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Why would Apple leave out USB 3 in the new MacBook Pro but include it in the new iMac Pro?
- Thread starter Hieveryone
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Isn't USB 3.0 considered "A" and USB 3.1 considered "C"?
OP, 2017 iMacs have more room and aren't worried about the thickness of the device. But iMacs come with both USB A and C.
OP, 2017 iMacs have more room and aren't worried about the thickness of the device. But iMacs come with both USB A and C.
Likely as the iMac Pro has far less space constraint, although I would like to think Apple has woke up to some extents. As decimating highly relevant ports and enforcing dongles & docks is just plain stupid in many professional environments.
No doubt Apple also wants to stem the loss of it's professional users as they bring the "Halo effect" and are/were some of Apple's staunchest evangelist's. A USB C only iMac would only serve to anger an already faltering group and likely incur yet more negative criticism across the tech press. USB C is undoubtedly the way ahead, equally USB A will remain relevant for a good number of years to come, whether Apple likes it or not...
FWIW I'm on my 4th notebook with USB C, however I wont purchase the 15" MBP as it's USB C only design only serves to introduce issues that previously never existed, and after all being "thinner & lighter" is more important than usability & reliability
Q-6
No doubt Apple also wants to stem the loss of it's professional users as they bring the "Halo effect" and are/were some of Apple's staunchest evangelist's. A USB C only iMac would only serve to anger an already faltering group and likely incur yet more negative criticism across the tech press. USB C is undoubtedly the way ahead, equally USB A will remain relevant for a good number of years to come, whether Apple likes it or not...
FWIW I'm on my 4th notebook with USB C, however I wont purchase the 15" MBP as it's USB C only design only serves to introduce issues that previously never existed, and after all being "thinner & lighter" is more important than usability & reliability
Q-6
USB-A and USB-C are the connector types. USB 3.1 speeds/efficiency can be achieved within a Type A connector but then that would kill the possibility of people moving over to it’s smaller new standard.
Thought you probably meant type A... well, it only just fits on the sides of the 2015 models, but there would be room to further slim down the battery ‘pouch’ on the bottom and the lid assembly, so it would fall between the 2012 and 2016 designs in terms of thickness. I believe the sides of the 2016 models are too thin to accommodate type A ports.
To answer your original question, as others have said it’s all about interior space - same reason they got rid of the headphone jack on the iPhone but kept it on the iPad and Mac.
It’s not about thinnes only, it’s about space. The internal design only leaves space for as many external ports, and usb-c ultimately offers more utility than usb-a. Simply because usb-a is data only while usb-c is whatever you need.
Likely nothing significant, however Apple's obsession with thinner is now at a point of diminishing returns, sacrificing usability & reliability over the aesthetic. Sadly the Mac is ever moving to be just another lifestyle product, with 80% being good enough seems to be the direction these days.
Port situation is far from ideal enforcing dongle's and or 3rd party docks, in conjunction with a keyboard again primarily designed to allow a thinner chassis, that neither improves the typing experience, worse is proving to be unreliable, all adding up to reducing the chassis by a whole 1/8"
Dongle's just another revenue stream, with Apple knowing full well that the vast majority of MacBook users will require one if not more as a mandatory purchase for the foreseeable. To me this simply comes across as being cheap, with Apple now forcing it's customers to purchase accessories such as power cables & dongles just regain the same level of functionality as the last MBP that was released over 5 years ago...
Without any doubt there is a place for USB C only system's equally ultraportable's such as the Retina MacBook or Huawei's MateBook X etc. Larger more versatile notebook such as the MBP should have a more diverse port solution that does not enforce the need for dongles etc.
Q-6
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(If I am wrong here someone please correct me.)
USB 3.0 (AKA USB SuperSpeed) is USB 3.1 Gen 1. Both refer to (theoretically maximal) 5 Gbps USB. The USB-IF had the ingenious idea to rename USB 3.0 for reasons I will never understand.
USB 3.1 Gen 2 (AKA USB SuperSpeed+ or USB SuperSpeed Plus) refers to 10 Gbps USB.
(USB 3.2 refers to the coming 20 Gbps USB, which IIRC will work with existing cables.)
Both A, C, microB, and some other derivatives can support 3.1 gen 2 (backwards compatible with 3.1 gen 1 & 2.0), or 3.1 gen 1 (backwards compatible with 2.0), or 2.0. For example, the charge cable included with the MacBook and MacBook Pro is a USB 2.0 cable.
That is USB-A. My guess is partly because of space limitations, partly because Apple feels it is a dying standard, partly because the advantages of USB-C over USB-A are tremendous, partly because it may not have been possible to put four Thunderbolt 3 ports on the system + feature dual-side charging if they opted for USB-A, and partly because Apple does what they want.
Correct
TB3 is not USB-C it's a supplementary to USB-C standard
Biggest difference between USB-A and C currently is C has better charging capability and better fit/longevity and is smaller
Else
The only consistency across Apple devices for ports is it's inconsistency
and as you note the supplied cable with your MBP is only Gen 2.0 data but USB-C power
I love the "Apple just wants to sell you dongles" joke.
But seriously... the older Macbook Pro only had two USB-A ports anyway. How many things are you plugging in at once?
Or to put it another way... how many "dongles" do you think you'll actually need at any given time?
Hell... people were probably using a USB hub on their older Macbook Pro anyway... which is a "dongle" in itself.
Why? The removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone was done solely to sell the new wireless headphones.I love the "Apple just wants to sell you dongles" joke.
Apple is laughing all the way to the bank.
Apple did so much to disappoint and left many people high and dry with their mbp redesign.
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In short Apple is a greedy evil capitalist pig.
Very simple reason and very obvious one:
- An iMac is much bigger and can hold more ports, thus Apple doesn't mind to include additional standard USB ports.
- A MacBook Pro is slimmer and has less space internally and they decided to get rid of the big USB ports since mobile computers/ laptops are becoming more and more minimal anyway. I'm a pro user and I really don't need all those ports. Most of my stuff happens via the cloud/ streaming and it's not a big deal to use USB-C which is the future anyway. Here I agree with Apple totally and people should stop bitching about changes. It's just like when they got rid of the DVD/ CD drive, now we see nobody uses it anymore. And they were right.
That said I disagree with Apple when it comes to the iPhone. They should've done USB-C there too, which is industry standard. Them not doing so has created a dongle mess and incompatibility with their own laptops.
- An iMac is much bigger and can hold more ports, thus Apple doesn't mind to include additional standard USB ports.
- A MacBook Pro is slimmer and has less space internally and they decided to get rid of the big USB ports since mobile computers/ laptops are becoming more and more minimal anyway. I'm a pro user and I really don't need all those ports. Most of my stuff happens via the cloud/ streaming and it's not a big deal to use USB-C which is the future anyway. Here I agree with Apple totally and people should stop bitching about changes. It's just like when they got rid of the DVD/ CD drive, now we see nobody uses it anymore. And they were right.
That said I disagree with Apple when it comes to the iPhone. They should've done USB-C there too, which is industry standard. Them not doing so has created a dongle mess and incompatibility with their own laptops.
Simple answer the licensing for "Lightening" is far too lucrative and Apple is too greedy to miss out on a single cent, even at the expense of it's customers of which it has little regard for. As for change no ones unhappy with USB C, very much the opposite. What people are unhappy about is Apple's assign implementation rendering the MBP near useless for many professional's as dongles simply "don't work" 100% of the time...
All my notebook's used professionally have USB C, equally my primary 15" also has a full port solution, ensuring connectivity. Small wonder there are so few professional's on the platform, just 15% by Apple's own metrics...
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