You must log in or register to comment.
Fuck firewire. Glad it’s dead. USB C is the best thing to happen to peripherals since the mouse.
I dunno - I’m pretty sure I’d choose the modern MacBook Pro’s ports over any of these other options.
Zero USB-A ports? Hell no…
Yeah M1+ Macs are great. I say this as a diehard Apple hater
Power, HDMI, a few USBs, and headphones, all you’ll ever likely need.
There’s no doubt a dongle for anything else.
SD card reader is nice to have if you fuck around with cameras and microphones.
Unless you want a desk setup. I have 2 monitors, kb, mouse, external dac, usb extension for thumbdrives, ethernet, usb soundcard for my mic and a kvm. That’s dp, hdmi, 6 usb-a, ethernet and I still sometimes plug-in 1-3 devices to charge them.
With that many connections, using a dock or a monitor with thunderbolt seems more practical than having a ton of stuff plugged into your laptop.
It’s not about it being practical. It’s about if it’s actually doable or not and how well it would work. Having the native ports will always be better that using a hub/dock.
Yeah, because plugging in one thing is way harder than plugging in six.
This is a classic use case for a laptop dock.
That’s a very lazy, short-sighted and first world problem way of looking at this issue.
Why would having the option of using either a hub or plugging things on separately be worse than only being able to use a hub?
Because I don’t want a chonky boi laptop to carry around.
Strongly disagree. I use a laptop with a thunderbolt dock. Being able to plug in a single cable to provide power, connect my monitor, all of my input devices, Ethernet, and anything else in a single cable is awesome. If I had to plug 10 things in manually it would be quite cumbersome. I disconnect the laptop daily as I bring it between work and home, as well as use it, well, as a portable laptop.
Kudos to you.
What you could do now is step out of your bubble and consider that other people have different use cases and might need or prefer to have more native ports.
You literally lose nothing by having more connectivity options.
Except the device inevitably ends up bigger and chunkier.
It sounds like you need a desktop computer or a docking station.
Like I already said to another user: No. There are more than a few use cases that require a mobile set up for demos for example but that you’d also want to use in a desk setting. For example, architects or sw dev.
Why are you making an effort to justify getting shafted by corporations?
We aren’t justifying getting shafted by corporations. What I and the other person are saying is that at some point as your connections and cables multiply, you need to consolidate and streamline your setup for it to be more practical and actually mobile. I’m all for having all the basic necessity ports on my laptop, but when your desk ends up as a mess of cables and pulling out and putting back your laptop becomes bothersome with having to attach/re-attach everything every time, having a dock makes it much simpler. Subjecting yourself to setting up all those cables on both ends instead of just one end is the opposite of having a mobile workstation for quick setup and cleanup.
You’re still missing the forest for the trees.
There’s no real reason why you’d have to choose having a few ports + a hub or tons of ports + the option of using a hub.
If you prefer to “consolidate” your devices to a single poinf of failure on an external device then by all means, go ahead. I just think that it’s pretty crappy that options are being artificially limited and users of all people are making excuses for it.
In this situation a hub is still better. You can pack all the stuff away plugged into the hub for easier set up. If your plugging that all into your laptop, you’ll need to plug it all back in again when you move.
Which might be an issue for you but it’s not for me. Also, I prefer the flexibility to have all of the ports I might need, natively.
That’s a use case for a laptop dock if ever there was one.
Cause I live toting a do gle around and risk breaking the laptop because of it.
I did enough of that in the 90’s, TYVM
in the ’90s*
Username checks out.
Yes, and it’s better to be downgrading USB-C ports with adapters than to be stuck adapting a USB-A port to USB-C or ethernet.
Cause I live toting a do gle around and risk breaking the laptop because of it.
I did enough of that in the 90’s, TYVM
in the ’90s*
We’re mindlessly bashing Apple here, we don’t need your sensible reasoning!
Where do you see Apple bashing? Most comments are about the general state of notebook ports.
Continue bashing, they use apple maths and only have ports on expensive models.
That picture is from the tech specs page of the base 14-inch
From my personal experience Apple products aren’t as great as the fanboys claim but are far far better than they haters say they are.
An ethernet port is essential for any computer.
It’s really not. I have one on my work laptop and have never plugged an Ethernet jack into it. That stays permanently in my dock and gets transferred to the laptop via USB-C. All other non-desk work is done via … WiFi. Shock! Literally can’t tell the difference when making money.
Exactly! What are you going to do if your router dies (or you mess something up fiddling w/ things)? I may only need it once/year or so, but when I do, it’s really important and I most likely can’t find the dongle.
An RJ-45 port could totally fit on there if they used one of those flip-down things that Dell has on their professional line.
I just this … https://a.co/d/ijxaPae
Yeah, props to Apple for bringing back the card reader and HDMI. When I bought my early 2015 MBP I specifically went with the older model because these ports were removed on the newer one which also came with the shitty butterfly keyboard as well which they’ve also since discontinued.
