They are objectively not much bulkier (~1mm thicker), and aesthetically these are beautiful in person (I do agree they look chunky on camera). And they give a strong feeling of being well built. Not even close to a step back, IMHO.
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M1 Max MBP has all these unnecessary ports….WTF?!
- Thread starter AdonisSMU
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Well, if they're not using SD, then would have to have external card readers. However, if the MBP SD reader can consistently get 250MB/s read/write it is just about as good as any external SD UHD-II reader.
...sure....by adding the appropriate dongle, which is what Apple was trying to avoid.
Realistically, what are most people connecting to a fourth TB/USB-C port? For a lot of people it would be a (probably secondary) display of some sort, and HDMI 2.0 isn't bad, and I suppose a good number of people would also use an SD-reader. I can see that some people would prefer the option of another USB-C for something different like another external SSD. Apple is trying to set a balance. It's OK for some people, and not great for others.
I know so many people - myself included - who stopped buying Apple laptops for those years they were "flying off the shelves". We all stuck with our old devices and upgraded the internals. Switched to desktop only (which was painful considering what the 2013 Mac Pro had to offer). Or left Apple altogether. I think the last decade saw the greatest exodus of "pro" Mac users since the 1990s, and that is probably exactly why Apple is now working so hard to try and win them back.
Thin and light is not "forward looking," it is underpowered, thermally constrained, and non-upgradable. The value of those 2016-2020 MacBook Pro is just not there for many "pros".
I suspect that the upcoming 2022 M2 MacBook Air will be what you are looking for. Thin. Light. Good screen. And much less expensive. Apple just needs to release a 13" and 15" MacBook Air and then there will be options for everyone.
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I suppose his argument is that he has lost one USB-C port, and he happened to need 4 of them (and was running on battery, without any kind of dock), he no longer has them. That's a bit of an edge-case I think, but it's certainly possible.
I'm pretty sure Apple's argument was that nearly everyone used one USB-C for power, so they only had 3 free ports in any case, and they still have 3 ports (even faster because each has its own 40Gbps controller) PLUS an HDMI and SD card reader.
If you are using a dock, or an external monitor that supplies power over Thunderbolt, you probably have access to other USB-C ports (on the dock or display), the limit of 3 USB-C is also removed.
The only professional port missing is 10 Gb ethernet. Sure a dongle will do. The HDMI is convenient but I would not call it a standard that exist on all laptops, iPads and phones which all are acceptable sources for a presentation today. Any professional auditorium in for instance conference centres usually have a fistful of dongles to deal with this.
SD card: industry failing again in standardisation. Why has not the industry ONE standard after 10+ years??? Even USB standards are better.
Why cannot cameras have a USB-C interface to a slim/small SSD drive instead of these cards that feels like has been technologies?
SD card: industry failing again in standardisation. Why has not the industry ONE standard after 10+ years??? Even USB standards are better.
Why cannot cameras have a USB-C interface to a slim/small SSD drive instead of these cards that feels like has been technologies?
You can still get that with the M1 Air & MBP, and I expect that next year's models will keep the same styling with improved performance.
The design of the new MBPs is partially justified by its function. Thin, hot and loud or thick, cool and quiet? I have the former with the MBP16 (currently warming my legs with my palms sweating on the hot keyboard...)...and would definitely prefer the cool fat-boy than my hot super-model.
I agree 100% with everything you said.
I do think a lot of the backlash I have encountered (in person) is just a reaction to the design aesthetics though. Apple is supposed to be "cutting edge" and "futuristic". Adding "old" ports makes the device feel "frumpy" and "boring". The squarer edges makes the computer feel so "last century".
It is largely a culture clash, where those who are attached to Apple as a design style, ideology/culture, lifestyle brand, or status symbol feel turned off/betrayed. I get it, I like the MacBook Air too. I just think there is room for everyone, and that most the people who are upset about the design changes to the MacBook Pro are just simply not the intended target of the line.
Quite a few cameras do have USB-C port for storage. I use this with a Samsung T5 on my Black Magic Cinema Camera. The trouble is that we already have different standards for SSDs that aren't great for cameras (M2 is quite large compared to some camera media).
It will probably settle on CFExpress - but even then there are two common sizes (A & B - there's also a C, but I've never seen it).
There is still a big price differential at the lower end compared to SD cards - up to 5-6x at the bottom end for the same capacity (although it tips in CFExpress' favour at the higher end). The fact is that most casual and pro-sumer users simply don't need anything better than a V60 /U10 SD card (60MB/s write sustained) for 4K video and considerably less to take photos. An 800-1700MB/s CFExpress card is overkill. Sure, it's fast to transfer your photos & videos, but not really "necessary", unless you are a pro who has to offload hundreds of GB per day.
Shooting with SD cards results in slower shooting speeds, so most stick with CF for the main card and use the second SD slot to back up the main cards. The rest of those things only apply to a subset of photographers.
All professional photographers I know, work with or have chatted to use card readers. They are faster, they have multiple card slots, you can have multiple instances of them for multi card ingesting. It’s a more versatile and, risking over use of the word, ‘professional’ option.
The SD card on the new Macbooks has replaced a multipurpose TB port. For me its a step backwards. If it’s liked by some thats fine - but stop bringing ‘professional’ photographers in to it, as it really isn’t something many professional photographers were looking for, in my experience in the field.
But it literally is a replacement for everything you've mentioned. USB C can take advantage of HDMI 2.1, etc. The new MacBook's HDMI port only does 2.
I don't get the obsession with placing different standards of ports when one port on the computer can rule them all. Yes, I know that dongles are required, but in your scenario, you would need a HDMI to VGA adapter. It's the same as USB C to VGA.
