No, Apple did not switch to USB-C on its new MacBook Pros to profit from dongle & adapter sales

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  • Reply 41 of 126
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    dacloo said:
    I was surprised to see the iPhone7 didn't move to USB-C.
    I'd have been surprised if they did. When the iPhone 7 launched how many Macs were being sold with a USB-C port? One. How many PCs were being sold with only a USB-C port? I can think of only one other, the Chromebook Pixel. Based on that, what percentage of PCs were in use during the iPhone 7 launch that supported USB-C? The number would likely round down to zero. Remember that Apple doesn't just sell the latest iPhone to the latest 12" MacBook user.
     The real question is "why does Apple stick with the lightning port when USB-C is superior and more standard?
    Not only is it obvious, it's been discussed over and over why they needed to create their 30pin connector, then the Lightning port, and why the MFi program helps Apple customers.
    There's no reason not to do it.
    Just looking at the recent news about the number of hazardous, knock-off Apple PSUs and cables on Amazon is more than enough indication as to why MFi is beneficial to keeping Apple's accessory ecosystem working well.
    Rayz2016chiachianetmagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 42 of 126
    Seriously, MagSafe frequently frayed costing more money? In my since the 3rd get of MagSafe the cables have been very solid and in reality if you argue enough they could be replaced under warranty, barring any obvious damage like cutting the cable in half. This article is, I dunno, slow news day?
  • Reply 43 of 126
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    Apple products are awesome, but usually carry premium prices. Apple should include required dongle-adapters at no extra charge with new MacBook Pro.
    edited December 2016 netmageavon b7
  • Reply 44 of 126
    I shake my head at the "if you can afford a $2K laptop you can afford an adapter".  Seriously? What kind of good customer experience is that? Especially when the newest iPhones ship with USB-A. But if we're going to use that argument then Apple didn't need to ship the iPhone 7 with a headphone adapter because if you can afford to spend $700 on a phone you can afford a $9 adapter. Maybe so but it comes across as Apple nickle and diming people caring more about the bottom line than a good customer experience. 
    singularitynetmageavon b7
  • Reply 45 of 126
    "Please take me back to serial, parallel ports and ADB. This new USB connection is a conspiracy by the computer companies to rake us for more money." - Mac Forums in 1996

    One universal connection on a MacBook Pro to drive a 5K display? Transfer data at 40 Gb/s? Power my peripherals? And people complain about also being able to keep their old hardware usable through the use of an adapter. jeez

    As for iPhone to mac does anyone sync with a wire anymore? Wireless syncing has been available since iOS 5 in 2011.

    People need to grow some. 
    macplusplusai46pscooter63Rayz2016chianetmageDeelronwatto_cobraanome
  • Reply 46 of 126
    Great article, and true to the point. Well done.

    As a 2016 MacBook Pro user for over a month now, the transition wasn't that painful. 4 new cables from Monoprice.com $30- made the cable problem go away.

    Yes, I have a USB-C Thunderbolt3 to Thunderbolt2 dongle, but that will go away soon when I get Thunderbolt3 external storage soon. Yes, I have a USB-C to GbE adapter too. I miss Magsafe, but I LOVE being able to play in any cable anywhere !



    macpluspluswatto_cobra
  • Reply 47 of 126
    For me dongles are just another tax on owning an Apple product. Like Cropr I outfit my primary workspaces with the adapters I need regularly (so I'm buying 2-3 each). Buying all new connectors ends up being a fair amount of money on an already premium priced laptop. Considering what these dongle likely cost to make, I too think Apple could have thrown in a set on a $2500 laptop. If they want to keep a sleek design, a sleek dongle pod in which to carry them could enhance the unboxing experience while furnishing the user with a place to put their hairball. Then there are the "occasional" use adapters. For my work, these include the A/V adapters. These guys are a super tax on Apple products because I hardly use them. I can't remember the last time I arrived and was able to plug directly into a projector--maybe the TiBook. I was one of the very few to use the expresscard port for I/O data collection, and those things were like $140 for a stupid RS232 connection because USB adapters were super flaky. I have never ever encountered a displayport projector in my travels (how many years has that been the port on mac laptops)....what's up with that. I say quit the "if we build it, they will come" attitude. The USB-C future cannot come soon enough (if ever does in the lifespan of a laptop) and then what will I do with all these damn adapters. Since my only option is to ditch the OS, I'll make a constructive suggestion. Go to the major "accessory" manufacturers (Kennsington, OWC, Belkin, BenQ, Sony, .....) and use some of the $200 billion cash reserve to help them roll out USB C products sooner rather than later--better yet, do it before you roll out a professional machine with nothing but.
    netmage
  • Reply 48 of 126
    appex said:
    Apple products are awesome, but usually carry premium prices. Apple should include required dongle-adapters at no extra charge with new MacBook Pro.
    I shake my head at the "if you can afford a $2K laptop you can afford an adapter".  Seriously? What kind of good customer experience is that? Especially when the newest iPhones ship with USB-A. But if we're going to use that argument then Apple didn't need to ship the iPhone 7 with a headphone adapter because if you can afford to spend $700 on a phone you can afford a $9 adapter. Maybe so but it comes across as Apple nickle and diming people caring more about the bottom line than a good customer experience. 
    There are so many different adapters/interfaces that can be plugged into those Thunderbolt 3 holes that if Apple asks you "OK, bundle which ones?" you cannot even reply to that...
    pscooter63netmagewatto_cobraanome
  • Reply 49 of 126
    MplsP said:
    sflocal said:
    MplsP said:
    A laptop is intrinsically a computer with compromises, but you make those compromises for convenience (size, portability, etc.) Not including USB A ports significantly compromises the convenience and usability of the device for at least the next 1-2 years. To voluntarily design a laptop to make it more inconvenient is just moronic. But at least they have courage. 
    USB ports themselves are becoming obsolete (up to a point) for most people.  Most printers are WiFi/AirPrint capable, cloud storage, AirDrop, AirPlay, etc... what the heck is left for people to require a USB port for other than docks, Thunderbolt devices, external monitors, etc..

