“Ready or not, Apple’s new MacBook is cutting the computing industry’s cables,” Stephen Shankland reports for CNET.
“The slim laptop has just a single USB port, the new tiny Type-C variety that’s slowly popping up in devices this year,” Shankland reports. “It’s a multipurpose port that connects to external devices like hard drives, runs video to TVs and external monitors, and supplies the laptop with power when it’s charging time.”
“The new USB port is remarkably flexible, but it’s still just one port. For those who need to attach printers, Ethernet cables, external hard drives, cameras, monitors, keyboards, mice, TVs, game controllers and tablets, that might seem confining,” Shankland reports. “You’d better get used to it, because the new MacBook hints at the direction the industry is headed as it relies increasingly on wireless technology.”
“‘Yes, many will complain, but that’s the cost of progress,’ said IDC analyst Tom Mainelli,” Shankland reports. “From a business perspective, Apple’s willingness to push for that progress ultimately wins out — at the expense of rivals.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We are Mac users and Mac users embrace change.
Apple leads. The rest of the world follows, as usual.
Now, we would love to see a tiny MagSafe adapter cap (or very short corded adapter) that sticks into the USB-C port for MagSafe power cords. That way we don’t have to regress in the name of progress.
Just one cable, for charging, that isn’t as useful as the MagSafe it replaced.
This USB-C approach needs to work more reliably than the current Thunderbolt approach on my MBP. I have it hooked to an Apple display for desktop use, and it does not always link up with my keyboard or Ethernet, especially after sleep or reconnecting after going to a meeting. The fix can be as simple as disconnecting and reconnecting the TB cable, or as drastic as restarting my MBP. Occasionally, I have finally had to resort to shifting my keyboard cable from the display USB port to a USB port on my laptop. In addition, I finally just started plugging my Ethernet directly into my MBP and stopped using “Display Ethernet.”
I am a big Apple supporter. But this is not Apple-like “It just works” operation. Since USB-C is also port/cord consolidation approach (and might host Thunderbolt as one of its supported protocols), I am naturally concerned about the reliability of USB-C in terms of the end-user experience.
My kids charge their iPhones from their laptops while their laptops charge.
One USB-C and one traditional USB would have been nice. Or two USB-C to be more forward looking. One may never be enough for just this reason alone. Dongles suck.
Well get used to it. This is the future. The laptop being just as portable and cord free as the iPod and the iPhone. Imagine the possibilities.
Seriously what good is a laptop if you have to leave it in the same place all the time because of the peripherals connected to it? Might as well get a desktop.
At least the Chrome Pixel has one USB-C on each side so you can choose which side your power cord is going to go in. It seems a missed opportunity to have one USB-C port on each side.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a MBP with 4-6 USB-C ports. Two on each side. Remember, if you’re plugging that many cords in, you should probably consider a hub anyhow. Better than a dongle, a small USB-C powered hub will be an essential part of travelling.
“The awkward transition highlights the privilege and pain that comes with being an Apple customer. It also underscores the unique position Apple enjoys, one where it can make drastic changes to transform the computing industry because, well, it can get away with it,”
We have yet to see that; if the MacBook has only one port
“because the new MacBook hints at the direction the industry is headed as it relies increasingly on wireless technology.”
Apple had to make sure Wi-Fi wasn’t/isn’t the piece of crap it was with Yosemite.
Just as long as they don’t carry this over to the Mac Book Pro, I’m good with it.
However, for the MBP:
Battery life is more important than thinness.
Multiple thunderbolt and multiple USB ports are more important than a single port to rule them all.
I could live with a Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter, but the HDMI port is still nice (wearing out the Thunderbolt port on my MBP because I constantly plug and unplug an Ethernet adapter).
⅛” Audio is still important.
I like MDN take – right on.
I agree, with MDN, make a mag safe adapter. I’ve seen too many laptops broken due to cord issues with charging and in the old days, modem and Cat cables. This feels like a step backwards.
Better yet, how about a MagSafe-like spot with a port in the middle of it? When you need to plug something in, the new connection can be used with whatever dongles/adapters are required, but the MagSafe adapter just works. (It just works. That’s something Apple should try out. 😛 )
Surprised that this version has a physical key board. I half expected them to replace the keyboard with a smaller rectangle display and a virtual keyboard and track pad.
This is an “iMac moment”. Can Apple do to corded peripherals what they did to disk drives?
Wait, I thought the iPad heralded a world without cables.
Ready or not? Color me not ready. I plug at least three cords into my 17″ MBP every time I set it up. Four if you count the power cord.
I realize I am not the target consumer for this new MacBook, but if, as the article says, this is what’s coming to everything then my next laptop after my 17″ finally kicks it may not be from Apple. And I’ve been an Apple guy since 1981. Last year I bought a Windows-based gaming desktop and when it’s not actually running a game I totally hate it, since, of course, it runs Windows. But if Apple keeps taking away my functionality, I’ll learn to live with it.
Wait and see what happens with the Apple product lineup.
Also, if you can learn to live with a Windows-based system that you currently “totally hate,” then it might be even easier for you to learn to live with a few number of consolidated ports on a next generation Apple laptop. Since you already plug in four cords, it might actually save you time if those cords were left plugged into a USB-C hub. You could just plug in one cord to your laptop.
