People use what they already have and it will last for years. Visit any store for storage options and you will still see USB2 and USB3 storage options galore. Only those who have an interest in switching will actually seek out USB-C options but for that, a couple of ports is enough - alongside those, ehem, legacy ports. Just like the new Mini (which even has more than a couple).
Ridiculous. First off, you're conflating USB2.0/3.0 (data protocols) with USB-C (a connector standard). I assume you mean USB-A or Micro-B versus USB-C, in which case there's absolutely no reason one couldn't also just pick up a USB-A or Micro-B to USB-C cable (and that applies to any other USB-A accessory they might own). Anyone buying storage after the fact would hopefully be smart enough to not buy anything limited to USB 2.0 (480Mbps) anymore, since that'd be an old piece of gear. Any existing USB 2.0 storage should be replaced with USB3.1 gen1/gen2 (5/10Gbps) enclosures/devices where possible, obviously, in which case you might as well just buy stuff with USB-C ports/cables to begin with. Anything with built-in USB-A cables can just get a little adapter stuck on the end and left there permanently — that's what I did with my 30" Cinema Display, on top of the old DVI to mDP adapter in between. Carry a little A to C adapter on your keychain for the random thumb drive or whatever, or need to plug in your iPhone cable, etc. None of this is a big deal.
There's literally no reason any of this needs to be a serious problem for anyone.
I wasn't conflating, simply using the terms people use most often but that isn't the point. The point is that wholesale switch to USB-C in 2016 was unnecessary. Making people buy adapters or new cables was unnecessary. Other manufacturers provided docks in the box - and still do. If they can do that, so can Apple.
We still have ethernet on routers and HDMI on TVs for example.
And having just ONE USB-C port on the original MacBook was plain stupid.
There hasn’t been Ethernet on a MacBook since 2012. The need for HDMI is arbitrary. I personally have never once needed it, yet have needed dual DVI followed by miniDP every day for the past decade. How would they know what type of adapater to include in the box? All of them to cover every niche use case? That’s absurd. Single port MacBook was for people who 99% of the time plug in nothing other than their power cord at the end of the day.
People use what they already have and it will last for years. Visit any store for storage options and you will still see USB2 and USB3 storage options galore. Only those who have an interest in switching will actually seek out USB-C options but for that, a couple of ports is enough - alongside those, ehem, legacy ports. Just like the new Mini (which even has more than a couple).
Ridiculous. First off, you're conflating USB2.0/3.0 (data protocols) with USB-C (a connector standard). I assume you mean USB-A or Micro-B versus USB-C, in which case there's absolutely no reason one couldn't also just pick up a USB-A or Micro-B to USB-C cable (and that applies to any other USB-A accessory they might own). Anyone buying storage after the fact would hopefully be smart enough to not buy anything limited to USB 2.0 (480Mbps) anymore, since that'd be an old piece of gear. Any existing USB 2.0 storage should be replaced with USB3.1 gen1/gen2 (5/10Gbps) enclosures/devices where possible, obviously, in which case you might as well just buy stuff with USB-C ports/cables to begin with. Anything with built-in USB-A cables can just get a little adapter stuck on the end and left there permanently — that's what I did with my 30" Cinema Display, on top of the old DVI to mDP adapter in between. Carry a little A to C adapter on your keychain for the random thumb drive or whatever, or need to plug in your iPhone cable, etc. None of this is a big deal.
There's literally no reason any of this needs to be a serious problem for anyone.
I wasn't conflating, simply using the terms people use most often but that isn't the point. The point is that wholesale switch to USB-C in 2016 was unnecessary. Making people buy adapters or new cables was unnecessary. Other manufacturers provided docks in the box - and still do. If they can do that, so can Apple.
We still have ethernet on routers and HDMI on TVs for example.
And having just ONE USB-C port on the original MacBook was plain stupid.
There hasn’t been Ethernet on a MacBook since 2012. The need for HDMI is arbitrary. I personally have never once needed it, yet have needed dual DVI followed by miniDP every day for the past decade. How would they know what type of adapater to include in the box? All of them to cover every niche use case? That’s absurd. Single port MacBook was for people who 99% of the time plug in nothing other than their power cord at the end of the day.
Now you are hitting on another issue but is relevant all the same. Whether USB-C was really 'the future' or not.
Making a wholesale switch on one line of Macs but NOT on another. Apple pulled the rug out from under the feet of everyone who radically defended (without considering the most elementary issue - of it being completely unnecessary) the lock stock and barrel switch to USB-C.
So when the refreshed iMacs were released, they were laden with those 'non-future', 'legacy' ports. Yes, ethernet is one of those but that made sense at least - a transition in the true sense of the word. The new Mini has followed suit. That is how to transition without inconveniencing users.