    I don't know many people that plug anything into their USB ports anymore.  Sure, there are exceptions... quite a few, including me, but the reality is if people here are complaining about USB-A to USBc, seriously... cry me a river.
    I regularly have people give me USB A flash drives and I have a security key that is USB A. 

    The price of the dongle is an annoyance, but not an obstacle. If you can afford $2k for a laptop, you can afford $20 for a dongle (but on the flip side, if they're charging me $2k for a laptop with ports that no one is using yet, the least they could do is throw in the dongle.) The real issue for me is that there was really no need to do it. They could have easily had both ports. As it is, you're stuck carrying around the dongles or are potentially screwed if you don't have the right one with. Definitely not what I pay $2000 for.
    yes, they could have. but that would be going half way. they're all in, they're skating to where the puck is going. as a result they can make fewer compromises when it comes to system board design. (i'm not an electrical engineer but i do know everything requires compromises)
    edited December 2016 ai46pscooter63mac_128Rayz2016netmageDaekwan
  • Reply 50 of 126

    dacloo said:
    This article focuses on the wrong area. We all know they don't want to monetize from an open standard. A 3 sentence article would have sufficed.

    I was surprised to see the iPhone7 didn't move to USB-C. The real question is "why does Apple stick with the lightning port when USB-C is superior and more standard?"

    If Apple sticks with their proprietary port for the iPhone8 and tablets in 2017, it proves they don't put the consumer first but only act out of self-interest to monetize from cables. There's no reason not to do it.  
    Completely wrong. changing the port again would incur massive costs to million and millions of existing iphone customers across the globe. sure USBC (which came about after Lightning) may do the job just as well on paper, but that's theory and doesn't change the fact that iphone owners have all the cables and docks and accessories now. we just changed what 4 years ago? Apple won't make us do it again so soon. the cost to me and most consumers outweighs the benefits. 
    pscooter63netmageDeelronwatto_cobra
  • Reply 51 of 126
    I shake my head at the "if you can afford a $2K laptop you can afford an adapter".  Seriously? What kind of good customer experience is that? Especially when the newest iPhones ship with USB-A. But if we're going to use that argument then Apple didn't need to ship the iPhone 7 with a headphone adapter because if you can afford to spend $700 on a phone you can afford a $9 adapter. Maybe so but it comes across as Apple nickle and diming people caring more about the bottom line than a good customer experience. 
    Nonsense. because most people won't need all the various dongles and adapters. i sure don't. 
    mac_128Rayz2016netmagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 52 of 126
    bsenkabsenka Posts: 799member
    The fact that people CAN buy third party adapters does not disprove that Apple is looking to sell theirs. Apple makes a lot of thongs that you can also find from other manufacturers, they still want you to buy theirs.
    netmage
  • Reply 53 of 126
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    Going 'all in' on a new standard doesn't justify eschewing the current standard that 99+% of devices currently use. 

    As far as the iPhone connector goes, there are plenty of 3rd party cables, but I believe they have to pay licensing fees to Apple on these (correct me if I'm wrong on this).

    It would have been nice if Apple switched directly from the 30pin connector to USB C, but the lightning connector came out in 2012, and USB C wasn't finalized until 2014, meaning at least a 3 year difference if you take into account development time. I would be surprised if Apple doesn't switch the iPhones to USB C. They've already shown that they have no qualms about pissing people off by switching connectors, and if they are truly 'embracing the future of USB C' it would make the most sense.

    (for the person who asked, I routinely use the cable to connect may iPhone to my computer - I have yet to have wifi sync work consistently and reliably, ditto with airdrop, so a cable is most often the easiest and reliable method of transferring music/photos between my devices.)
  • Reply 54 of 126
    adonissmuadonissmu Posts: 1,776member
    AI_lias said:
    "Simply put, the number of people buying iPhones vastly outnumbers the number of customers who purchase new Macs"

    Why didn't they just throw on in each laptop box, not with each iPhone?
    I never had this problem charging my iPhone. I even see most USBA users not using their computer to charge their phones at starbucks while they use their computers. So... I'm not sure what everyone is on about tbqh. I think most people who are complaining were not in the market for it. However, in a year or two when the MacBooks and others are further along people will be thinking about how much easier it will make life for everyone regardless of computer manufacturer. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 55 of 126

    Apple has a MacBook dock they are working on.   But nobody wants to talk about that new technology yet.  most likely, it's built into the MacBook in based on Intel technology if they were really smart when they read what I said in the email addressed to Tim Cook  about why I cannot access the three USB ports on my laptop in a virtual machine but I can only Use one of them in macOS. 