If you got that kind of money to spend on a laptop, sure. I really don’t.
Edit: to be clear, I know this is a stack of Mac’s in OPs picture, but the development that the entry models have basically no ports at all is a more recent development. Having to pick the pro just to be able to connect your stuff without dongles or hubs is a bit insane considering the price (and price difference).
I have an M2 Air, and all mine is missing from that is the SDXC slot, third TB4 and HDMI, and honestly, it’s fine. A third TB4/USB would be nice for when I’m doing my radio show and have to plug in my controller and mic while also charing my phone, but I already have a hub so it doesn’t bother me.
That said, the limited ports on my M1 mini are quite problematic. Two TB3/USB, but one of them is lost to a DisplayPort cable for my second monitor. So I have a desktop computer that functionally has three USB sockets, which ain’t great. But again, I have a hub, so it’s not a huge problem.
They remove the extra ports because they take up space in the board.
That aside if you’re buying Mac you took it from yourself. No one made you buy it.
All the other brands went along
(My 2020 G14 has 3 A ports instead of 2, but still…)
And there’s the soldered RAM and storage, and glued-in or screwed-in battery…
I’m on the other side wishing peripherals would catch up and all become USB-C already. I’m tired of USB-A.
As long as a computer has 4 usb-c ports, I think you’re covered for everything.
Yes we had more different ports back in the days, but most were never used.
Usb-c is way more practical. Still that implies that you have more than 2 Usb-c ports.
Yeah guys it’s way more practical to carry 11 usb c dongles everywhere you go
That’s the most straw in a straw man I’ve seen in those hwole threads.
Most new laptops have USB-C, A, and SD/micro SD, and HDMI. That’s 95% of all uses.
If you really need more then you just bought the wrong laptop. Get a Thinkpad or framework 16. If you need to interface with old hardware, get a contemporary machine.
OK, but that wasn’t the example shown or example given.
That configuration above (and often one of those collapsible Ethernet ports) makes a lot of sense. And a headphone jack. But that’s a LOT different than just USB-C, which was the complaint.
deleted by creator
At work both my monitors and networking go through the same port. The monitor also acts as a usb hub.
You can buy an adapter and plug everything in one port.
I love it personally.
You can only do that becayse your monitors are not high resolution and high refresh rate. The data cap for usb-c is not that high.
USB-C is just a connector, but Thunderbolt 5 uses it and for asymmetric uses (e.g. a monitor) it can hit 120Gbps.
Isn’t that going to support most monitors?
Please, list the devices that you know have tb5.
Also, that’s the total bandwidth in a best case scenario. You’re not factoring in that you’ll need to share that with all of the devices in a hub. That’s without mentioning that you need the hub (which also has a cost).
All high quality peripheral docks support Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt 5 docks began to release last month. You can connect the devices to the dock using USB-C, then just use one Thunderbolt cable to connect the dock to your Mac to prevent a bottleneck.
So, barely a handful? Great. How much do they cost? And how much does it cost to just use the cable your devices come with?
The countless remaining docks support Thunderbolt 4, which at 40 Gb/s is still twice as fast as USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2.
They range from $49-$299, depending on the features and number of ports needed. If you’re using the native HDMI port on your MacBook Pro, it’ll be on the low end of the price range.
The only cable that comes with a MacBook Pro is a USB-C charging cable.
The USB4 protocol can handle 160Gb/s split asymettrically (so, say, 120Gb/s out, 40Gb/s in), wheras the upper limit for DisplayPort’s highest bandwidth mode, Quad UHBR 20, is 80Gb/s in one direction. So you can saturate your DisplayPort 2.0 quad-channel with more than enough bandwidth to power three 10K 60Hz 30-bit (i.e. very high-end) monitors in DSC mode, and still only be using half the bandwidth of USB4, all using a single cable which I can also use to charge my earphones.
K then buddy. Keep buying dongles for your dongles.
My point is that including the ports is extremely simple. I’m not telling you that it’s wrong to choose to use a dock because you find it more convenient. I’m just saying that you could have the option instead of that being the only option you have. There’s no technical reason to not include the actual physical separate ports.
Also, monitors and your earbuds? That’s a very low bar. Lots of different tasks would require far more than that. Devices should be flexible.
Devices should be flexible.
Agreed. It’s a pity, then, that no-one has invented a single port that can replace USB-A, DisplayPort, HDMI, propriatary power connectors, Thunderb… oh… wait…
Most devices only have 40gbps USB4. Which is still enough for almost all sane use cases. Frankly, if you need multiple 4K monitors get a desktop.
Uhm no? There are more than a few use cases that require a mobile set up for demos for example but that you’d also want to use in a desk setting. For example, architects or sw dev.
Which is still enough for almost all sane use cases.
