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Apple's New MacBook Pro Requires a $25 Dongle To Charge Your iOS Device (networkworld.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Network World: As Phil Schiller explained during today's event, Apple's new MacBook Pros feature four Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C ports, and conveniently, each of these can be used to charge the machine. Now, USB-C is incredibly versatile, and Apple will use the advanced port for power charging, HDMI and much more. However, with USB-C the only game in town, you might reasonably be wondering: How in the world do I connect my iPhone to my sleek new MacBook Pro? The frustrating answer is that you won't be able to do so out of the box. Instead, you'll have to buy a dongle. This is especially frustrating because many people use their notebooks for a) charging purposes when an outlet isn't necessarily handy and b) for transferring photos and other data. Now, you might reasonably state that you can just rely upon the cloud for items like data transfer, but there's no getting around the fact that Apple's efforts in the cloud still leave much to be desired. How much will it cost to connect your iPhone to your brand new MacBook Pro? Well, Apple sells a USB-C to Lightning cable on its website for $25. While this is undoubtedly frustrating, we can't say that it's entirely unexpected given Apple gave us a preview of its preference for USB-C when it released its 12-in. MacBook last year. Still, it's a funky design choice for a decidedly Pro-oriented device where the last thing a prospective consumer would want to do is spend some extra cash for a dongle after spending upwards of $2,399. Lastly, while we're on the topic of ports, it's worth noting that the new MacBook Pros also do away with the beloved MagSafe connector.

201 of 347 comments (clear)

  1. Apple: it just works by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 4, Funny

    Especially when you chain 37 adapters and hubs together to gain back the functionality you had just 3 years ago...

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    1. Re:Apple: it just works by saloomy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What really frustrates me is that you can use a Google phone and use the USB-C to USB-C cord that COMES WITH YOUR MAC. The only major phone that doesn't use USB-C at this point is the iPhone, but Apple use USB-C for their laptops now. So it seems the best combo is a Mac and an Android, from a cables perspective. Why?

    2. Re:Apple: it just works by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 4, Funny

      After you spent $2,500 for a MBP, what's 1% more?

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    3. Re:Apple: it just works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It isn't a cost thing, it is another fucking cable/dongle to lose/break/get stolen.

    4. Re:Apple: it just works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      strange definition of normal. I am sitting in an open office, would be close to 90% of people have their phone connected to their computer.

    5. Re:Apple: it just works by adamstew · · Score: 3, Funny

      You still needed the USB->lightening cable that came with your phone to charge the phone using the normal USB port. It's the same cable, just with USB-C instead of plain USB.

    6. Re: Apple: it just works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Sorry. I do that all the time. The Cloud should never be the only choice. Hell, it should almost never be the first choice.

    7. Re:Apple: it just works by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      I travel a lot (weekly) and love to use my laptop as my charging hub for all my gear. And if needed - I'll top up my phone at the desk during the day, with my laptop. I guess it's better to carry another charger though!

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    8. Re:Apple: it just works by whoever57 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      After you spent $2,500 for a MBP, what's 1% more?

      Money isn't really the issue. But what do you do when you realize that you have lost or left your dongle behind? It's another device to carry, to lose, to break. It's the opposite of "just works".

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    9. Re:Apple: it just works by sound+vision · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's the same cable... with USB-C instead of plain USB.

      Not even I thought the Reality Distortion Field had such power as to superimpose two physically disparate cables upon each other.
      Dear God... Apple has won. They have achieved the omnipotent powers of transfiguration. The war is lost! Open your wallets and pour out for penance!

    10. Re: Apple: it just works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It won't charge at full power, it won't talk at full speed.

    11. Re:Apple: it just works by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2

      Especially when you chain 37 adapters and hubs together to gain back the functionality you had just 3 years ago...

      Ya, but the new iPhone is now water resistant -- so ... there.

      So cutting edge. It wasn't a Kyocera Hydro VIBE -- which was certified water *proof* back in 2014 (with a headphone jack) -- that guy strapped to the handlebars of his bike to go riding in a thunderstorm in that Apple commercial -- “Practically Magic” -- which is ironic because it's neither practical or magic, just 2+ years late on a phone that costs 3 times what the VIBE did.

      But I digress. The Apple stuff *is* very shiny and thin.

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    12. Re:Apple: it just works by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2

      It's the same cable... with USB-C instead of plain USB.

      Not even I thought the Reality Distortion Field had such power as to superimpose two physically disparate cables upon each other. Dear God... Apple has won. They have achieved the omnipotent powers of transfiguration. The war is lost! Open your wallets and pour out for penance!

      Wait until you see the Apple certified Monster USB-C cables ...

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    13. Re:Apple: it just works by Lord+Apathy · · Score: 1

      They don't bother to tell you the end of the story where that guy goes peddling off into the thunderstorm. He rides to the end of the drive way and gets hit by lightning.

      Moral of the story. Your phone maybe waterproof, but riding a fucking thunderstorm with lightning is a stunningly stupid idea.

      --

      Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification

    14. Re:Apple: it just works by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      But the $25 is in the main title - like the price is of importance...

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    15. Re:Apple: it just works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Money is an issue. One of the reason Apple does so well for itself is because it's constantly screwing its customers over and over again and they love it. Other companies would make their devices compatible as a selling point, Apple makes them incompatible to sell more cheap things at huge markups. And because their items are priced so high already, what's wrong with paying a little bit more? If the phone was a cheap $80 people would be screaming about needing to buy a $25 wire. But since you're already being screwed out of $2,500 then it must be ok to come back for seconds.

      I don't understand the goodwill towards Apple. They are one of the most morally corrupt businesses in the computing industry.

    16. Re:Apple: it just works by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      they know you will suck it up because of the "brand name/fashion victim" attitude

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    17. Re:Apple: it just works by tripleevenfall · · Score: 1

      Or you could just replace your USB to Lightning cable with a Lightning to Lightning cable.

    18. Re:Apple: it just works by Daemonik · · Score: 1

      They need to give you a reason to upgrade to the iPhone 8, which will be functionally the same as the iPhone 7 except with USB-C adapters.

    19. Re: Apple: it just works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Buy another dongle. They look cool. Just shut up and give them your money.

    20. Re:Apple: it just works by secretsquirel · · Score: 1

      Ya but only because they broke mass-storage.

    21. Re:Apple: it just works by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 2

      After you spent $2,500 for a MBP, what's 1% more?

      Just enough to cover a large bottle of lube?

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    22. Re:Apple: it just works by jamiesan · · Score: 1

      Your phone maybe waterproof, but riding a fucking thunderstorm with lightning is a shockingly stupid idea.

      FTFY

    23. Re:Apple: it just works by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      I saw a guy like that on a train recently. He had so many bits of crap & cables it looked like a loom.

      If he'd been at an airport they'd have shot him.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    24. Re:Apple: it just works by the_B0fh · · Score: 1

      Money isn't really the issue. But what do you do when you realize that you have lost or left your dongle behind? It's another device to carry, to lose, to break. It's the opposite of "just works".

      Oh, so USB->lightning, no problems. USB-C->lightning, OMG, the sky is falling.

      Are you really that fucking stupid?

    25. Re:Apple: it just works by raque · · Score: 1

      Apple's problem is that it isn't anything more then anything else. It is only just as morally corrupt as any other company. It only designs as badly as any other company.

    26. Re:Apple: it just works by unixisc · · Score: 1

      What really frustrates me is that you can use a Google phone and use the USB-C to USB-C cord that COMES WITH YOUR MAC. The only major phone that doesn't use USB-C at this point is the iPhone, but Apple use USB-C for their laptops now. So it seems the best combo is a Mac and an Android, from a cables perspective. Why?

      Yeah, this is particularly bizarre, given that Apple could easily make a USB-C to lightning connector, and they'd be off to the races. Also, if they are so gung-ho on USB-C, why didn't they replace the lightning connector w/ USB-C as well on the iPhone 7? Also, if someone else tries to make the same A-C dongle that would allow it to change, then Apple would have something that would sabotage that feature so that people are forced to buy Apple's branded dongle.

    27. Re:Apple: it just works by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Yeah, it's called wireless charging

    28. Re:Apple: it just works by dgatwood · · Score: 1

      Not being backwards-compatible for long enough gives you the steaming pile that is running prebuilt binaries on Linux. There's a happy medium. IMO, Apple should have had the foresight to start shipping USB-C chargers and cables with all new iOS devices on the same day....