I would have preferred two USB-C ports on the new 12″ MB, one on each side, in addition to the headphone jack. But Apple did not ask me for my opinion.
My hope of course is that the MBP line will continue to have more functionality than this. As I said, I know I’m not the target consumer for this new MacBook. And I don’t mind hubs; I’ve even got hubs hanging off my iMac. I guess it’s the philosophy that scares me. It seems that Apple has veered over the “form vs. function” line to “form OVER function”.
And hey you kids, get off my lawn! 🙂
This IS the iPad pro, no doubt. What did we want in the iPad pro? An attached keyboard, a more responsive screen with haptic response, and of course OSX. This has all three. No the screen isn’t a touch screen, but the new Force pad is sooo much better. I know I will love my new one… now, Space Grey or Gold?
Not getting where you’re coming from wanting OSX on an iPad. The underlying code for iOS is OSX, but with a different interface. Bringing over a Mac interface onto an iPad is such a bad idea on so many levels that I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that’s not what you are asking for. With that said, I struggle to understand what it is that you feel is lacking in iOS that Mac OSX has.
grain of salt with my post
do not want osx on iPad
do not want touchscreen macs
but… this seems like a well designed sweet spot thats the best of both?
Your logic is impeccable but lots of people don’t understand the difference between an OS and a user interface that fits its hardware.
Some commenters go into rapture at the idea of “porting” OS X to larger iPads. I have even seen a lot of comments where people want an iPad that has both iOS and OS X depending on whether a keyboard is connected.
But JB was being humorously ironic.
AMAZING Tech but whhuuuttt? So I can’t have it plugged into a larger monitor AND have it charge? I can’t have it charging and Charge my phone from it? So when I stay in a hotel (which I do 80 – 100 nights a year) I have to look for a plug for my Phone ANOTHER for my Macbook, ANOTHER for my Watch, ANOTHER for my bluetooth headset, and ANOTHER for my iPad…seriously? Now I have a thinner computer but I have to carry a powerstrip.
Come on I need some help with all the POWER CORDS. Wireless charging?????
Is a little bit of research *that* hard? Really?
If you get one of the dongles Apple has announced to fit the USB-C port you can:
– Recharge the MacBook
– Connect it to an HDMI or VGA external monitor (or DisplayPort, although they don’t have a dongle for that yet)
– Connect to USB device(s with a hub) or charge your iPhone, etc. etc. etc.
In short: 1) pay attention 2) yes 3) yes 4) no …
Switch to decaf for a while.
We just slipped from a world without wires and cables to the world of dongles! Dang that dongle.
As an APPL shareholder I love the fact that they removed all the ports on the new MacBook and sold them back in the form of these octopus dongles. Pure genius!
Rubbish. The new MacBook is a beautiful niche product. If its “innovative” design ever becomes the norm for Apple laptops, proper laptops with real ports will be worth their weight in gold.
No, MDN, no. Apple designing a one-port wonder for the people who want an iPad with a keyboard (go 1.1 Ghz processor, go!) is not the future of a world without wires. That was the iPad or the Chromebook.
People believe(d) in Apple because they did things that made sense. Ever since OS 7, I don’t see Apple making as much sense anymore. Now it’s about changing things for the sake of change and to reduce usability. Hey, can I please have ugly flat icons? Please, Johnny, give me some moar of that awesome Crayola experience.
If you look at the Pismo, for instance, there was a way to have a lot of interface options without being clunky.
Apple is more interested in limiting choice — in a lot of different areas — than making for a better user experience, I fear.
I plan to buy one. I bought the first gen iPad, when people were saying it was stupid not to have a USB port. I bought the first MacBook Air, when people said it was crazy not to have an optical drive, and doomed to failure. I bought the first iMac, when it seemed absurd that it didn’t come with a built in floppy drive. And I bought my first Mac (second generation 512K Mac) when people questioned why it didn’t use the standard 5 1/4″ floppy disk drive like all other personal computers did.
And how much will all the adapters cost that we will need to gain the functionality lost with this change?
$80
You might note that Apple states this up front.
If it’s a problem, they’ve got other laptops to better fit your preferences. And at the same or lower prices, to boot.
I can’t and won’t function without separate USB, display and power connections. And MagSafe is a necessity. I shouldn’t have to plug in an adapter to plug in a USB device and charge at the same time, or even just to plug in a flash drive. The single port approach is madness. I hope they’ll never wreak such havoc on the MacBook Pro. It’s one thing to go without ethernet, FireWire and an optical drive, but they’ve gone too far.
This laptop is crap!
If they were going to eliminate all the ports including the magsafe. They needed to eliminate all the ports and use the inductive charging they have on the watch. This laptop is a HUGE step back since you have to have a plug to charge it and any clumsy passerby can knock it off the table and break your laptop.
Good job apple at going backwards.
You really need to pay better attention to where you set your laptops.
Take this for what it is, as someone who hasn’t had the chance to use one yet, but…
You managed to make a laptop thinner and fanless because the underlying processor technology from Intel now allows you to sacrifice performance for a modest portability improvement. What do you want, a cookie?
This isn’t anything shocking or new…