Like 2 4k60 monitors and literally nothing else? You have a very conservative opinion of what a “sane” use case is. Not to mention that lots of USB-C cable certification is a mess so not even getting the cable is simple (or cheap).
Every enterprise laptop I’ve seen in the last 5 years?
Sorry but you’re full of crap. The first TB5 laptop was released this year and I’m not sure there are more than a handful of models.
You’re welcome to prove me wrong though.
Can you break this down?
The 2017 model pictured in this post supported Thunderbolt 3, which was a 40 gbps connection. Supported display modes included up to 4k@120, 2x4k@60, or 5k@60, which was better than the then-standard HDMI 2.0.
What combination of resolution, frame rate, and color depth are you envisioning that having a dock handle a gigabit Ethernet connection, analog audio would require scaling down the display resolution through the same port?
By 2021, the MacBook Pros were supporting TB4, and the spec sheets on third party docking stations were supporting 8k resolutions, even if Macs themselves only supported 6k, or up to 4x4k.
Even if we talk about DisplayPort Alt Mode, a VESA standard developed in 2014, and supported in the 2017 models pictured in this post, that’s just a standard DP connection, which in 2017 supported HDR 5k@60. But didn’t support a whole separate dock with networking and USB ports.
Supported display modes included up to 4k@120, 2x4k@60, or 5k@60
Right, for a single device.
What combination of resolution, frame rate, and color depth are you envisioning that having a dock handle a gigabit Ethernet connection, analog audio would require scaling down the display resolution through the same port?
Dual 4k120 would already saturate the bandwith. Regarding networking, gigabit is pretty slow for LAN depending on your workload. If you were to require 10gbit, you’d be SOL.
By 2021, the MacBook Pros were supporting TB4, and the spec sheets on third party docking stations were supporting 8k resolutions, even if Macs themselves only supported 6k, or up to 4x4k.
Did you read the specs in your link? Even with that TB4 dock you wouldn’t be able to do dual 4k120.
I really don’t get trying to justify manufacturers forcing you to buy an additional device to get the same ports they could provide natively without using a hub/dock. It’s a pretty submissive attitude.
Dual 4k120 would already saturate the bandwith.
What would you use to drive dual 4k/120 displays over a single cable, if not Thunderbolt over USB-C? And what 2017 laptops were capable of doing that?
Even if we’re talking about two different cables over two different ports, that’s still a pretty unusual use case that not a lot of laptops would’ve been capable of in 2017.
4k120 panels weren’t even available in 2017 afaik. But you could do dual 4k120 with one hdmi 2.1 and 1 displayport 1.4 so just need 2 video outputs from your laptop (which used to be pretty common).
Please note that we’re having this discussion in 2024 and I’m talkimg about use cases in 2024. I don’t really see the point in talking about what you would theoretically do 6 years ago with panels that weren’t even available.
I only have one Usb-c port on my Surface Go 1, but it’s linked to my screen with 4 usb-A ports and one more Usb-c port.
Same as you, I feel I have enough, at least when it’s hooked up to the screen.
deleted by creator
Even Lenovo is doing it with Thinkpads, the t14 gen 6 has soldiered ram and only two USB A ports
Even the latest P series:
https://laptopmedia.com/au/guides/how-to-open-lenovo-thinkpad-p14s-gen-4-disassembly-and-upgrade-options/You can only add/swap a M.2 SSD, and WWAN modem.
They’ve added upgradable RAM with the Gen 5 models. The WIFI card is soldered, though, which isn’t as bad but still meh for longevity IMO
Even worse, build quality and durability is significantly worse due to Lenovo making the T and P series Thinkpads thinner and lighter.
Lenovo is only a shadow of its former self. Get used to it; everything gets sacrified for the god Mammon and the sake of slimness.
As long as the bare necessities is available e.g 14" with HDMI, 2 Type C with PD and DP Alt, MicroSD/SD card reader, smart card reader(?), 2 USB A 3.1, 1x 3.5mm jack, 1x ethernet port, kensington and easy maintenance, for me it’s enough. VGA connectors (dang those older projectors) can be handled with VGA to HDMI adapter.
My daily device is T14 G1 AMD with dualbooting separate SSD (M.2 WWAN slot used as SSD).
The annoying thing is they’re not even that much thinner. They’ve just reshaped the edge to make it look like there isn’t room for real ports.
this is another reason why I hate apple. other tech companies would rather follow apple than forge their own design path.
I also hate the tech reviewers who reinforce the belief of apple design superiority that pushes this false belief that encourages those bad design changes.
This pic leaves out the latest generation of MacBook that brings back some of those ports.
I guess OP would rather generate outrage upvotes, rather than spread the truth.
Not all. If I dont get 2 USB-A ports, I ain’t buying. Fortunately thinkpads still have them
Wow is that firewire? Haven’t seen that in a while