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    29. Re:Apple: it just works by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Interestingly, the Apple Accessory Interface Spec (R26) explicitly DISALLOWS the creation of a USB-C to Lightning cable by any 3rd party. So - it's hope Apple offers the right dongle or your chances of getting a real Apple-approved (meaning - a real MFi chip, not a cloned/gray market one) is slim.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  2. Dump lightning by ArtemaOne · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They really should have made the switch to USB-C on their iPhone 7 and iPad. It seems to be virtually the same size. And what else uses lightning besides those few device lines?

    1. Re:Dump lightning by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1, Interesting

      That would negatively impact Apple's business model. Accessories sold by a company like Apple are typically much more profitable than the devices themselves.

    2. Re:Dump lightning by berj · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You're joking right?

      Apple's phone device revenue is *twelve times* higher than its *entire* "other" category (61% vs 5% in the most recent quarter).

      The amount of money (and profit) apple pulls in from iPhones utterly eclipses any money they pull in from cables.

    3. Re:Dump lightning by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      I think you're misinterpreting my statement, I'm referring to margins.

    4. Re:Dump lightning by Dragonslicer · · Score: 1

      You should look at profit, not revenue. And I don't care enough to do so myself.

    5. Re:Dump lightning by berj · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The profit margin (as a percentage) doesn't matter.

      They could make only 5% profit on phones (which they most assuredly do not) and still bank more than even the most profitable USB cables and dongles.

      It's just not a factor, financially, for them.

    6. Re:Dump lightning by berj · · Score: 2

      The "other" segment is so tiny and the cables are so tiny relative to the rest of "other" (Watches are currently part of "other") that it doesn't really matter what the profit margins are.

      The phones are *vastly* more profitable than accessories.

    7. Re:Dump lightning by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, you don't get it. Apple makes a greater percentage profit on their cables than on their laptops. For example, with the $25 dongle the article mentions, Apple makes 235% profit. That's right, Apple makes $58.75 in profit, and that's after deducting the $1.18 cost for material and labor.

      In addition, you haven't heard about the mandatory Cable-a-Month club membership that comes with every new MacBook. Since Mac users aren't good at maths, they never realize the monthly charge on their credit card for a USB-C to Lightning cable. They just assume they are getting a new cable in the mail every month for free.

      So, you see, it's very simple how Apple makes much more money off their $25 cables than they do on their $2500 laptops.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    8. Re:Dump lightning by known_coward_69 · · Score: 1

      it's not the revenue, but the profit. accessories have always been huge profit drivers. they might only be a few percent of total profits but for earnings it will be a few cents a share and the difference between a plunging stock or a soaring stock price

    9. Re:Dump lightning by cdrudge · · Score: 1

      I've seen estimated profit margins for iPhones as high as 69%. Their last quarterly report that was just released has iPhone revenues at $28.2B and "Other products" revenue of $2.4B. Take away from that $2.4B revenue from Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products to leave just the revenue from iPod and Apple-branded and third-party accessories.

      The profit margins may be ridiculously high on accessories, the gross profit is still dwarfed by even an extremely conservative estimate of margins on the iPhone.

    10. Re:Dump lightning by bn-7bc · · Score: 1

      Welll as a publicly traded company they have to, if the sharholders don't get the results they want (as mouch proffit as possible), du I like it? Not realy but I like their products so will i drop apple over yhese dongle, no but I might not ger a mbp next time i need a laprop because of there removal of the esc an fkeys, but time will tell, I gues the option to display that row of keys on the touch strip/touch id strip

    11. Re:Dump lightning by torkus · · Score: 1

      No no no. You missed the genius that happened behind the scenes at Apple.

      A few years ago they managed to get everyone to buy all new cables because Lightning. That petered out and the clone cables are not of sufficient quality and lower price that people don't care.

      Apple thought long and hard. Then realized using USB-C on their laptops means people have to buy new power adapters - genius! But that's not enough. They sell way more iPhones.

      Instead of giving up on the massive profit center that is Lightning...they struck upon a truly genius idea of "let's change the OTHER end of that magic cable". Yep, instead of replacing the lightning port, we'll replace what's on the other end. So people still have to buy a new cable and it STILL has to be proprietary.

      Pure genius from an apple profit perspective.

      --
      You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.
    12. Re:Dump lightning by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      Profit = margin * quantity.

      Nobody ever kept a product line alive based on margin alone.

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    13. Re:Dump lightning by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      Their cables have strain relief. It's just not adequate. My girlfriend just today had to toss a Lightning cable because the rubber was splitting apart *just after* the strain relief on the USB end.

      Oh well, replaced it with a $6 10 foot braided cable from Amazon that basically cannot fail in the same way.

      --
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  3. Silly word by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Non-techies often giggle when I use the word "dongle". Can't we find a better word before HR hauls me in for alleged harassment?

    1. Re:Silly word by rworne · · Score: 5, Informative

      Non-techies often giggle when I use the word "dongle". Can't we find a better word before HR hauls me in for alleged harassment?

      Not as far fetched as you think....

      --
      I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit
    2. Re:Silly word by just+another+AC · · Score: 1

      Non-techies often giggle when I use the word "dongle". Can't we find a better word before HR hauls me in for alleged harassment?

      Most people have settled on: "adapter", "converter" or any number of other equally valid choices that work for both tech and non tech people (remember the goal of language is to convey meaning, and dongle offers nothing extra over these words - unless you are talking standalone dongles eg for licensing etc)

    3. Re:Silly word by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      I mean in general. They still exist in other products.

    4. Re:Silly word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If it's any consolation, Adria Richards still doesn't have a job since that incident. Now that's what I call social justice.

    5. Re:Silly word by sound+vision · · Score: 1

      I also remember reading on Snopes years ago about some hubbub over the "master/slave" terminology (re: IDE hard disks) and also the word "niggardly." Though, the second case, I could easily see it being a grammar nazi trying to figure out just how many hairs they could split before someone blew up.

    6. Re:Silly word by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A dongle by its very nature sticks out. It is totally phallic.

      You've never seen breasts, have you?

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    7. Re:Silly word by AJWM · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Back on the old Burroughs mainframes, the unexpected termination of a child process could terminate the parent process. The error message was "Program abort: death of a child".

      I remember some gal totally freaking out over that. It may have hit a nerve.

      --
      -- Alastair
    8. Re:Silly word by jeremyp · · Score: 2

      It's not a dongle anyway, it's a cable.

      --
      All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
    9. Re:Silly word by torkus · · Score: 1

      Yesterday I had to explain to someone the difference between male and female RJ-45 jacks in the office.

      After a few times around of it not being clear which was which...I said 'it's *exactly* how you think it is" and a few people giggled and then everyone understood. I figure HR will call me today.

      --
      You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.
    10. Re:Silly word by Cajun+Hell · · Score: 1

      A dongle by its very nature sticks out. It is totally phallic.

      The one distinguishing trait of all dongles were that they were proprietary hardware. You couldn't just buy one from a competitor, or make one.

      (Phallic definitely isn't it. I remember when Netware came with a dongle which was an internal ISA card. Not phallic.)

      In that respect, the iPhone's dependency on Lightning does make its connectors dongle-like. You could say it's an adapter and a dongle.

      That's the world we live in, ladies and gentleman. Welcome to the future.

      Uh, no. That's the world we mostly upgraded from, a long time ago. AFAIK the only remaining dongles I use, are my phone's SIM card and the chip in my new ATM/credit cards.

      --
      "Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
    11. Re:Silly word by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      well, there's always "adapter".

      Didn't have to stretch the thinking meats too much to come up with that...

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
    12. Re:Silly word by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Well, I mean, she has literally no skills to speak of. Who would hire her?

      Let's see.
      No real skills.
      Willing to make a big stink about minor infractions.
      Willing to do this in public and got two people fired for an extremely minor offense.
      Never apologizes, just doubles down on entitlement.

      Yes, she sounds like winner.

    13. Re:Silly word by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      A dongle by its very nature sticks out. It is totally phallic.

      You've never seen breasts, have you?

