phase out, it does not make sense to remove it.
 
Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. Standardising ports is one thing, its the obsession of removing ports that irks me more. I have tons of USB-A devices (and I even bought a USB-A to USB-C cable to support iPad Pro 2018 which obviously only has USB-C port), so moving to all USB-C would take a while. But removing ports? This means all devices I have are essentially useless, yet I still see many people hating ports.

I am all for standardising ports, but removing ports isn’t really the solution for everything here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sewerx, Mousse and Saladin12
I want some sort of hard connection whether lightning or usb-c on my iPhone and would have to consider my options if or when Apple decides to go completely portless. On my computer, I will look for a device that suits my needs but I prefer having many ports I won't use vs. needing ports and them not being offered..
 
  • Love
  • Like
Reactions: compwiz1202 and Devyn89
jav6454 said:
…but it wouldn't be a hassle if vendors stuck to a standard and forced peripherals to make it work.
Click to expand...
I think we should include Apple in that.

Apple chose ADC when VGA was the 'standard' Where is ADC?

Apple chose Firewire…but where was/is the use of Firewire on PCs? It's there, true, but it's hardly used as a standard in the PC community.

Same with Lightning. And we could argue the same with the old 30-pin connectors. Only Apple uses these ports so there's no 'standard' amongst manufacturers.

If USB hadn't become as popular as it did, maybe Apple would have been using a different port. Old, classic iPods are FW for example. Apple couldn't stop USB, but it seems to like dragging it's heels on USB-C.

What about Thunderbolt? Do PC manufacturers use that? How do you have 'standards' if only one part of the industry uses those ports?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Barbareren and mainelyme
jav6454 said:
Yes USB-A is mainstream right now, because there isn't a unified front to force the switch. Which is why we get PCs with USB-A and USB-C and other ports. This in turn creates the need for dongles everywhere.

As per SD cards, they are their own world on a highly specific user base (photography); not the general population that uses USB-sticks.

The 3.5mm jack had to go the way of the dinosaurs. Keeping old tech just for keeping it sakes doesn't allow progress. Old stuff tech that has viable and reasonably economical replacements needs to be to taken out.

Otherwise, put in the DVD or 3.5" Floppy drives. Heck, add a LPT1 or Serial bus while at it.
Click to expand...
Sorry, on what planet has the 3.5mm jack gone the way of the dinosaurs? 99% of plugged in headphones still use it, usb-c headphones are still niche. Sure there's bluetooth, but that has a MAJOR disadvantage - they need a charge (plus there are connection issues that you just don't have plugging a 3.5 jack in. The sentiment that all tech needs to be periodically upgraded is fallacious - the old adage "if it aint broke, don't fix it" applies here. "New" doesn't mean "better". usb-c ports don't give you any better audio fidelity than the 3.5 jack. The jack is also sturdier, cheaper to make, and stays in the hole more securely. Also, it was nice when you could listen to music and charge on the phones at the same time!

And while some people may not have much need for ports, I am constantly running out with all the external items I need to run - Multiple drives, monitor, ethernet, mouse, etc. I love ports and every time they take one away I get closer to abandoning the mac platform.
 
  • Like
Reactions: uller6, HobeSoundDarryl, Nermal and 1 other person
LeaveMeMyPorts said:
Sorry, on what planet has the 3.5mm jack gone the way of the dinosaurs? 99% of plugged in headphones still use it, usb-c headphones are still niche. Sure there's bluetooth, but that has a MAJOR disadvantage - they need a charge (plus there are connection issues that you just don't have plugging a 3.5 jack in. The sentiment that all tech needs to be periodically upgraded is fallacious - the old adage "if it aint broke, don't fix it" applies here. "New" doesn't mean "better". usb-c ports don't give you any better audio fidelity than the 3.5 jack. The jack is also sturdier, cheaper to make, and stays in the hole more securely. Also, it was nice when you could listen to music and charge on the phones at the same time!

And while some people may not have much need for ports, I am constantly running out with all the external items I need to run - Multiple drives, monitor, ethernet, mouse, etc. I love ports and every time they take one away I get closer to abandoning the mac platform.
Click to expand...
Are they gone from phones? Yes.
Are they gone on certain desktops? Yes.
Several portable speaker makers now rather you use BT or USB.

So yeah…
 
On a laptop, just give me USB-C and MagSafe 3. Dongles are so cheap these days, even one that has HDMI + USB-A.

I'm still confused on why we got "new" SDXC ports on the MacBook Pros last year. I don't think I've met an owner or potential buyer of a $2K+ laptop that actually uses SDXC on a regular basis.
 
andyw715 said:
I can count on one hand the number of times I've plugged something into the lightning port of my iPhone since wireless charging was introduced to iPhones.
Click to expand...
This. Which is why USB-C on iPhones ain't going to happen. Apple saw that train coming years ago, and MagSafe/Qi was the answer.
 
  • Angry
Reactions: Shirasaki
LeaveMeMyPorts said:
Sorry, on what planet has the 3.5mm jack gone the way of the dinosaurs? 99% of plugged in headphones still use it, usb-c ...
Click to expand...
That's your fallacy right there. Corded headphones are dead. Sure, audiophile headphones are still a thing. But if you're spending $200+ on corded headphones, you'll spend a bit more for a DAC and not trust Apple's high-impedance headphone jack for any kind of serious listening.
 
  • Angry
  • Like
Reactions: Zorori and Shirasaki
jav6454 said:
Are they gone from phones? Yes.
Are they gone on certain desktops? Yes.
Several portable speaker makers now rather you use BT or USB.

So yeah…
Click to expand...

Are they gone from phones? Yes, on iPhone and select few high end phones. No, on mid-range phone.

Are they gone from desktop? No, even Apple still put 3.5 headphone jack to their computers.

Most portable speakers still include headphone jack.

And Apple is still selling headphone jack adaptor.
 
BeatCrazy said:
That's your fallacy right there. Corded headphones are dead. Sure, audiophile headphones are still a thing. But if you're spending $200+ on corded headphones, you'll spend a bit more for a DAC and not trust Apple's high-impedance headphone jack for any kind of serious listening.
Click to expand...

Corded headphone are far from dead.
 
  • Like
Reactions: compwiz1202 and Nermal
For me personally I wish we'd stick with all USB-C. It's infinitely more flexibility even though it means some people may need a dongle for their workflows.

I have zero use for an SD card reader as well as an HDMI port. It would be nice to have the flexibility back of the USB-C ports which I do use and would like more of.
 
Aoligei said:
Are they gone from phones? Yes, on iPhone and select few high end phones. No, on mid-range phone.

Are they gone from desktop? No, even Apple still put 3.5 headphone jack to their computers.

Most portable speakers still include headphone jack.

And Apple is still selling headphone jack adaptor.
Click to expand...
On several newer TVs it’s gone. Now you use HDMI’s ARC feature.
 
jav6454 said:
I hate having too many ports
Click to expand...

Can't get enough of them. On my Mac Studio 5 of the 6 thunderbolt ports are in use. Both of the USB ports are used, connected to 2 USB hubs. With the card reader slot I no longer have to pull out a USB accessory to read my SanDisk cards. Much better to connect directly than try to hassle with problematic hubs.

Edited later: Also use the heaphone port
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: millerj123, addamas, Nermal and 1 other person
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back