As for the docks. Manufacturers simply took away a large part of the inconvenience by placing the missing ports on a dock and including it in the box - fiendish idea if ever there was one.
Two years on we can now say the wholesale switch to USB-C really hasn't offered users that much of a change with regards to simply adding a couple of ports to the mix or including a dock in the box.
People use what they already have and it will last for years. Visit any store for storage options and you will still see USB2 and USB3 storage options galore. Only those who have an interest in switching will actually seek out USB-C options but for that, a couple of ports is enough - alongside those, ehem, legacy ports. Just like the new Mini (which even has more than a couple).
Ridiculous. First off, you're conflating USB2.0/3.0 (data protocols) with USB-C (a connector standard). I assume you mean USB-A or Micro-B versus USB-C, in which case there's absolutely no reason one couldn't also just pick up a USB-A or Micro-B to USB-C cable (and that applies to any other USB-A accessory they might own). Anyone buying storage after the fact would hopefully be smart enough to not buy anything limited to USB 2.0 (480Mbps) anymore, since that'd be an old piece of gear. Any existing USB 2.0 storage should be replaced with USB3.1 gen1/gen2 (5/10Gbps) enclosures/devices where possible, obviously, in which case you might as well just buy stuff with USB-C ports/cables to begin with. Anything with built-in USB-A cables can just get a little adapter stuck on the end and left there permanently — that's what I did with my 30" Cinema Display, on top of the old DVI to mDP adapter in between. Carry a little A to C adapter on your keychain for the random thumb drive or whatever, or need to plug in your iPhone cable, etc. None of this is a big deal.
There's literally no reason any of this needs to be a serious problem for anyone.
I wasn't conflating, simply using the terms people use most often but that isn't the point. The point is that wholesale switch to USB-C in 2016 was unnecessary. Making people buy adapters or new cables was unnecessary. Other manufacturers provided docks in the box - and still do. If they can do that, so can Apple.
We still have ethernet on routers and HDMI on TVs for example.
And having just ONE USB-C port on the original MacBook was plain stupid.
There hasn’t been Ethernet on a MacBook since 2012. The need for HDMI is arbitrary. I personally have never once needed it, yet have needed dual DVI followed by miniDP every day for the past decade. How would they know what type of adapater to include in the box? All of them to cover every niche use case? That’s absurd. Single port MacBook was for people who 99% of the time plug in nothing other than their power cord at the end of the day.
Now you are hitting on another issue but is relevant all the same. Whether USB-C was really 'the future' or not.
Making a wholesale switch on one line of Macs but NOT on another. Apple pulled the rug out from under the feet of everyone who radically defended (without considering the most elementary issue - of it being completely unnecessary) the lock stock and barrel switch to USB-C.
So when the refreshed iMacs were released, they were laden with those 'non-future', 'legacy' ports. Yes, ethernet is one of those but that made sense at least - a transition in the true sense of the word. The new Mini has followed suit. That is how to transition without inconveniencing users.
As for the docks. Manufacturers simply took away a large part of the inconvenience by placing the missing ports on a dock and including it in the box - fiendish idea if ever there was one.
Two years on we can now say the wholesale switch to USB-C really hasn't offered users that much of a change with regards to simply adding a couple of ports to the mix or including a dock in the box.
As they've clearly stated, they had far more room on the desktop machines to include a variety of ports. Not so on portable Macs.
And, I disagree — I am ecstatic to have four 40Gbps do-everything ports on this Mac. The flexibility offered by that is incredible. Any actual professional worth their salt will be just fine, versus the forum handwringers making a mountain out of a molehill.
Comments
Making a wholesale switch on one line of Macs but NOT on another. Apple pulled the rug out from under the feet of everyone who radically defended (without considering the most elementary issue - of it being completely unnecessary) the lock stock and barrel switch to USB-C.
So when the refreshed iMacs were released, they were laden with those 'non-future', 'legacy' ports. Yes, ethernet is one of those but that made sense at least - a transition in the true sense of the word. The new Mini has followed suit. That is how to transition without inconveniencing users.
As for the docks. Manufacturers simply took away a large part of the inconvenience by placing the missing ports on a dock and including it in the box - fiendish idea if ever there was one.
Two years on we can now say the wholesale switch to USB-C really hasn't offered users that much of a change with regards to simply adding a couple of ports to the mix or including a dock in the box.
And, I disagree — I am ecstatic to have four 40Gbps do-everything ports on this Mac. The flexibility offered by that is incredible. Any actual professional worth their salt will be just fine, versus the forum handwringers making a mountain out of a molehill.