      Yeah, but dongles are usually limp and flimsy.
      Sometimes you get dongles that are totally hard, but they're often not worth it since they cause stress on the device.

    14. Re:Silly word by tipo159 · · Score: 1

      Back on the old Burroughs mainframes, the unexpected termination of a child process could terminate the parent process. The error message was "Program abort: death of a child".

      I remember some gal totally freaking out over that. It may have hit a nerve.

      The source code for the Burroughs B5000 (A Series) MCP operating system told the story of the illicit love affair between George and Sophia. Well, it did until a source code customer complained about it.

    15. Re:Silly word by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I'm sure there's a CEO position for her at a major multi-national.

    16. Re:Silly word by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      You've never seen breasts, have you?

      If you're discussing phallic shapes and immediately think breasts, maybe you should check to see if they are actually women you're hanging out with. .

    17. Re:Silly word by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      I'm not discussing shapes of anything at all. The AC before me simply thinks that anything that sticks out must be a penis. I pointed out he was mistaken.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    18. Re:Silly word by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Actually he specifically mentioned phallic. That word was literally 8.3% of his sentence by word count.

  4. I've seen the future by jxander · · Score: 4, Funny
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    This signature is false.
    1. Re:I've seen the future by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Ha, I can see someone doing that then scratching their head and wondering why it doesn't work.

    2. Re:I've seen the future by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      OMG, Nerd p0rn!

  5. Re:$7 third party by ArtemaOne · · Score: 1

    Looks like they already have a $7 third party option. I am not affiliated with the brand that I've never heard of, nor Amazon. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0...

  6. Like it's always been? by SumDog · · Score: 1

    but...it's always been that way, with all the previous Apple products too.

    Their fucking phones are the old smart phones on the market that don't use a USB standard.

  7. And a $39 adaptor to get magsafe back by presidenteloco · · Score: 3, Interesting
    --

    Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
    1. Re:And a $39 adaptor to get magsafe back by cerberusss · · Score: 1

      I've read only so-so things about that connector. Does anyone have a good experience?

      --
      8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
    2. Re:And a $39 adaptor to get magsafe back by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      https://griffintechnology.com/...

      Fantastic. Yet another dongle. Let's see. Magsafe dongle, dongle to charge iPhone, iPhone audiojack dongle. Ethernet dongle.

      It's dongles all the way down.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    3. Re:And a $39 adaptor to get magsafe back by Algan · · Score: 1

      That adaptor is rated at 60W. 15" Macbook Pro charges at 85W.

      --
      If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?
    4. Re:And a $39 adaptor to get magsafe back by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      You won't have a good experience if you use that with these new laptops. Unless you're cold. The resulting fire could be considered a good experience then.

    5. Re:And a $39 adaptor to get magsafe back by cerberusss · · Score: 1

      Well, I could be warm for the rest of my life!

      --
      8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
  8. Where's the courage now? by chrism238 · · Score: 4, Funny

    How can Apple possibly justify wasting valuable internal space on the 3.5mm headphone jack? If they removed that archaic interface they could likely shave off another 0.15mm, present another glossy graphic where that 0.15mm saving looks like a 30% reduction in thickness, and sell their customers yet another dongle.

    1. Re:Where's the courage now? by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      But then there would be the danger that the laptop bends under its own weight.

  9. Re:You connect your iPhone to the new Mac wireless by ArtemaOne · · Score: 1

    Wow, charging over wireless? I hadn't heard of that feature.

  10. Rumor about new super-dongle from Apple by JoeyRox · · Score: 4, Funny

    It converts between Lightning and USB-C but accomplishes it by converting the Lightning port to an internal Firewire port, which then converts to an internal USB port, which converts to an HDMI port, and finally goes out as USB-C.

  11. Proof that Jobs is Gone. by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Something like this would have never happened under Jobs. He was meticulous that stuff worked together, easily, out of the box. Apple's lost its way with each product manager driving each product.

    1. Re:Proof that Jobs is Gone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes. Jobs was meticulous regarding the Iphone 4 antenna, the round mouse, the fire starting magsafe connectors, the overheating laptops, the bending "unibody" chassis, etc. (the list goes on a lot longer than this).

    2. Re:Proof that Jobs is Gone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Steve Jobs was a better cult leader; fanboys were much quicker to defend Apple's failings.

    3. Re:Proof that Jobs is Gone. by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      All of those examples bar one were a minor fault in an otherwise fantastic design. Only the round mouse which wasn't significant as there were easily available alternatives matches this defective and useless by design bullshit that is migrating to a standard no one is actively using.

    4. Re:Proof that Jobs is Gone. by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 1

      None of those things are something that you notice in the first 60 seconds of using something. Jobs was always about the first impression and how it 'should work'.

      Apple spent money and design time on their packaging. Compared to other MP3 players of the day the iPod was gorgeously packaged and easy to get to.

      Having to use a dongle to use your brand new phone with your brand new laptop is one of those things Jobs would have flipped out about. Not an antenna that he likely never used (Always on Wifi), the long term reliability of the Mag Safe, over heating laptops, etc.

      And that 'round mouse' brought Apple's stock back from the teens. It seems that plenty of people liked it just fine.

    5. Re:Proof that Jobs is Gone. by OfficeLackey · · Score: 1

      I believe you are absolutely correct. The visionary's vision has been exceeded by time and circumstances. Apple is now off the edge of Steve Job's map. While I never was a huge fan of Apple or Job's, I will admit that he had the pulse and vision for consumer grade gizmo(s) and those who buy them. Now we are seeing the fumblings and minor missteps of a company who's arc has peaked and who's future is a down hill coast to mediocrity at best. They are Microsoft as it was 10-12 years ago. The "good" ideas are gone and all that is left is marketing and whatever committee beaten product that lands highest on the wall to which it has been thrown.

    6. Re:Proof that Jobs is Gone. by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      They liked the machine that the round mouse shipped with. Even Jobs admitted during a keynote that it was a horrible mouse when he announced the replacement.

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
    7. Re:Proof that Jobs is Gone. by somenickname · · Score: 1

      You are comparing conscientious design decisions to hardware bugs (with the exception of the mouse). Steve Jobs didn't sit down with engineers and say, "It would be great if the new iPhone was unusable if you hold your thumb in a certain spot". However, someone really did sit down and say, "It would be great if we made our new laptops incompatible with our phones and 99% of all other devices." That's the kind of thing that would get people fired under Jobs.

  12. It gets worse... by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...if you think about the ear phone situation. The new macs still have a 3.5mm jack for ear phones and no special wireless chip. Hence there are no ear phones which will work with both your mac an your iPhone.

    People used to claim that Apple was a hardware company but given the current state of their hardware this is hard to believe. I think they are turning into a dongle company where they plan to make their money selling dongles to let you connect all their hardware together.

    1. Re:It gets worse... by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 2

      So let me get this straight. You're saying that Tim Cook wants us to play with his dongles?

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    2. Re:It gets worse... by SolemnLord · · Score: 1

      and no special wireless chip.

      Only the airpods and the new Beats wireless headphones have the chips. The Watches, iPhones, and various MacBooks don't, because they don't need them. Any machine running one of the supported OSes (iOS 10, watchOS 3, and macOS Sierra) will work, including things like the iPhone 5 and Macbooks from 2009 onward. Apple says so itself (under "system requirements" and "compatibility").

      I mean, really.

    3. Re:It gets worse... by Gilgaron · · Score: 1

      Most of the comments here are complaining about all the required dongles, not stating that they don't exist.

    4. Re:It gets worse... by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      ... except for literally ANY BLUETOOTH HEADPHONE EVER.

      Please at least try to know something about the products before complaining about problems that just don't exist.

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
    5. Re:It gets worse... by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      People used to claim that Apple was a hardware company but given the current state of their hardware this is hard to believe. I think they are turning into a dongle company where they plan to make their money selling dongles to let you connect all their hardware together.

      Not a viable business model. Apple sells cables and adapters, and 3rd parties sell the same, much cheaper.

      In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there arne't 3rd party USB-C to Lightning adapters available for $10 now. And Amazon Basics probably has a 4-pack of USB-C to USB-A female adapters for $10, too.

    6. Re:It gets worse... by gnasher719 · · Score: 1

      In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there arne't 3rd party USB-C to Lightning adapters available for $10 now. And Amazon Basics probably has a 4-pack of USB-C to USB-A female adapters for $10, too.