I will note that I actually don't care too much about the ports. Whether they're there or not, doesn't affect me. I already have what I need. Just wanted to reply to let you know that those ports are aging technology.
I didn't. I stayed with a 2015 model specifically to not have to live in dongle hell. MagSafe has saved my laptops many times for over a decade. I live in a world where I need to present regularly in different places. All of the modern projectors and presentation TV's are HDMI. I don't need to remember to bring a dongle or have to worry about accidentally leaving a dongle where I presented. And I've not run into this, but if the establishment didn't have an HDMI cable, it'd be much easier to get one than a dongle in whatever remote location I might be in. I bought a Max/64/4TB. Very glad Apple listened to its customers and righted the failed 2016 experiment.
When the world moves to one port, I'll be happy to move to one port as well. In the meantime, I much prefer immediate connectivity without dongles.
Why didn't you just buy a hub? Lol. 1st world problems require 1st world solutions.
The new MacBooks have an outdated HDMI port and an outdated SD card reader (limited to 200mb. Is that a joke?)
Those that stay in the past, will always complain about stagnation. But if the ports work for you, then cool. Like I noted, I have zero problems with old outdated ports on the MacBook. I view computers as a tool. The outdatedness is just a little bit annoying since I'm paying for it.
MagSafe is great, has already saved my 14" a trip to the floor (having a 3 year old running around the house is a recipe for cable incidents) and the fact it is now a USB-C cable means I will be retrofitting it to some old USB-C chargers I have (such as in my office at work). I really missed it when it went, and am glad it is back.
As for SD Card reader, sure I could use a USB-C to SD card adapter, I have one, but now I don't need to (My FujiFilm XT4 has dual UHS-2 SD Card slots so win!) and as someone who frequently gives presentations (and expect now will transition back to them being in person) having a HDMI port saves me bringing (and losing) another dongle.
It would have been perfect had they managed to incorporate an ethernet port into the charger brick like the iMac, but I guess that is kind of a niche case with a laptop and for the most part it is going to be used on WiFi.
As for SD Card reader, sure I could use a USB-C to SD card adapter, I have one, but now I don't need to (My FujiFilm XT4 has dual UHS-2 SD Card slots so win!) and as someone who frequently gives presentations (and expect now will transition back to them being in person) having a HDMI port saves me bringing (and losing) another dongle.
It would have been perfect had they managed to incorporate an ethernet port into the charger brick like the iMac, but I guess that is kind of a niche case with a laptop and for the most part it is going to be used on WiFi.
why do i need this here on the back of my laptop?
the emblem does nothing but sit there and gloat
and there is a defect in the logo!
atlas they could have made the look like an apple on the ground.
why could they have a worm or fruit fly swarming around the as in real life.
and I'm allerfic to apple any was so why should i stare at an when i type.
the emblem does nothing but sit there and gloat
and there is a defect in the logo!
atlas they could have made the look like an apple on the ground.
why could they have a worm or fruit fly swarming around the as in real life.
and I'm allerfic to apple any was so why should i stare at an when i type.
I think the purpose of adding back the specific ports they did (SD & HDMI) is to avoid leaving users without options if they don't happen to have a dongle when they need it, either because they forgot it, or because they weren't planning to use them. If you're shooting on the field, open your camera bag, and you forgot your Compact Flash reader, you can work with SD in a pinch. With the previous MacBooks, if you forgot the dongle on a trip/photoshoot, or lost it, there was probably nothing you could do to retrieve the pictures.
Same thing with the HDMI port, really, for unexpected conference room presentations. And in the cases where the projector is VGA, it's way easier to find someone with a HDMI -> VGA dongle than a USB-C -> VGA.
And, in my experience, it's the opposite. So maybe it's best to avoid judging the needs of a whole group of people (professional photographers in this case) based on the personal experiences of any single person, and either believe that Apple did their homework when researching the market they were aiming for or present some non-anecdotal data that proves otherwise.
Now I don't need dongles.
Added more battery capacity? Do you own one of these? I'm assuming not as the battery life is absolutely incredible.
Leakers Claim Next MacBook Air Will Have White Notch and Bezels, Here's Why They Could Be Right
Apple is expected to equip the next MacBook Air with a notched mini-LED display and slimmer bezels, similar to the new MacBook Pros. But why would...
www.macrumors.com
In this article we see a MBA design without an SD Card slot or a HDMI port that corporate workers so desperately need. LOL! I have to laugh. ???
Yeah Air is more "stylish and thin" in some aspects, I agree. On the other hand, I'm on the MBP 16" 2019 and I have both performance and thinness/aesthetics. Having said that I've yet to see the new 16" in person physically.
What I personally would have wanted as "the dream" was all the specs/screen updates from the new one, in the form factor/ports of the 2019 one.
But again, I think Apple can't make _everyone_ happy at the same time so I get it and ordered the new one even though it's a step back for my personal priorities.
Honestly speaking, HDMI is waste. With typeC port, you just need to upgrade your cable, usbc to hdmi. Yes, with less ports you cannot escape the dongle. You will have to buy to get more ports. I just wanted them to add more thunderbolt ports to connect more peripherals.
Imagine dual monitors take up 2 ports.
one hard drive takes up one port
one free for you plug anything temporary like a pendrive
4 ports minimum are needed. Anything less than that means you have to, have to use some kind of dongle. That is main reason i couldn't buy the Air or Pro M1 (2020)
Imagine dual monitors take up 2 ports.
one hard drive takes up one port
one free for you plug anything temporary like a pendrive
4 ports minimum are needed. Anything less than that means you have to, have to use some kind of dongle. That is main reason i couldn't buy the Air or Pro M1 (2020)
Honest question: Do you have any on-hands knowledge about the read/write speeds of the built-in SD slot?