Apple Jan. 27 launch event... what will it be?

[Uncle Ted]

I have a high-end 15" MacBook Pro. I love it, but it is almost four years old so I am due for a new model at work. I have been waiting for the new MBP to be released by Apple. Today was the day. You can find all the deets here:

http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/

Overall, I am impressed. I like the new color option and the touch bar looks like it will be great. Lots of nice advancements.

However, the funny/interesting thing is the ports. My current MBP has:

1 audio jack
2 USB ports
2 Thunderbolt ports
1 mag-safe charge port
1 HDMI port
1 SC-card slot

New MBP has the following:

Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports
1 audio jack

This will be an adjustment because the Thunderbolt 3 is new so I will need to purchase a ton of dongles for the time being to get things connected. However, the USB-C standard is a great move for the future and (for a change) it is being adopted industry-wide, so those bastards at Apple won't be able to monopolize it. It works either side up (hooray!), it provides enough power to double as the charge port, and both ends of the cable will (or can) have the same connector. It should be the standard everything converges to, replacing mag-safe, old thunderbolt, usb, HDMI, etc. The switch is worth the pain.

Here is the funny part:

1) New laptop keeps the old audio jack. I guess Apple is not quite as courageous as they claim.
2) You will not be able to connect your new iPhone 7 to the new MBP without buying a dongle.

Space is not a premium in the MBP. Don't be surprised if the iPad keeps the old audio jack as well (for now).

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK...ning-cable-1-m




No dongle needed.


The Touch Bar and Touch ID are "truly remarkable"(tm). Apple puts basically a small "iPhone" in the MacBook Pro with its own dedicated security processor to make things very secure for on-line payment. The payment information (via Apple Pay) never hits the main (intel) processor.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Space is not a premium in the MBP. Don't be surprised if the iPad keeps the old audio jack as well (for now).

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK...ning-cable-1-m




No dongle needed.


The Touch Bar and Touch ID are "truly remarkable"(tm). Apple puts basically a small "iPhone" in the MacBook Pro with its own dedicated security processor to make things very secure for on-line payment. The payment information (via Apple Pay) never hits the main (intel) processor.

Come on, Uncle Dongle. That's effectively a dongle. And it doesn't come with either the iPhone or the MBP, you have to purchase it separately. You may not have the "courage" to admit it, but it is pretty funny that Apple's two most cutting edge products can't natively connect to one another. Those new Airpods are going to need a dongle too.

BTW, looking at the size of the connector in that photo, I am wondering why don't drop the lightning connection and go all in on USB-C? That would certainly make the most sense, long-term.

[Uncle Ted]

Come on, Uncle Dongle. That's effectively a dongle. And it doesn't come with either the iPhone or the MBP, you have to purchase it separately. You may not have the "courage" to admit it, but it is pretty funny that Apple's two most cutting edge products can't natively connect to one another. Those new Airpods are going to need a dongle too.

BTW, looking at the size of the connector in that photo, I am wondering why don't drop the lightning connection and go all in on USB-C? That would certainly make the most sense, long-term.

So you are going to drop $2500+ on a new MBP but can't spend $10 (or less) on a new cable?

https://www.amazon.com/UCEC-Reversib...dp/B013JZWA0K/

[old_gregg]

So you are going to drop $2500+ on a new MBP but can't spend $10 (or less) on a new cable?

https://www.amazon.com/UCEC-Reversib...dp/B013JZWA0K/

not the point bro

[Jeff Lebowski]

So you are going to drop $2500+ on a new MBP but can't spend $10 (or less) on a new cable?

https://www.amazon.com/UCEC-Reversib...dp/B013JZWA0K/

You are being deliberately obtuse again. I like the USB-C connection. Never claimed you couldn't get a dongle (or a custom cable). Just thought it was funny. I am not alone.

http://bgr.com/2016/10/27/iphone-7-t...-2016-adapter/

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2016/10/...without-dongl/

https://www.newsledge.com/macbook-pro-iphone-7/

Hey, what about that cool wired set of earphones that comes with your iPhone 7? Guess what? No dongle for that yet.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/tech...s-macbook-pro/

You can't plug the headphones that come with your new iPhone 7 into your new Macbook Pro. You just can't!

The iPhone 7 has no headphone port. Instead, it has a Lightning port, so Apple made headphones that plug into a Lightning port. Hooray! The Macbook Pro, meanwhile, has a headphone port, but it has no Lightning port.