      Actually, you might want a USB-C to Lightning cable (not adapter) or a USB-C to USB adapter. That adapter is actually available for about $10.

      On the other hand, Anker used to sell a 5x USB charger, they now also offer a 4x USB + 1x USB-C charger. Someone also offers a port with 4x USB 3.1, 4K HDMI, plus power supply to your Mac, which should completely meetmost people's needs. (Both items about £29 in the UK).

    7. Re: It gets worse... by cthulhu11 · · Score: 1

      Fuck HDMI. Give me DisplayPort to run existing monitors from

    8. Re: It gets worse... by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Lightening on the MacBook Pro?

      They're already pretty pale and thin. I don't think it's possible to lighten them any more.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  13. That's absurd. All Macs & iPhones have bluetoo by Brannon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    what a weird thing to lie about.

  14. Re:Good riddance to MagSafe by ArtemaOne · · Score: 1

    I've heard of people having poor success with them. I guess my wife and I are just lucky. I've had one of mine since 2010 and the other since 2014, and both original magsafe setups are still running well. How many have you gone through?

  15. Re:Perfect word by Overzeetop · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You must keep calling it that until they no longer exist or are no longer needed. They are horrible, and the name for them should be just as horrible or embarrassing as possible.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  16. Be patient by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 5, Funny

    They are currently busy removing that archaic interface known as the keyboard one row at a time. Given them a chance to finish that before they start removing all the remaining ports.

    1. Re:Be patient by jeremyp · · Score: 1

      Actually, I'm pretty sure that is where things are heading. Either the keyboard will become an extended touch bar or maybe each key will have a tiny display on it. I don't know how good the force feedback is, but if it can get to the point where you can type without looking at the keyboard, I'd definitely be for an extended touch bar.

      --
      All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
    2. Re:Be patient by alvinfernald · · Score: 1

      As you can see from these Mac prototypes, Apple was looking to expand the "single button" design from the mouse to the keyboard. http://thesuperslice.com/2013/...

    3. Re:Be patient by danomac · · Score: 1

      It will be terrible. How will you know your fingers are even on the right keys? Tip: you won't, until you press one (or look.)

      On the other hand touch-typing will have an entirely new meaning. They'll have to adjust the accuracy and speed rates down quite a bit, though.

    4. Re:Be patient by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Does seem a little odd they stopped after the first inch

      Not that odd. Keyboards are actually typable for longer than 10 minutes at a time without eventually mashing your fingertips into pulp. Even the super-thin keys on a Macbook are better than the hard surface of a screen. You do NOT want a retina screen keyboard. Horrible idea.

    5. Re:Be patient by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Actually, I'm pretty sure that is where things are heading. Either the keyboard will become an extended touch bar or maybe each key will have a tiny display on it

      And at that we'd have to go back to typing by looking at keyboard, like people just learning to type do. Without the ridges of physical keys, you can't tell what keys your fingers are actually on.

    6. Re:Be patient by Megane · · Score: 1

      Don't give them any ideas or we'll end up with the MacBook Pro DS.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
  17. Re:Good riddance to MagSafe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wonder if it's really luck.
    Friend of mine noticed a odd pattern at his business - the only MBPs that had regular issues with the magsafe cables were sitting on desks that got direct sunlight, plenty others were still on their original adapters after 3 years.
    Makes me suspect that whatever polymer Apple is using for the insulation on those cables is not exactly UV stable...

  18. Re:Good riddance to MagSafe by vux984 · · Score: 1

    I've had the cords themselves go, but the connector itself has always been fine.

    magsafe is, or should I say *was*, one of the big selling points for the macbook pros for me.

    I can't really see buying another one though. The new one is not merely underwhelming, its a straight up downgrade.

  19. Re:hello? dock? by ArtemaOne · · Score: 2

    Well, except for getting rid of the magsafe, which is one of the best features it used to have.

  20. You're looking at the wrong end by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It's not the port on the computer that's the problem, but the one on the iPhone. Instead of a proprietary port, the iPhone should use a standard port and that standard is USB with USB-C being its latest incarnation.

  21. Re:hello? dock? by chrism238 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Psssst, here's a clue - laptops are supposed to provide portability, and not require you to carry around a bunch of extra cables and docks.

  22. Re:hello? dock? by vux984 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Get a dock if you want to use lots of (legacy) ports on a compact laptop!

    Uh... if I wanted a 'compact laptop' I'd buy a macbook air.

    I wanted a pro laptop; I want a gigabit ethernet port. That is not a "legacy" port. I want regular USB. I want HDMI. These are not legacy ports either. These are what the other devices you will encounter on the road have. From the TV in the hotel to the flash drive a coworker will hand you. I don't want to have reach into a bag of dongles to find an adapter for every goddamned thing.

    I'm fine with it being a bit heavier, and a bit thicker if it gives me more ports and more battery. Again, I wanted a pro laptop ... if I wanted a compact laptop that focused on minimalism... I'd have bought a macbook air.

    I want more RAM, I want more SSD. This laptop might be a fine device... but its just a fancy macbook air. I'm in the market for a pro laptop.

    Anyone that's somehow finding it possible to be hurting for an additional $25 after buying a $2,000+ computer can just get on ali or amazon or ebay and pick up two cables for $6 shipped or something like that.

    Its not the money for the cables, its having to buy them at all. Its that I spent $2000+ for a computer with all the functionality I wanted built in. I wasn't trying to save money; I was trying to buy a pro laptop. Charge me another $200 and build-in the fucking ports. Not having to carry around a bag of shit is worth it to me.

    Get a dock! Problem solved, and solved well.

    A dock is something you leave on your desk. I need the ports to follow me around so I can use them where I go.

    So your solution is Buy a laptop for $2000+ Then buy another slightly smaller laptop sized dongle to fix all the shortcomings of the first laptop.

    FFS that is not a problem solved well. You know what a problem solved well would be... build the fucking dock INTO the goddamned laptop, and call that a "pro" laptop.

  23. I predicted something like this on /. last week by StandardCell · · Score: 1

    My previous post here was cynical but correct in saying that people were going to need a fucking peripheral. I guess the marketing lunatics really are running the asylum at Apple now. So fucking pathetic and they will never get another dollar of my money.

  24. Re: I predicted something like this on /. last wee by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'm sure they're devastated.

  25. Cable != Dongle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If it were and adapter and you'd still need a cable it might be called a dongle, but what Apple sells is a straight up cable. No Dongle in sight.

    1. Re:Cable != Dongle by omnichad · · Score: 1

      But..but...dongles dangle and cables dangle, so this dangle is a dongle.

    2. Re:Cable != Dongle by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      If it were and adapter and you'd still need a cable it might be called a dongle, but what Apple sells is a straight up cable. No Dongle in sight.

      Great, now I need to carry two full length frigging cables? The adaptor is a better option.

  26. Just change the word "Dongle"... by Nova+Express · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...to "Throbbing Pleasure Shaft."

    There! Problem solved!

    --
    Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)

    http://www.lawrenceperson.com/

    1. Re:Just change the word "Dongle"... by karnal · · Score: 2

      So if it doesn't work, I need to file a TPS report?

      --
      Karnal
  27. Stuoooopid story by goombah99 · · Score: 1

    Connecting an ios device to a mac is a front pull-up panel button. the big one marked "AIRDROP". the devices find each other.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:Stuoooopid story by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 2

      And charging that phone?

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    2. Re:Stuoooopid story by zerocommazero · · Score: 1

      Why would yooo want to Airdrop for charging?! thats STUOOOOOPID! Go back to Android, pleeb!

    3. Re:Stuoooopid story by Incadenza · · Score: 1

      Only if both devices are on the same wifi network. I never managed to get airdrop working at the times and places I needed it.

  28. Buy a USB hub by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    By releasing these new Macbooks with only USB-C ports Apple is creating a potentially huge market for USB hubs with a USB-C upstream port and legacy USB downstream ports. If the market isn't already flooded with such devices it will be soon.

  29. Re:hello? dock? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    THIS THIS THIS ^^^^^

    If I wasn't an AC I would gift you mod points.

  30. Re:That's absurd. All Macs & iPhones have blue by cdwiegand · · Score: 4, Informative

    Um, yes, they do have Bluetooth, as well as BLE. Works just fine with my BT headphones, which I can guarantee are older than BLE itself is.

