M1 Max MBP has all these unnecessary ports….WTF?!

[Fusionskies]

Just upgraded from my ageing 2013 MBP, I never really used the SD card slot, but then again when I have needed to I was happy that it was there.
If I was a photographer/videographer then perhaps I would have gotten more use out of it.
Personally I would rather have swapped it out for a USB A port, but I suppose USB-C is becoming the standard now. Seems like a pretty slow adoption though, USB is still so fragmented.

I am so happy they brought MagSafe back however, it's nice to have a dedicated port for power, even though you can still charge via thunderbolt, which is something I would probably never do unless I forgot my charger.

Not too fussed about HDMI, I rarely connect to an external monitor, and just use airplay, but its as common as muck so very convenient. You can rely on HDMI for virtually any display out there, and you know it will just work.

For the next MacBook I really hope they bring back SCSI... Jk 😂😂.

 

[darngooddesign]

For the next MacBook I really hope they bring back SCSI... Jk 😂😂.

Don't be dumb, we all know it will be a PMCIA slot.

 

[MedRed]

I've been waiting 6 years for Apple to bring back the ports.

Same

 

[redheeler]

This post is proof positive that no matter what this company does, people are going to be outraged about it.

Me personally... don't really care about HDMI/SD ports. No idea if I'll ever use them. But seriously who really cares?

Apple removes the ports, people complain. Apple brings the ports back, people complain. Apple releases a thinner iPhone, people complain that it's too thin and could have better battery life. Apple releases a thicker iPhone with better battery life, people complain that it's too bulky and heavy.

It's hilarious to see Apple do a 180 like this with their products because it shows that people will complain no matter what. And the same people complaining (here on MacRumors at least) still end up buying one within a few years.

 

[Fomalhaut]

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The new MacBooks have an outdated HDMI port and an outdated SD card reader (limited to 200mb.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?)

Both HDMI 2.0 and SD UHS-II are current standards in common use with millions of users, and are likely to stay so for the lifetime of these computers. Which video codecs are you using that require write speeds of >2 Gbps (250MB/s), which (in theory) an SD UHS-II card could support? That is high end cinema camera territory.

 

[ANDJOE]

Apple can never win. Any change will lead to complaints.

Anyways, I don't have use for the ports. But I could really give a rats ass that they exist on the computer. On a desktop. I care about the ports but on a laptop my use case is different. I just need to be able to charge it and occasionally plug in a flash drive.

Although this is the first laptop with good enough performance numbers in a reasonable enough price and weight. To consider dumping my desktop and old laptop. Switching to just one computer to do both.

Plus I don't have much gaming interest anymore. I just play some low graphics indies now occasionally. Which would work just fine in Parallels. I'm just burned out on the AAA titles.

Fun fact: Apple is the largest company in human history.
Don’t worry, they are winning.

 

[AZhappyjack]

The hdmi and sd card port on these is totally unnecessary. WTF?! Everyone already bought connectors for these items over the last 5 years.

MagSafe was a mess. Yeah it was branded well but I didnt like it because my cables were always ruined and I had to spend a lot of money replacing it. Imo TB3/4 works great and haven’t had to replace it once.

Good grief… 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️ That was a step backwards and for very little gain. The size is perfect. Apple could’ve added more battery capacity.

Courage.

 

[Piplodocus]

Before you only had 2 thunderbolt busses shared over 4 ports. Now you have 3 thunderbolt ports with 3 busses. So more thunderbolt bandwidth overall. So if you're bothered by losing 1 port you've gained a whole extra bus, so just plug a small hub in there or daisychain thinderbolt and you've still got more throughput/bandwidth than before.

People are different. It's obvious based on all the "hurrah, SD card but I don't know why HDMI" posts I've spotted, when from my perspective I know HDMI will just make my life far easier on a daily basis, but I don't see the point in the SD card. I'll no doubt use it in rare occasions. I use SD card so seldom I can rarely find the adapter. But either way, all of those people and me are better off in different ways. And if I no doubt by a thunderbolt dock soon, I've still got 2 full-speed dedicated thunderbolt busses free on my spare ports, not a shared other port and 1 other bus.

On any modern slim laptop most people will need some kinda adapter sooner or later, but probably slightly less often for most now. I need a 4-port USB-A hub to connect to mine. I'm not gonna be a big baby about it when it suits more people not to have 4x USB As. My old 17" 2010 MBP only had 3 USB ports, so I *still* needed a USB hub back then when there was no USB-C, thunderbolt, SD card or HDMI! The only thing that can always satisfy me for ports is a desktop PC.

 

[Macwellian]

I was hoping for Ethernet and USB-A ports. I'm a pro and need Ethernet speed to work on a remote computer. WiFi doesn't cut it.

I also have an expensive input devices like a WACAM tablet and a HD mouse which use USB-A.

I'm bummed that the memory and HD aren't upgradeable. It would have been a nice option.

I hope Apple is able to get developers to rewrite thiet Mac ports and to use AMD cards. A lot of high-end 3D software only works on NVIDIA.