Fortunately, Apple makes a dongle that let's you plug normal headphones into a Lightning port. Unfortunately Apple does not make its reverse: an adapter that lets you plug Lightning headphones into a headphone port. Until someone whips one up, you'll have to either go Bluetooth, use a dongle to use old headphones on your iPhone 7, or keep an extra pair of headphones at your desk.

[Art Vandelay]

Thank you Dude and Ted for making this otherwise boring thread worth reading for the last several pages

[creekster]

I so often love my Apple products but end up despising Apple. So if I get a new Mac and an iPhone 7 i cant use the 7 lightning cable to plug in to the mac? Just like I can no longer use my ext hard drive or ext disk drive to plug into the mac? OTOH I can use my headphones to plug into my Mac but not into my phone?

Steve Jobs' software mantra used to be "it just works" which is a great guiding principle. But it is utterly ignored in these new product designs all for what purpose? The sale of a host of dongles and cables and so forth? It is hard to believe these very smart people thought this approach was the way to go.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I so often love my Apple products but end up despising Apple. So if I get a new Mac and an iPhone 7 i cant use the 7 lightning cable to plug in to the mac? Just like I can no longer use my ext hard drive or ext disk drive to plug into the mac? OTOH I can use my headphones to plug into my Mac but not into my phone?

Steve Jobs' software mantra used to be "it just works" which is a great guiding principle. But it is utterly ignored in these new product designs all for what purpose? The sale of a host of dongles and cables and so forth? It is hard to believe these very smart people thought this approach was the way to go.

Bingo.

Interesting article about how dumb/dysfunctional Apple is these days.

https://medium.com/charged-tech/appl...89b#.pzt7q45xt

From there, the questions just get even more ridiculous:
Why can’t you plug the Lightning headphones that come in the iPhone box into the new Mac? Why doesn’t the iPhone come with the right cable for the new MacBook Pro? Why doesn’t Apple make a screen that properly works with its own devices? Why did Apple highlight how great the Touch Bar is for Messaging, but didn’t even port most of the new iMessage features to macOS properly? Do I have to carry two pairs of headphones now? How do I charge my Lightning cable mouse? Why remove the HDMI port, a standard that’s still incredibly popular for plugging into TVs? Why remove the SD card, a popular slot for… creatives using cameras?

A lot of truth to this:

This does, indeed, speak to the longevity of the machines that Apple sells: you can use a MacBook from 2012 right now and probably can’t tell the difference. But therein lies the problem — the company waited four years, then didn’t really deliver any real future-value other than it’s “new.”

To be clear, USB-C is a good thing. Someone has to do it, and jump in the deep end — but the way Apple has done it by forcing you into a corner to deal with it yourself rather than making it an easy transition… and you don’t even get the full power cable in the box anymore.

For a company that prides itself on ecosystem, and thinking of the ‘end to end’ experience, Apple has utterly lost its way.

This is for Uncle Dongle. Courage!:

[Omaha 680]

Uncle Dongle sounds like the latest Anthony Weiner pseudonym.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

The only way to understand Apple's aversion to ports is to realize that it's a "profit deal."

I choose not to fund them except for an iPad. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my wife (so I am kind of funding their nonsense).

[falafel]

Uncle Dongle sounds like the latest Anthony Weiner pseudonym.

haha

[Shaka]

Getting rid of the function keys for a touch bar is insanity. There is a lot of software that makes use of those function keys to speed up workflow. Poof gone. Once again Apple flips the bird to their power users.

I know some Apple users that are eyeballing the Surface Studio with lust in their hearts. Isn't it odd that Microsoft and Apple are starting to flip positions?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Getting rid of the function keys for a touch bar is insanity. There is a lot of software that makes use of those function keys to speed up workflow. Poof gone. Once again Apple flips the bird to their power users.

I know some Apple users that are eyeballing the Surface Studio with lust in their hearts. Isn't it odd that Microsoft and Apple are starting to flip positions?

That was my first concern, but the function keys are still there when you need them. Just electronic.

[Uncle Ted]

Getting rid of the function keys for a touch bar is insanity. There is a lot of software that makes use of those function keys to speed up workflow. Poof gone. Once again Apple flips the bird to their power users.

I know some Apple users that are eyeballing the Surface Studio with lust in their hearts. Isn't it odd that Microsoft and Apple are starting to flip positions?

The touch bar is absolutely awesome. It can be reconfigured by the app to what the user needs. There is no... "was it F11 or F7?" Also, users can drag down and customize it to their liking.

[old_gregg]

yeah the touch thing is one change i really like