    --
    . Define sqrt(x) as something really evil like (x / rand()), and bury it deep. Watch your coworkers go nuts.
  31. Re: MIKE PENCE IN PLANE CRASH by jackspenn · · Score: 1

    No, stop lying. Hillary was about to fire a stinger missile, but she froze up and couldn't pull the trigger.

    Later Michael Bloomberg claimed that if it wasn't for Hillary's Parkinsons, he'd have taken his anti-gun money back.

    --
    Respect the Constitution
  32. Re:$25 is 1% of the purchase price. by fluffernutter · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I thought Apple people liked cleanliness and absolute order; I mean, look at an Apple store. Having to remember to carry around a bunch of dongles everywhere seems to be the opposite of that.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  33. Re:Abusive Relationship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Fucking Slashdot Morons are out in force today. Apple made a profit of 45.7 Billion Dollars. What made the headlines was the fact that for the first time in 15 straight years, they didn't break a previous record in the process; 2016 Profits were 14% below 2015. But note that the long awaited iPhone 7 only came on the Market at the end of the last Quarter.
    "Removing features like the 3.5mm jack really hurt them when their competition who has a 3.5mm is flourishing because of their mistake."
    And Apple Smartphone Market Share is holding at 43.5% in the US, and gained slightly overseas. Samsung is in second place at 28.5%... and every other manufacturer is in the single digits. Math isn't really your strong point, is it?

    Where Apple _really_ screwed up is in dropping their ~$900 MacBook Air 11. These things are ubiquitous in Education; they really do just Work. Nothing works with the USB-C of the small but too expensive MacBook 12, and the MacBook Air 13 is too both big, heavy, and too expensive. Hell, the R&D costs of the 11 were written off years ago; they should have kept it around for another couple of years, at around $700, until USB-C became common and the 12 could take its place. (K-6 are best served with cheap disposable Chromebooks.)

  34. Looser Out The Gate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The stupidity of Apple Inc. Executive, like Jony Ive -- Greatest Genius Born To Earth Who Could Not Figure Out How To Start An Apple ][, is astonishing.

    And those 4 Thunderbutt ports are controlled by ONE logic board with a circuit spliter, i.e. a network switch. Lose the logic board and loose all the ports all at once!

    What a "Novel" design Jony Ive.

    For Apple Inc. the end has happened. Although it will take some time for Cook et al. to burn through the $200+ billion sitting in Irish banks and the $300+ billion sitting in Chinese Communist Party banks.

    Ta ta

  35. Re:use wireless by SolemnLord · · Score: 2

    And who here is going to stand up for how much they want to use iTunes?

    Man there are rhetorical questions and then there are rhetorical questions.

  36. Re:use wireless by jrumney · · Score: 1

    Agreed. What phone doesn't already have wireless charging in 2016?

  37. The Real Demographic by buravirgil · · Score: 1

    I'm reluctant to bear my ignorance, by what can't USB C be magnetically configured? Because I do USE my laptop for a living and minding port plugs and wires is a pain in the ass. What I believe is proved by this continued design is the MAJORITY of Pro buyers ARE NOT engineers, sound, video, etc., but business hacks showing off the sleekness factor for meetings. A working Mac is tethered and ungainly and this latest port design makes it worse, but it doesn't matter because the larger market is conspicuous consumption types. Maybe this is an open secret to everyone. Maybe it's just one of the many FanBoi arguments I've ignored because I've run Linux on a few laptops, but am most productive with my Apple.

    --
    Would were! Should is! Could be! And live a hundred times three.
    1. Re:The Real Demographic by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      > MAJORITY of Pro buyers ARE NOT engineers

      I am.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    2. Re:The Real Demographic by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      An engineer. If everyone else stops buying them I will be the majority also.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  38. Re:You connect your iPhone to the new Mac wireless by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wow, charging over wireless? I hadn't heard of that feature.

    It requires a dongle -- that you plug into the wall.

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  39. Reasonable to use the Cloud? by Calydor · · Score: 1

    So the solution to the syncing problem is to put your phone down five inches from your laptop, upload to your Cloud account (on a capped internet connection), then download it on the other device (on the same capped internet device) instead of creating a physical connection between the two? Or hell, just a local wireless connection if we're only talking about syncing and not even getting into questions about charging?

    This. THIS is what causes all that bandwidth saturation the ISPs are so afraid of!

    --
    -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
  40. Re:Good riddance to MagSafe by slazzy · · Score: 1

    I've gone through two on my 3 year old air, but 6 years on the original for a Macbook 5,2 (still getting used)

    --
    Website Just Down For Me? Find out
  41. Re:Macbook Nope by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

    I just took a look at the usual suspects (dell, asus, acer, hp etc) for a MBP replacement to run Linux as my main laptop. They are all spec limited in ways the MBP is not. 256G storage, 8G ram. No option to upgrade. The machine I would be replacing has 1TB storage and 16G ram. 'Power' machines are huge and ugly.

    I was not impressed. I thing the MBP I have may be peak laptop. They're all downhill from here.

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  42. Re:hello? dock? by BlackPignouf · · Score: 1

    So. Do you think this MacBook Pro is a pro laptop?

  43. Re:hello? dock? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

    Get a dock if you want to use lots of (legacy) ports on a compact laptop!

    Get a desktop if you want to connect a computer to something.
    Get a mainframe if you need the processing power.

    Portability? No one buys a laptop for portability! /retarded translation.

  44. If you missed the hilarous fake interview by grungeman · · Score: 1

    with an "apple engineer", this fits so well here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    --

    Signature deleted by lameness filter.
  45. Re:hello? dock? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    When you go somewhere to make a freaking presentation, you are handled a HDMI cable (it used to be a DVI one. And before a VGA one). You have to connect it to your laptop. This is what happens in a "pro" setting. Sometimes, the guy gives you an USB key and say: the docs we need to look at on screen are on the key. You need to connect the key to your machine.

    This is why it is called a "pro" laptop. It does those things.

  46. Dongle company : Yes !!!! by DrYak · · Score: 1

    I think they are turning into a dongle company where they plan to make their money selling dongles to let you connect all their hardware together.

    Yes.
    Best proof is when you compare the price of chinese knock of and Apple-certified dongles.
    The only single difference between a plain simple adapter/cable that you can build yourself, and apple's over-priced stuff, are the special chips whose only puprose boils down to "So we can charge you for expensive Apple-certified dongles"

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  47. Re:use wireless by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

    Maybe, just maybe, I want to transfer some files between my computer and my phone, and I don't especially want them going over the air, particularly via wireless networks and/or third-party storage that I neither control nor know with certainty to be secure?

    And I'm not necessarily talking about porn, either. I sometimes handle data that is confidential and/or proprietary, and which I'm obligated by company rules and/or by law to safeguard. If I'm careless with it, it could mean losing my job. Or going to prison. "But all the cool kids...!" is not likely to wash in either case.

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  48. Re:Macbook Nope by cfalcon · · Score: 1

    I didn't really believe you. This is good- you are wrong. But I have an idea as to *WHY* you are wrong.

    I went to Dell's website. I selected 15-16 inch laptops (you mentioned that the bigger machines are huge and ugly- since the MBP is 13 and 15 inch, you must mean larger than 15 inch is huge and ugly). I then selected the core i7 6th gen (skylake), and filtered by RAM ("12gb and up"). The results included a Dell XPS 15 for about 2600 bucks. This had: 1 TB Solid State, 32 Gigs of RAM.

    http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop...

    Here's my guess: you (probably, maybe) erroneously were looking at SEVENTH gen Intel processors (kabylake). The MBP, and the one I linked, are SIXTH gen (skylake). Intel hasn't shipped their top of the line kaby lake laptop processors yet: if you filter by that, you only find the machines that have been refreshed to use the actually-released chips yet, which are by definition not top of the line in any way.

  49. Fuck you compatibility by sabbede · · Score: 1

    we're Apple! We aren't even compatible with ourselves.

  50. Flashback to the 90's. by wiredog · · Score: 1

    When Lost the Dongle was a plus.

  51. not to worry by AndyKron · · Score: 1

    Not to worry. A sucker is born every minute

  52. And yet by MitchDev · · Score: 2

    ...the Apple Fan-Zombies will praise them for being "innovative" and "amazing"!