 

[darngooddesign]

I also have an expensive input devices like a WACAM tablet and a HD mouse which use USB-A.

Can't you leave a low profile A/C adapters permanently connected to those cables?

 

[Fomalhaut]

Honest question: Do you have any on-hands knowledge about the read/write speeds of the built-in SD slot?

Not yet, no, but there was a MacRumors article that said it was limited to 250MB/s, which is less than many high end SD cards, so I’m hoping we would get close to the advertised 250MB/s

 

[darngooddesign]

Not yet, no, but there was a MacRumors article that said it was limited to 250MB/s, which is less than many high end SD cards, so I’m hoping we would get close to the advertised 250MB/s

Its a UHS-2 slot between 250 and 300 MB/s.

 

[Fomalhaut]

So you remember your cameras, your laptop, but you forget your card reader? And you plug your CF card into the SD reader on the new MacBooks? I don’t really understand what you’re getting at.

By the way, aside the fact I am actually a professional photographer of many years, I’m not judging the needs of a whole group, rather I understand the needs of my particular industry. Most of the top end professional Canon and Nikon cameras (by FAR the two most used pro camera brands), use CF cards. It’s just a simple fact.

Compact Flash (CF) or CFExpress? There don’t appear to many (if any) new models using CF.

But I would like to ask you what the advantages of very fast media for stills photography are? Many cameras can’t write anywhere near the top speed of the media. Is it shorter transfer times to the computer? Is the media more reliable than SD?

 

[Analog Kid]

Having a SD card reader, those in the video and photographic industry will buy these machines in droves in my opinion because that is the one thing that is universal in that industry, storing video and photos onto SD cards. People in that industry are fed up with having to carry USB SD card adapters with them, in my opinion.

SD is obsolete for most photo and video. XQD and CFExpress are the things now. I need to carry an XQD adapter anyway, but now I have less USBC ports to plug it into. I kind of think the inclusion of SD was less for “the industry” and specifically for the non-pro complainer crowd.

Then again I appreciate the HDMI port. So I guess I have to accept that this machine wasn’t designed with only me in mind.

 

[AltecX]

I can't tell if OP was being sarcastic or just very ignorant of the actual professional world.

 

[Analog Kid]

But I would like to ask you what the advantages of very fast media for stills photography are? […] Is it shorter transfer times to the computer? Is the media more reliable than SD?

Yes to both. Also, the faster you can write out to the card from the camera, the faster your RAM buffer is available to start shooting again.

Remember, this is “stills” but each frame can be on the order of 45 million 14 bit values plus a JPEG of the same image at 20 frames a second. 45*14/8*20=~1.5GB/s

 

[AltecX]

SD is obsolete for most photo and video. XQD and CFExpress are the things now. I need to carry an XQD adapter anyway, but now I have less USBC ports to plug it into. I kind of think the inclusion of SD was less for “the industry” and specifically for the non-pro complainer crowd.

Then again I appreciate the HDMI port. So I guess I have to accept that this machine wasn’t designed with only me in mind.

Likely more about Pro-sumers.

 

[darngooddesign]

Compact Flash (CF) or CFExpress? There don’t appear to many (if any) new models using CF.

But I would like to ask you what the advantages of very fast media for stills photography are? Many cameras can’t write anywhere near the top speed of the media. Is it shorter transfer times to the computer? Is the media more reliable than SD?

Cameras with CF Express, XQD, etc. can make use of fast media for high res stills files, fast burst rates with big buffers, recording 8K video, etc. In addition, as you said fast transfer speeds to the computer as well. Still, my Fujis use SD cards so I'm happy.

 

[Fomalhaut]

Or she, but that’s not the point.

The point is that it’s a waste of space for the extremely rare use case when it comes to professional photographers, yet it’s championed by non professional photographers as a ‘necessary’ addition for professional photographers.

It’s not.

Every professional photographer has several kit bags, more often than not ‘ready to go’.
If you need to empty cards in the field then you don’t forget your card reader anymore than you forget a lens, or indeed, your laptop.

The port is for amateur photographers / videographers as well, not just professional ones And there are a lot more of those in the market for these machine.

 

[Analog Kid]

Likely more about Pro-sumers.

A prosumer won’t pay $3000 for a camera and hobble it with a $20 SD card.

 

[ponzicoinbro]

This was a good troll everyone fell for it.

 

[827538]

Apparently people have been asking for them. Personally, I have 0 use for them

Same boat, the SD card slot I think is a nice addition though. HDMI and MagSafe are completely superfluous given I charge using USB-C (from either side) and I can't remember the last time I needed to use HDMI with Airplay being so common.

 

[Grohowiak]

Drone, GoPro, Osmo all run on SD and this will save me from having to carry a reader.
I'm super happy with this thing.

 

[darngooddesign]

A prosumer won’t pay $3000 for a camera and hobble it with a $20 SD card.

You’re correct, they won’t hobble it with a cheap and slow $20 card, but they will pay 2x or 3x that got a high quality and fast SD Card.

 

[AdonisSMU]

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.

Thats not true. Im a pro user. Many of the apps I use run like a dog on a MBA.