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lordhamster

macrumors 68000
Jan 23, 2008
1,680
1,702
Yet another dongle... lol!

With my timeline a dongle would only be needed by 2022-onwards.
Your USB-A device STILL has a cable... what is wrong with just buying one of these and leaving it ON the cable? It is not like you are going to lose the thing.
 

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
29,248
13,321
I have only 2 USBc devices:
- camera with USBc connector (on camera and on battery grip)
- USB3.1 gen2 enclosure (a backup drive with nvme SSD that I put together)

EVERYTHING else I own is USBa:
- keyboards
- mouse receiver (Logitech)
- drives
- USB flash drives
- USB3/SATA docking stations

Looks like I'll be relying on "dongles" for a while with the new MBP 14".

Fishrrman fearless prediction:
USBa is gonna be around for years to come.
Perhaps decades...
 

Adarna

Suspended
Original poster
Jan 1, 2015
685
429
Your USB-A device STILL has a cable... what is wrong with just buying one of these and leaving it ON the cable? It is not like you are going to lose the thing.
It looks bad and the dongle's quality may not be as good as the USB-A cable that would lead some to believe that their USB-A device is bad when the dongle's at fault
 

alien3dx

macrumors 68020
Feb 12, 2017
2,193
524
I have only 2 USBc devices:
- camera with USBc connector (on camera and on battery grip)
- USB3.1 gen2 enclosure (a backup drive with nvme SSD that I put together)

EVERYTHING else I own is USBa:
- keyboards
- mouse receiver (Logitech)
- drives
- USB flash drives
- USB3/SATA docking stations

Looks like I'll be relying on "dongles" for a while with the new MBP 14".

Fishrrman fearless prediction:
USBa is gonna be around for years to come.
Perhaps decades...
heehe.. i prefer logitech mouse cum trackpad. So to overcome the weirdness usb c , dam hard to find wireless only mouse these day for m1 travel laptop :(

i don't like magic mouse thou. i rather use trackpad .
 

cubbie5150

macrumors 6502a
Mar 4, 2007
716
224
Personally, I wouldn't mind having a USB-A post in lieu of the hdmi port. Having said that, it will not impact my decision to buy when the 1st revision is released sometime next year. Actually, I'm glad the hdmi port is back if for no other reason that not having to hear a friend at the office complain about it anymore, hahahaha.
 
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ponzicoinbro

Suspended
Aug 5, 2021
1,081
2,085
I don't mean a dongle, I mean a cable. Most hard drives come with detachable USB cables.
Micro usb b to usb c would be needed for my single external and raid USB hard drives. Probably the only reliable brand who does one is Belkin and I don’t want to spend more money on more cables.
 

lordhamster

macrumors 68000
Jan 23, 2008
1,680
1,702
Hopefully the next iteration of MacBook Pro will come with a Parallel port so I can use my trusty Dot Matrix printer without a dongle.

1635169614995.jpeg
 
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dandeco

macrumors 65816
Dec 5, 2008
1,254
1,052
Brockton, MA
Since I bought my first Apple Silicon Mac, I do have at least a few USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 devices, but I still do have several USB-A peripherals, and I don't mind using my Falwedi USB-C hub for this. In fact, since my 7-year-old LG external Blu-Ray burner is starting to show its' age and it uses a USB 2.0 connection, I'm planning to upgrade to a newer model that gives you the options of connecting via USB 3.0 or USB-C. So at least as long as I have such a hub, I'm good when it comes to the Apple Silicon Mac laptops. Though it would indeed be convenient if the upcoming higher-end Apple Silicon Mac Mini (hopefully M1 Pro) and Mac Pros include at least a couple of USB-A ports, as I could then easily hook up my USB 3.0 docking station.
 

Tagbert

macrumors 603
Jun 22, 2011
6,261
7,285
Seattle
I think this is a case where dongles or conversion cables are sufficient. With monitors, it was worth getting a built in HDMI for the MBPs because so many dongles are unreliable for video. You can’t have your video connection be flaky whether it is your main monitor or a projector. For USB-A, it seems like it is mostly used for small peripherals that don’t have that demanding requirements for transfer and may not be connected all the time. I only use it for a scanner and an SD card reader or a DVD player for ripping. I only connect those when I need to. Anything that needs to stay connected or transfer more data, like external storage, I’ve moved on to USB-C.
 
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jav6454

macrumors Core
Nov 14, 2007
22,303
6,264
1 Geostationary Tower Plaza
Kill it with fire. USB-A is a legacy port, no place for it on a high-end product.


Also why would you want a SLOWER thunderbolt port?
Agreed. USB-A should disappear. It seems from a hardware manufacturing standpoint, only Apple has gone full USB-C on their devices. Others have stuck to a single USB-C and several USB-A. This idiocy keeps legacy in the running.
 
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Lihp8270

macrumors 65816
Dec 31, 2016
1,143
1,608
yes , when you deal with some customer with vga projector , usb c .

E.g last year , client give me phamplet on usb a but i only brought the ipad mini,macbook 2011and the ipad mini need dongle but suddenly dont support . Open the pdf in macbook 2011 but dont have airdrop so cannot view direct so need to send to internet then can see back in ipad mini.

last 2 year , client only has vga projector .. so need dongle : ( so brought the apple tv sync to tv to explain..

** dongle life is hard on apple product .
Anybody gives me a usb stick it never gets inserted into any device of mine.

If your business allows you to use a usb storage device given to you from a client then they seriously need to reconsider their IT security.
 

alien3dx

macrumors 68020
Feb 12, 2017
2,193
524
Anybody gives me a usb stick it never gets inserted into any device of mine.

If your business allows you to use a usb storage device given to you from a client then they seriously need to reconsider their IT security.
i work alone with some small medium company so not much an issue but we prefer big boys legality since not because it security but dont want to be blaim game scenario. Usb stick still normal cause some email attachment cannot over some x mb.
 
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