    Evil Apple, evil Microsoft, Trump vs. Clinton.....The fucking Asteroid can't hit the Earth soon enough...

  53. Re:Good riddance to MagSafe by jeremyp · · Score: 1

    I had several of those and they always broke in the end. The modern mag safe adapter is the first Apple power cord I've owned that didn't eventually break.

    --
    All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
  54. Re:hello? dock? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    How dumb do you think we are? Of course we know that. There are obvious work-arounds. And I'll carry that cable around with the USB-C to USB-A cable to read someone's flash drive, and I'll carry that around with my SD reader so I can view pictures from my non-USB-C camera. I'll have a bag full of cables and adapters I have to drag around with me to get the same functionality that I already have with the previous MacBook Pro model I own, which I'll probably continue owning for the foreseeable future until Apple gets a clue or I switch to some other manufacturer with a clue.

    I want more battery life, not thinner. I want a decent complement of commonly-used ports, not 4 that don't physically match *anything* else I own or have *ever* encountered in the field. I like the magsafe connector. It has it's flaws, but it's better than any other power connector I've seen. Basically Apple has "innovated" itself away from what this Pro user wants. It started with the "glue everything in" approach that reduced upgradability internally, was reinforced by removing anti-glare screens as a build option, and now it's removing ports from the outside. Much as I like my current one, I won't be buying a new MacBook Pro.

  55. Re:plug it into the wall, like always? by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

    So carry around another charger. Got it.

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  56. Hats off to Apple by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 1

    It has been able to grow a big flock of iSheep who think of paying through the nose for the trinkets that Apple comes up with. Year after year, like the good iSheep that they are, they keep coming for more. Like I said, hats off to Apple.

  57. Re:hello? dock? by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

    Won't there be two kinds of such cables?
    USB-C can provide either Displayport, or HDMI. So if your computer provides Displayport (like this mac) then the cable will need a Displayport to HDMI converter built-in. But if your computer (let's say a phone) provides HDMI then you need not that converter (will the converter's presence make it fail or will it have some smarts to let the HDMI through? I don't know but hopefully the latter)
    If your USB-C provides no video signal at all, then you can do it but with a USB display adapter (such as DisplayLink chips).

    So, here are three sorts of cables afterall, and god forbid you get an active one that is cheap and only supports 1080p.
    Also, if you need to connect to a ceiling mounted video projector and the cable is short, have fun

  58. Re:hello? dock? by omnichad · · Score: 1

    I want a gigabit ethernet port. That is not a "legacy" port.

    Depends on how you look at it. It's a very old connector that is simply too thick for a modern laptop. We should have standardized on a smaller interconnect cable a long time ago, but haven't. Either it's an RJ-45 adapter to some proprietary connector (since there's no standardized option) or you just externalize the interface entirely, since the bus is fast enough. Either way, you need an adapter.

    I'm not a huge fan of this laptop, but that's one thing I totally understand.

  59. Re:That's absurd. All Macs & iPhones have blue by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

    what a weird thing to lie about.

    It's not a lie - show me where to plug in lightning earphones into the new mac WITHOUT using a dongle and I'll retract. I've been a loyal mac user for the past decade with a desktop and a laptop both of which are in desperate need of an update and I really just want a new mac. However I am not going to pay full price for a 3 year old Mac Pro machine nor am I going to pay over $4k (Canadian) for a high end laptop with an already out of date CPU and GPU. Apple have dropped the ball so much that I'm doing what would have been unthinkable a year ago: I'm looking at switching to windows and I'm not happy.

  60. Re:hello? dock? by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

    The future is a 7" laptop, and not a 7" with wasted space as on early netbooks!
    The laptop only has letters and the space bar on the keyboard, but all the other keys are available on a couple touch rows. On the second touch row, the missing 50 keys scroll by at a high speed and you hit the virtual key you need when it comes by.

    There is no storage inside, except for the firmware and a SIM card. You can store the OS on a USB or Thunderbolt drive connected to the single USB-C port - if you're a luddite and don't use the cloud or something wifi to boot your OS from! If you plug a mouse instead, you'll be able to use it in the firmware configuration program.
    I like peripherals, so I plug my laptop into a 42U rack. It solves the problem so elegantly. I've got everything in there : speakers, monitor, printer, scanner, hard drives, SD reader and the legacy mouse!

    There's just one power cable to the 42U, and one cable from the 42U to the laptop. But I heard they're working on the iDesk, which has a wireless charging surface built-in and soon you won't need a cable between the laptop and 42U anymore!
    $2399 for the laptop, $1999 for the iDesk and $3499 for the 42U(*)

    (*) speakers, monitor, printer, scanner, hard drives, SD reader or legacy mouse not included.

  61. Re:hello? dock? by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

    PS : when the iDesk comes out the laptop will have no ports whatsoever left, naturally.

  62. Re:That's absurd. All Macs & iPhones have blue by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

    iphones do NOT have bluetooth anymore!

    Yes they do, or else my wife's iPhone 7 is connecting to the built-in Bluetooth in her car by magic.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  63. MagSafe for all? by grilled-cheese · · Score: 2

    Now that Apple isn't going to be making models with the MagSafe connector, here's to hoping that they'll start licensing it to other PC manufacturers. It's a good design, it would be a waste to let it collect dust in an IP warchest.

    1. Re:MagSafe for all? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      here's to hoping that they'll start licensing it to other PC manufacturers

      They don't need to. The inclusion of magnets in the connector is trivial enough that it doesn't breach IP rules, the rest of the connector is trivially enough to make sufficiently different to not require any cross licensing. /see Microsoft Surface products and their magnetic power cables.

  64. Re:hello? dock? by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

    Get a dock and you will never have to plug anything into your laptop again! ... but you still have to plug them things into the dock.
    You sound like you delight yourself when you're cleaning your food processor parts for an hour, after telling up everyone how great a time saver it is. Hope you're finished soon, so you can go empty the dishwasher, maintain the leaf blower you need for that 3m long driveway, and code up the server back end for that smart kettle that doesn't boil water yet.

  65. When will Apple go Wireless? by ripvlan · · Score: 1

    Another Dongle - this is the life of a Mac owner. There are several people in the office who have chosen a Macbook Pro or Air for portability.

    But they all care a zipper pouch of Dongles & wires with them. Their dongles need dongles. Kind of like that old IBM ad for the universal dongle-dongle. They have cables for DVI, HDMI, VGA, printers, USB, cellphones ... arg. okay - you can't charge a device without a power cord (well - it isn't all that common...yet).

    Hey Apple - stop it with the wires and dongles to another dongle. It sucks! My car, for instance, came with a 30-PIN iPod connector. The old school "Firewire" power model. But the iPod released that same year (2008) came with a new USB style 30-PIN meaning the power pins had moved. So I purchased a device that swapped pins for, humorously enough, $25. Then the iPhone5 came out and I had to purchase a 30-PIN converter pigtail cable. My car now has a Rube Goldberg series of wires and dongle converters strung together.

    Our other car has a USB port in the dash. Everything just works. Apple - Standards are good - try it !!

  66. Re:That's absurd. All Macs & iPhones have blue by Robert+Goatse · · Score: 2

    Maybe instead of connecting via magic, it's using the connection power of courage?!

  67. Re:$25 dongle by j-beda · · Score: 1

    Because an $8 one won't work, right?

    https://www.amazon.com/Adapter...

    Since there are two in that item, its only $4 each.

  68. Re:hello? dock? by tibit · · Score: 1

    Are you serious? Just buy the fine USB-C to lightning cable and call it day. No need for docks, dongles, or anything.

    As for gigabit ethernet: I dig why they don't want to put that on the laptop. The laptop is too thin to fit the jack, other vendors resort to ugly hacks like the movable-jaw RJ-45 receptacles that Apple will have nothing to do with - rightly so IMHO. A USB-C/Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter is $30. Plug your patch cord - that you have to have anyway - into it, and call the complete assembly a "cable". You can heatshrink them together if you think it'll make it cooler somehow.

    I think you're making up imaginary problems.