    Are you really saying that of the four physical ports on the MacBook Pro you can't use any of them in a VM and only pne of them in macOS?
    If that is true then that fact alone should have raised a bigger stink than the battery issue.

    What VM product ere you using?

  • Reply 56 of 126

    Such also has me asking if 5K is really worth the apparent plethora of issues, vs 4K which seems surprisingly, pleasantly + mostly ubiquitously supported on older macs...? I haven't had the 5K pleasure, so again I would simply ask the question...
    Go to an Apple Store and look at the 27in iMac. Put some high res images on the screen and you will have your answer.
    Rayz2016watto_cobraDaekwan
  • Reply 57 of 126
    sflocal said:
    USB ports themselves are becoming obsolete (up to a point) for most people.  Most printers are WiFi/AirPrint capable, cloud storage, AirDrop, AirPlay, etc... what the heck is left for people to require a USB port for other than docks, Thunderbolt devices, external monitors, etc..

    I don't know many people that plug anything into their USB ports anymore.  Sure, there are exceptions... quite a few, including me, but the reality is if people here are complaining about USB-A to USBc, seriously... cry me a river.
    Really???????
    I have to disagree with you in the need for USB ports.
    I do a lot of travelling and often the internet connection is poor or even non existent. It is often expensive to use.
    So I take at least 1 USB drive with me, usually two. These are USB-3 drives. 1TB or 2TB in size.
    I can put three weeks of photography on them while I'm away on the boonies (or on an island that has no internet apart from via Satellite).
    I can also put a number of VM's on them. Are you really being serious to suggest that I would upload a VM of some 140Gb in size to a cloud provider and then download it when I wanted to use it? (This is a real world VM. It replicates the systems used to run a petro-chemical plant)

    In the words of John McEnroe, 'You can't be serious'.
    Then there is the 4TB drive I use for my TimeMachine Backups. That is USB-3. Where do you suggest that I connect it then? To a ghost?

    all of these are USB-A connections. Useless on the new MacBooks. So I'll have to fork out for a few dongles if I do buy one of the new MacBooks.

    Oh, and I forgot. As a dinosaur. I prefer wired (ie USB) keyboards and mice when I'm using the MacBook in my office when it is connected to two 4k screens.
    See, I have a very good use case for keeping USB ports.  I know that I'm not alone
    netmage
  • Reply 58 of 126
    DIYDanDIYDan Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    People need to vote with their wallet if they don't approve with Apple's new chosen path of connectivity features. Since Apple decided to not put any USB-A and no memory card reader slot on their new Macbook Pro line we will be finding a different solution to use. Unfortunately, the Macbook's that are currently in service for our employees will be the last. Messing with missing dongles and purchasing new ones is not feasible. I wish apple the best but less is not more in this case!
    netmage
  • Reply 59 of 126
    There are a lot of things wrong with the new MacBook "Pro".

    The switch to a modern standard connector is NOT one of them.  Sure, it was a mistake to leave off MagSafe, but every other connector on the computer should have been USB-C/ThunderBolt 3, that is absolutely doing things the right way.  Yes, you need adapters now.  But you won't always.  The new connectors are a standard, they're fast, and they're easily adaptable to whatever legacy connector you need.

    Should Apple have put 8 of them on instead of 4?  Sure.  Was dumping the brilliant MagSafe power connector stupid?  Of course.  But putting legacy data ports on would have been stupid too.
  • Reply 60 of 126
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    bsenka said:
    The fact that people CAN buy third party adapters does not disprove that Apple is looking to sell theirs. Apple makes a lot of thongs that you can also find from other manufacturers, they still want you to buy theirs.
    And let's not forget that many third party dongles have compatibility issues with Apple products, some of which can be down right dangerous -- a fact Apple has not been shy about promoting (albeit in their customers best interest). And that goes to the fact that the average customer tends to trust OEM equipment much more than third party accessories. Not to mention, why would an average customer walk out of an Apple Store without everything they needed? I've got some incredibly frugal friends who did just that based on the Apple salespersons recommendations, even though I told them beforehand not to do that as they could get third party accessories cheaper elsewhere. There's a kind of trust, that goes with expensive purchases like Macs, iPads and iPhones that tends to guarantee OEM purchases over third parties. That said, Apple has generally justified that trust by making superior, durable and reliable accessories, and customers are willing to pay for that peace of mind. Further, I have often gone head to head with Apple over the failure of third party products to work with their products. Without my technical understanding, I would have lost those contests, and eaten the cost of repairs, or Apple OEM replacments. The average consumer does not want to deal with those problems.
    netmage
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