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Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

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Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#161

Post by bartvk »

smichel17 wrote: post #118
johnwalkr wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here. I like the touch bar but unless they find a way to make it feasible on a Bluetooth magic keyboard, I’d rather have no touch bar for consistency. If they are going to kill it they should have killed it with the first M1 MacBooks. I’m also all in on USB-c (even my shaver uses it for charging) and don’t miss MagSafe at all. Charging from either side is surprisingly handy. One charger for everything is a trave…

> I’m also all in on USB-c (even my shaver uses it for charging) It's funny how different people's experiences can be. Maybe it's because I'm not in the Apple ecosystem and tend to use my devices until they break, but I own a single device that uses usb-c: a raspberry pi 4b. There are two other usb-c ports in my house, one on my laptop and one on my desktop, but I've never used them. I don't even own a separate usb-c…

> because I'm going to have to replace everything

You mean, you'll have to replace the cables. Not the devices themselves, unless you want to be able to use USB-C-to-C cables everywhere.

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#162

Post by ghaff »

AndriyKunitsyn wrote: post #94
BluSyn wrote: post #14

My controversial hot take-- I have never needed an SD card, and have gone all-in on USB-C. I will be very disappointed if they add back in USB-A/HDMI/SD ports, or remove USB-C charging in favor of proprietary charge port. Sounds like unnecessary feature bloat. Please just do MagSage + USB-C, so I can maintain my one-cable-for-everything, making traveling lighter and simpler. Here's my counter argument to all those th…

What is “unnecessary feature bloat”? Do you think something like “gosh, I _hate_ all these additional ports” about MBP 2015? There’s a reason it is still holds (not much, but) some value on second-hand market.

They did hit a sweet spot with the MBP 2015. They did have to replace my screen under a special warranty program for manufacturing defects but it's still a perfectly fine laptop I use all the time. It's a bit on the heavier side for travel and I'm sure its battery life is not what it was--and was never super in the first place.

I'll almost certainly get an Apple Silicon laptop at some point but I'm not in any rush especially at a time when I'm not traveling.

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#163

Post by bartvk »

soylentgraham wrote: post #119
guidedlight wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon has a bunch of magnetic USB-C adapters that are designed for MBP’s, that add the MagSafe functionality into existing USB-C ports. I haven’t tried one, but they look like an adequate middle ground.

I tried almost every lightning & micro usb magnetic adaptors I could find, and they all were unreliable. Im waiting for anker to make one.

This. And I'm guessing there's a reason why Anker hasn't made such a move.

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#164

Post by totalZero »

skohan wrote: post #103
augstein wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you really want or need MagSafe, as I do, you can have it with USB-C only Macs too. There are many magnetic adapters you can buy, the good ones working better than the original MagSafe 2, which easily fell off when using MacBooks on your Lap, due to the connector being T shaped (instead of MagSafe 1 being L shaped, which worked great). I also hope they don‘t bring back SD card readers and big clunky HDMI ports int…

I hope they don't bring back USB-A, but the SD card slot and hdmi have been sorely missed. If you do anything with photography, being able to just plug the card directly into your laptop makes a world of difference. Same thing with walking into any meeting and already knowing you'll be able to plug into a projector if needed, without having to run out and grab a dongle.

If you do anything with photography, you are carrying around a camera, batteries, and lenses anyway. Just buy a 12$ card reader and put it into your camera bag with all your other expensive stuff.

It surprises me that people who buy high-dollar computers are so reluctant to buy an extra cable. TB3 natively supports DP at faster speeds than HDMI 2.0b can push. You can buy a TB3 to DP1.4 cable online for $15. Even the most expensive cable for this purpose sold on Apple's web store costs $50. I suppose you can ask your office manager to buy a couple for the meeting rooms, in order to accommodate Mac users.

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#165

Post by apetrovic »

lambdasquirrel wrote: post #15

On one hand, this seems like welcome news for many of us. Who doesn't miss MagSafe? A lot of the previous years was like someone at Apple read Calvino's Six Memos and took the notes on "lightness" a little bit too far. On the other hand, one wonders if we'll have to replace all the sleeves and bags that have been made with the previous dimensions in mind. Hopefully not. Even the new 16-inch MacBook Pro fits in sleeve…

I don't miss MagSafe.

I enjoy being able to sit on my kitchen table and plug USB-C cable on the right. And if my favorite chair is used by my cat, I can sit on the other side and plug the cable on the left. On the other side of the cable is a third-party charger that I'm using to charge my iPhone (with damn Lightning-USBC cable, when will Apple drop Lightning?), iPad and Nintendo Switch. And when I sit on my desktop, I connect my laptop to the monitor with just one (USB-C) cable.

Previously, I had to have two separate proprietary chargers and hope that the cable don't break; now I can just buy another USB-C cable anywhere.

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#166

Post by [deleted] »

guidedlight wrote: post #30
BluSyn wrote: post #14

My controversial hot take-- I have never needed an SD card, and have gone all-in on USB-C. I will be very disappointed if they add back in USB-A/HDMI/SD ports, or remove USB-C charging in favor of proprietary charge port. Sounds like unnecessary feature bloat. Please just do MagSage + USB-C, so I can maintain my one-cable-for-everything, making traveling lighter and simpler. Here's my counter argument to all those th…

Amazon has a bunch of magnetic USB-C adapters that are designed for MBP’s, that add the MagSafe functionality into existing USB-C ports. I haven’t tried one, but they look like an adequate middle ground.

[deleted]

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#167

Post by retromario »

BluSyn wrote: post #14

My controversial hot take-- I have never needed an SD card, and have gone all-in on USB-C. I will be very disappointed if they add back in USB-A/HDMI/SD ports, or remove USB-C charging in favor of proprietary charge port. Sounds like unnecessary feature bloat. Please just do MagSage + USB-C, so I can maintain my one-cable-for-everything, making traveling lighter and simpler. Here's my counter argument to all those th…

> eg, having a custom one-touch screen lock button that's always present

Do you know that clicking the TouchID button will lock your screen?

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#168

Post by vinay427 »

ricg wrote: post #83

Anyone still remember Apple Remote? It used to come free with your MacBook and is to this day one of my favorite features of my mid 2012 MBP that I will miss terribly once I have to upgrade (no Big Sur support...).

I almost never ended up using that remote, quite honestly. I got a lot more use out of the remote/stylus that my smartphone came with which I could use to play/pause media, take pictures from a distance, and obviously write or draw.

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#169

Post by ben509 »

Symbiote wrote: post #107
pharmakom wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Apple can make a Magsafe cable for USB C that would be the best of both worlds. (I know third parties have made them but Apple would probably do a better implementation) I also can't wait for the removal of the Touchbar. This prevented me from buying previous Macbooks because it was just one compromise too far for such an expensive machine. Is this Apple's "Coke Classic" moment?

Doesn't Apple generally make worse cables than the competition? It is very rare for a PC laptop power cable to break. There's a rubber grommet which protects the cable as it enters the plug from extreme and repeated bending. For supposed aesthetics, Apple don't include this, and their cables fray easily. (This is based on my experience managing hardware for a small organization, Dell/HP/Lenovo/etc business laptops co…

I've never seen cables as bad as Apple's. I have multiple Apple cables that I've patched up with electrical tape, and I'm quite careful to avoid kinking them.
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