    --
    A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
  69. Re:hello? dock? by tibit · · Score: 1

    I completely agree. You've got 4 ports, and you can use them all for the same purpose (e.g. plugging in USB-2/3 peripherals), or for a mix of these and charging, displays, etc. That's the way to go. I wish every vendor did that on their laptops.

    --
    A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
  70. Goodbye non-Retina MBP by thunderclees · · Score: 1

    It looks like Apple also cut the non-Retina MBPs. That is too bad as these were nice for a working MBP that you could actually upgrade and of course if you needed a optical drive for whatever you were doing.

  71. Alternatively, you could just... by zarmanto · · Score: 1

    Anyone who's been a MacHead for more than a few years knows that you always try to avoid buying overpriced commodity add-ons from Apple; you buy them from Amazon, Newegg or the like. In this situation, for example, you might choose to just use your existing charging cable with a USB-C to USB3 adapter for $10, saving fifteen bucks over the Apple adapter cable.

  72. $12 on amazon.... by CoolCash · · Score: 1

    Amazon has a third party cable for $12. Also, I would prefer to charge it via external adapter since it will have more amperage to charge it faster. As for syncing, iTunes has been able to sync over wifi for years.

  73. Re:hello? dock? by vux984 · · Score: 1

    Everything with the same connector. At last!

    Except it doesn't. Not in the real world.

    the peripheral manufacturers will start making devices with the USB-C connector.

    Yeah, well, if that pans out, 20 years from now a pro laptop can have just USB-C connectors. But it won't pan out, 5 years from now, USBC will probably be replaced by something else again.

    If apple had kept an old-stipe USB-A connector on the Mac [...] and you need 103 different cables stuffed into a drawer.

    That's exactly the situation the macbook pro has created for users TODAY.

  74. Re:hello? dock? by vux984 · · Score: 1

    As for gigabit ethernet: I dig why they don't want to put that on the laptop. The laptop is too thin to fit the jack,

    I didn't ask for it to be that thin. Give me a thicker laptop with more battery, more ram slots, room for a 2nd SSD... If I wanted a thin laptop, then I'd understand giving up the ethernet port... and I'd buy a macbook air.

    But thinner than the 2012 macbook pro (with gigabit port) ? I never asked for that. I liked the form factor of the 2012 just fine. (the minidisplay port was ass though). But then Apple made it thinner... and took away the ethernet because... Apple.

    A USB-C/Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter is $30. Plug your patch cord - that you have to have anyway - into it,

    So now I have to carry around "my special ethernet cord" everywhere I go. Whereas before i could use any ethernet cord on the planet or buy a new one anywhere for $5 if I left mine at home. A compromise made Just so my laptop could be extra thin... which is a 'feature' I never asked for. That's not progress.

  75. Shitty, misleading headline by Cajun+Hell · · Score: 1

    Why is this framed as a problem with the MacBook? It sounds like the iPhone is the one trapped a decade or two behind the technology that everyone else takes for granted.

    If I were stuck with one of those, I wouldn't waste the $25. I'd just upgrade to a decent phone.

    --
    "Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
  76. Re:That's absurd. All Macs & iPhones have blue by MachineShedFred · · Score: 2

    Wow, so I guess the Sennheiser bluetooth headphones that I am using with my iPhone 7+ right now isn't actually happening, because you say so.

    Or, you're completely wrong. Perhaps lying for some purpose I can't undertstand.

    --
    Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
  77. Re:That's absurd. All Macs & iPhones have blue by MachineShedFred · · Score: 2

    You said:

    Hence there are no ear phones which will work with both your mac an your iPhone.

    Bluetooth "ear phones" still exist. And they work with both MacBook Pro and iPhone 7.

    You are wrong.

    --
    Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
  78. Re:Don't forget the iBook G3's and.. by danomac · · Score: 1

    Apple quality has never been that good, but they charge a premium for it nonetheless and whitewash over its failings to a consumer base that will buy it even if it is crap compared to the competition.

    Designed in California, built in China.

    Makes me wonder if they fully controlled the manufacturing in the US if the quality would be better. That would justify the astronomical price difference.

  79. Re:hello? dock? by vux984 · · Score: 1

    I wish every vendor did that on their laptops.

    Why can't you have both? I'd like 4 USBC ports. And HDMI. And ethernet. And 1-2 USB3 A style port that's backwards compatible all the way back.

    Now we''ve got the same 4 ports your perfect laptop has so anything you can do with your perfect laptop I can do with mine. Plus you don't need an adapter for 90% of the stuff you are likely to run into in the real world today.

  80. Re:You connect your iPhone to the new Mac wireless by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

    Cool screed, bro. For someone that calls others 'retards', 'autistic', 'pieces of shit', 'fucking retards', 'stupid aspies', and 'highly specialized retards' you sure don't display a whole lot of intelligence or high function yourself.

    But hey, thanks for wasting a few more bits of storage on the Internet, I hope you got a little anger release out of it, because it looks like you could really use it.

    --
    Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
  81. Apple killed the USB and Audio Jack in 2016 by MrJones · · Score: 1

    Is too incredible, Apple killed the USB port and the Audio Jack in 2016. Someone sold the idea that the USB-C is the best connector out there for the future and Apple bought that, forgetting that we live in the present and the USB-C form factor is less used than Thunderbolt 2

    --
    Get my e-mail after a captcha test in: http://tinymailt
  82. I, for one, LIKE physical ports by cellocgw · · Score: 1

    Even tho' most of my laptops, tablets, and phones now support things like Chromecast -- ooops, still need a dongle at the TV end -- I am loathe to buy a computer or tablet that doesn't at the very least have a standard microUSB, some flavor of HDMI, and an analog audio out jack. Plus a microSD slot if at all possible.
    Poo on "hey just connect via BlueTooth [or RedTooth if you're Neo] or our new just-on-the-market special connector."

    --
    https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
  83. Re:Macbook Nope by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

    If you aren't buying an iPhone, then you won't have the problem with the MacBook. So either you don't understand the problem, or you are just a hater.

    --
    Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
  84. Re:use wireless by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

    So use AirDrop. After all, if this is a problem, you have both a new MacBook Pro and an iPhone.

    Hint: AirDrop uses TLS on an ad-hoc WiFi network set up between the devices.

    If TLS isn't secure enough for you, stop using the Internet right now.

    --
    Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
  85. Re:Macbook Nope by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

    >How hard did you look?

    I went to their respective web sites. Selected the expensive model they were pushing that wasn't a 'gaming behemoth' with aliens on the back, tried to option it to the max (like I did with my MBP in 2013) and saw what I got.

    The Dell precision has a low res screen, max 1TB (which is so 2013), 32GB RAM is double what I my MBP has, but it doesn't feel like the kind of upgrade that should be available after 3 years. I clearly have a problem with Dell burned in my brain after suffering Dell laptops circa 1999-2005 but I tried to suppress that.

    This is disappointing. The MBPs have an excellent case but the new models are looking like they might not be for me. So the alternative is another brand running Linux (windows doesn't meet my needs). I'm not cost sensitive - I'll pay for more for something better. But I'm not seeing it. Maybe there's something good out there, but I'm being asked to compromise on something important like screen resolution or ports or storage.

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  86. Re:hello? dock? by Espectr0 · · Score: 1

    Get a PC laptop and call it a day. You can even install macOS if you want. The new HP Spectra and Dell XPS are two excellent laptops.

    I just bought a cheap refurbished Lenovo laptop, only $435 and has a 1080p screen, skylake processor and a discrete NVIDIA card. You can add a nice 512GB SSD for $120 if you want.

  87. Re:hello? dock? by Rakarra · · Score: 1

    When you go somewhere to make a freaking presentation, you are handled a HDMI cable (it used to be a DVI one. And before a VGA one). You have to connect it to your laptop. This is what happens in a "pro" setting. Sometimes, the guy gives you an USB key and say: the docs we need to look at on screen are on the key. You need to connect the key to your machine.

    This is why it is called a "pro" laptop. It does those things.

    This seems like a fairly weird critique -- I'm sorry but most environments don't have HDMI either.
    And I'm not sure I've seen an HDMI adapter that allows for anything higher than 1920x1200. If you having a single monitor output, it should be something capable of dual-link (IE, 2560x1440).

  88. Re:hello? dock? by Rakarra · · Score: 1

    As for gigabit ethernet: I dig why they don't want to put that on the laptop. The laptop is too thin to fit the jack,

    Sounds like a design flaw to me.

