There’s a lot to be excited about when it comes to Apple’s new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros.In addition to the enhanced Pro and Max versions of the powerful M1 chip that Apple introduced last year, they also include a number of quality-of-life improvements, such as the return of MagSafe, a row of function keys instead of an OLED Touch Bar, and, of course, if they just want to Importing some photos from an SD card won’t let the user use the dongle’s full port selection.
In fact, Apple is so enthusiastic about these “new” features that you’d be forgiven for forgetting that it was what killed most people in 2016.
“Users value the full-height feature row on the standalone Magic Keyboard, and we’ve brought it to the MacBook Pro,” said Apple’s Shruti Haldea, explaining the decision to ditch the Touch Bar, which Apple so enthusiastically introduced five years ago.”Having a wide range of ports makes life easier for professionals,” Haldea continues, summarizing briefly what professional users have been saying for about five years.
The handy magnetic charging connector, MagSafe, is also returning to laptops after Apple stopped including it in 2016.
While this is obviously a throwback, I think Apple made the right choice with all three of these changes.For the vast majority of users, a proper feature row is far more useful than a software-based Touch Bar that fails to attract developers; a series of easily accessible ports make life easier for professionals and casual users alike, MagSafe’s Connects faster than USB-C cables and prevents damage to your laptop if someone trips over the power cord.
But it’s hard to ignore the broader context of these improvements, which is that they effectively bring the company’s 2021 MacBook Pros back in line with what was already available from 2012 to early 2016.Arguably the main reason these new MacBooks are so popular right now is that Apple made the wrong bet on where laptop design was going at the time.
The MacBook’s transition to USB-C arguably started with the 12-inch MacBook in 2015, which included just two ports: a USB-C port to handle charging, display output and connecting all accessories, and a 3.5mm headphone jack hole.But with the 2016 MacBook Pro refresh, Apple’s commitment to the future of dedicated USB-C laptops became very clear.Instead of the collection of Thunderbolt, USB Type-A, HDMI, and SD card ports that previous models included, the 2016 MacBook Pro lineup includes two or four USB Type-C/Thunderbolt ports as well as a headphone jack.The era of dongles has begun.
Apple was one of the first companies to adopt the new connector at the time.And going all-in on USB-C is basically unheard of.USB Type-A still dominates laptops and desktops, and Android makers like Samsung are just beginning to ditch Micro USB in their flagship phones.
Most people know what’s coming next: owners are forced to buy adapters for all their old peripherals.Their laptops themselves may have gotten lighter and thinner, but for professionals on the go, any space or weight savings in a backpack or briefcase will be offset by the bulk and complexity of the extra accessories you need. ease.
We all know what will happen eventually, but I think an interesting question is what Apple thinks will happen after wholesale to USB-C.For what it’s worth, at the time the company seemed really intimidated by the ire of users having to buy endless adapters to connect essential accessories with its line of USB-C adapters to help users “transition” to the new standard.
To me, this shows that Apple believes #DongleLife will be a temporary transition phase rather than the new normal it eventually becomes.For an example of the type of accessories it believes will become commonplace in the future, take a look at LG’s 5K monitor it announced onstage at the same event, which it said was designed to pair with the new MacBook Pro.Thanks to three additional USB-C ports, the monitor uses a single Thunderbolt 3 cable for video, power, and data, and can also function as a USB hub.
If monitors like this become commonplace soon, we’ll have a future where users can dispense with bulky dongles and adapters and simply plug in a static desktop setup with the convenience of a single cable.But while some monitors do, it’s often the case that monitors continue to have a mix of HDMI and DisplayPort connectors, and users are forced to use adapters when they want to connect.Not to mention, many people happily use the same monitor for much longer than the laptop they’re plugged into, especially when they’re a secondary monitor.
Apple isn’t the only company betting on USB-C that hasn’t paid off.In 2018, a consortium of companies including AMD, Nvidia, Oculus, Valve, and Microsoft announced VirtualLink, a USB-C connectivity standard for VR headsets that lets them power and broadcast data over a single cable.But while the USB-C port appeared on Nvidia’s 20-series graphics cards, the standard was plagued by silly dongles and adapters (sound familiar?), and was dropped when the 30-series launched.
It’s easy to see Apple ditching the port as a cynical cash grab to drive sales of its own dongles and USB-C accessories.But a more generous reading is that Apple’s bet on the future is wrong.It thinks it could outsource the laptop’s ports to desktop accessories like monitors and docks to make its laptops slimmer and more compact.But the ecosystem never seemed to take off or become ubiquitous, instead people were forced to carry endless adapters to accomplish simple tasks.
I have several theories why Apple’s vision never materialized.One is that Macs didn’t have enough market share to force such a change across the industry, so monitor and peripheral makers were forced to stick to the old standard of Windows machines on their most mainstream devices.Another is the clutter of standards supported by USB-C cables and accessories.Between the Thunderbolt and different versions of the USB hodgepodge, it’s hard to know whether the cable will take full advantage of the device’s charging and data-transfer capabilities, or – especially early on – will blow up its internals.That’s a far cry from the simple plug-and-play future that Apple seems to be aiming for.
Or maybe people are more attached to old PC accessories than Apple expects, especially when it comes to expensive professional gear.
In retrospect, it’s interesting to compare Apple’s decision to switch to USB-C wholesale on MacBooks to its decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7.This is another decision that sparked an equal amount of jokes on adapters and dongles.time and raised similar suspicions that the move was a cash grab to help the company sell more Bluetooth headphones.But five years later, Apple’s decision appears to be vindicated, and its competitors are following suit.There’s a thriving ecosystem of third-party wireless headphones right now, and I can’t tell you the last time I saw someone use one of Apple’s Lightning to 3.5mm adapters (though wired headphones are reportedly making a retro-style comeback, and that could change soon ).
Whether it’s because Apple is more dominant in smartphones or because the benefits of wireless audio are more apparent to people than USB-C accessories, people seem more willing to accept Apple’s pesky headphone jack decision.There’s a valid debate as to whether Apple kicked off the wireless audio trend, or whether its move just fueled a trend that’s already happening, but either way, Apple is betting that the future of smartphone audio is wireless, and it’s not for the faint of heart. With all intent and purpose, it seems to have paid off.
Although Apple didn’t mention its past MacBook designs, this week’s announcement was Apple’s biggest misstep since the Mac Pro trash.After already deciding to ditch its controversial butterfly keyboard in favor of more traditional scissor switches, the event essentially completes the company’s backtracking on every controversial decision the company has made with the recent MacBook.Apple made the wrong call in 2016, but luckily it got back on track this week.
Correction: This article originally listed a 2015 MacBook with the wrong screen size.It’s 12 inches, not 13 inches.We regret this error.
Post time: Jan-18-2022