  89. amazing by siamesevodka · · Score: 1

    I'm surprised apple doesn't charge you 25 dollars to look at their dongle.

  90. Re:They couldn't give a fuck about any of us by Rakarra · · Score: 1

    Sure they do. This is the first year of sales declines since the early days of the Return of the Jobs.
    If you don't think that they wouldn't care about declining market share... well you're definitely wrong about that.

    Yes Apple has an enormous fan-base and a large market share, but Steve Jobs is gone and his reality distortion field is fading. There is and never will be any company that people are so enamored with that they will stay at the top forever. Empires fall.

  91. Re: MIKE PENCE IN PLANE CRASH by Rakarra · · Score: 1

    No, stop lying. Hillary was about to fire a stinger missile, but she froze up and couldn't pull the trigger.

    Later Michael Bloomberg claimed that if it wasn't for Hillary's Parkinsons, he'd have taken his anti-gun money back.

    Hillary wasn't lying about her dangerous time in Bosnia, and this video proves it. She visits wounded soldiers and little girls, dodges RPGs, and caps an enemy soldier herself. Stone cold.

  92. Re:hello? dock? by vux984 · · Score: 1

    The new HP Spectra and Dell XPS are two excellent laptops.

    Yup, that's probably what I'll end up doing. Dell precision makes a good pro laptop... all the ports including usbc, gobs of ram. 2nd hard drive. keyboard has all it's keys.

    They'll even ship it with ubuntu if I want. Although I'll probably get Windows10 and use the new linux services stuff for the unixy stuff I want.

    Why did I buy macbook pro's the last 10 years?

    - Magsafe -- now gone. After losing a couple laptops over the years, I really valued this. Now its gone.

    - upgradable -- not in years now. My 2011 mbp got an SSD upgrade, and a ram upgrade a couple years later. My 2015 is stuck with what it came with.

    - Unix -- windows is basically caught up for my needs (between linux subsystem and hyperV ...)
    nice big multitouch touchpad - used to be pretty mac exclusive, now everyone has them

    - build quality -- apple still has good build quality, but lots of PC vendors make comparably good equipment

    - keyboard... for a while PC vendors were doing stupid layouts with a slash next to a shortened enter key -- while my desktop keyboard has a wide enter key with the slash above it, so whenever i switch to the laptop, I'd hit \ instead of enter every single time. Mac's always had the wide enter key... but now that trend has mostly faded on the PC, while the mac goes and removes the function keys and the esc key.

    - price was never a primary motivator; and I'll pay top dollar for a good product; but this latest batch of macs ratchets up the price for no discernible relative increase in capabilities. I'm not 'price sensitive' but I'm also not going to stand around and just get ripped off.

    Maybe I'll buy a dell for a work laptop and a 13" macbook air as a toy for browsing the web on the couch and replying to email; and to keep at least a toe in OSX. But no point in buying a macbook pro for that. And that's just it... there's really nothing pro about the "pro" laptop. Its just a faster more expensive macbook air now.

  93. Re:That's absurd. All Macs & iPhones have blue by Clirion · · Score: 2

    I would cut some slack here. The better statement would have been. IPhone comes lightning head phones only, MacBook Pro does not come with a Lightning Port, only USB-C. But, they include a 3.5MM Jack. If I bought both devices new, I would need to get some sort of external Headset and Cable to use them "together". 1. Cannot use the Headphones that come with the IPhone with the new MacBook Pro. 2. I have to have a different charger for each device. That is accurate. Bluetooth and everything else is Outside of Apple's design. Their wireless ear buds will not use the special chip and I cannot remember right now if they will connect to Bluetooth. The Top level one is correct in spirit, but bad in wording.

  94. Dangle your dongle by SubtleGuest · · Score: 1

    It's the hip thing to do. Consider all your dongles like earrings for your shiny new iPhone and MacBook Pro. I mean sure you lose them and they catch on things but man don't you look hip.

  95. Re:Macbook Nope by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

    Here's another example ASUS ZenBook Pro UX501VW.

    Nice screen, nice case. i7

    BUT - 512GB storage? and Oh Noes! That keyboard. Why the hell do they squeeze a number pad on to a 15" laptop. The main keyboard then skews left and it's all wrong.
     

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  96. Re:hello? dock? by omnichad · · Score: 1

    Having used both, I'd rather not have either one. Even if it means buying an external.

  97. Re:Macbook Nope by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

    After writing that I went back and found what you found, but look at the keyboard on the 15. That's a deal breaker.

    The 13" 7000 looks better - the keyboard isn't messed up like the 15", but a tiny hard disk. Its's perplexing that they can't just put nice case, nice keyboard, hi-res screen (retina or better), 16/32GB RAM, 1/2/4 TB SSD in the same box. It's not that hard. All the pieces are there in very similar products, but not at the same time.

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  98. This whole thing is silly to me by tipo159 · · Score: 1

    Apple's preferred use model is to send data wirelessly (wifi or BT), so why would they include a cable?

    It isn't even a dongle; it is just a cable with a USB-C connector on one end and a Lightning connector on the other, without the bulky adapter part that makes a dongle a dongle.

    And the cables don't last very long anyway. Except for one model, in almost daily use, I have had a USB Type-A male to Lightning male cable work for more than a year. I have a similar problems with USB Type-A male to micro USB cables. So, what's the big deal about buying a USB-C/Lightning cable slightly ahead of when you had to replace a USB Type A/Lightning cable anyway?

    I am more bothered by the move away from MagSafe power connectors. I don't look forward to having a USB-C port on my laptop being damaged by someone tripping over the power cord.

  99. Re:That's absurd. All Macs & iPhones have blue by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    note, BLE (low energy) is NOT AT ALL even CLOSE to what BT was. its a totally new thing, not interoperable and sharing only the stupid name for marketing reasons.

    Just as well Apple don't have a Bluetooth Low-Energy device, but rather a Bluetooth 4.2 device. 4.2 is a subset of the 4.0 which includes among other things a dual-mode controller. There's no device on the market that isn't catering for special purposes that implements single-mode on the host side. The only devices which do are things such as bicycle computers.

    apple is STOOPID for abandoning bt classic. yet another reason I have no desire to own any apple product. time after time, their control-freak nature rubs me the wrong way.

    Before calling people "stoopid" and bowing to marketing you should learn about the marketing. The marketing is called Bluetooth Smart. The implementation of Bluetooth Smart allows full backwards compatibility using the same chip thanks to the only major difference being the signal modulation.

    Research a device before calling people "stoopid" lest you yourself end up looking ... stupid.

    Just as well they don't advertise

  100. Re:hello? dock? by Espectr0 · · Score: 1

    When i got the powerbook (as a gift), i never was tempted by the hardware. I was tempted exclusively for OSX.

    The hardware was inferior, no Intel (and today the bundled cpu is not top of the line), smaller screen sizes, no numeric keypad, no second button on trackpads, insane premium price, less RAM than competing laptops. The only decent hardware was the screen resolution itself.

    I like having ports and features. I had to give it a serious thought to upgrade to this Lenovo, because it doesn't come with a DVD drive anymore, and doesn't have a fingerprint reader (which is nice and i can tell Apple users like it on their phones).

    Also, as you said, Windows reliability has improved much and Microsoft has opened up to Linux enough to make OSX not tempting enough anymore. Sure, dumb start menu, spying and lack of windows update control are troublesome, but they can be worked around.

  101. Re:hello? dock? by kaatochacha · · Score: 1

    wait... Did you just say most environments don't have HDMI???

  102. Re:That's absurd. All Macs & iPhones have blue by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

    Wow, splitting hairs much?

    --
    Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
  103. Re:hello? dock? by Rakarra · · Score: 1

    Yes, most environments don't have HDMI.
    Conference rooms, maybe, though I've seen DVI more than HDMI (and sometimes VGA). Lecture halls, sure. If those are the only sorts of situations you need your laptop in, then by all means.

    But most monitors don't have HDMI. Quite a few monitors are DVI only, and sometimes you'll find a higher-end model where the manufacturer splurges and throws in every connector under the sun.

    So no, if space is at a premium, laptops shouldn't have built-in HDMI. A mini-displayport -> HDMI adapter has worked for me in every environment I've ever needed to use HDMI in.