[ashtonkem]

I really don’t understand the anger over usb c, even now. I got a single cable dock that handles all my peripherals. It’s not like they made that useless; it would still work and it’s still nice to have a single cable that drives everything. Even if I got a new MBP I’d continue to use USB-C, because it’s a better UX.

Hell, you can now buy monitors that work only with USB-C. It’s clearly the way everything is going, Apple just moved a bit too fast.

[laurent92]

That dongle is $69, but you can try buying the off-brand, where you’re not sure whether it works, not sure it’s doesn’t upload your data to China, and not sure it doesn’t have malware. If you’re hit, good luck explaining your choice of brand to your insurance. So basically, it’s $69.

[ashtonkem]

So? Next to a few thousand dollars of laptop, monitor, and peripherals what's another $70? Especially since that hub will be compatible with every laptop I will own for the next few decades, regardless of the brand.

[MisterTea]

> I got a single cable dock that handles all my peripherals.

That you have to drag with you if you want those ports away from your desk. Plug into a TV or projector and you need a dongle. No thanks. Ports are fine by me and I don't care if that adds 0.5mm or some stupid aesthetics nonsense.

[notJim]

I don't understand this dongle stuff. You just buy a USB-C to HDMI cable and plug that in. I don't see how it's any different than buying an HDMI cable.

I'm a photographer, so the SD card slot is nice for me personally, but it really doesn't make sense to build it into the laptop. It must be used by a tiny percentage of people.

[vlovich123]

Most new TVs/displays can do Thunderbolt so there’s your USBC connector replacing HDMI. Hdmi can be useful for longer runs because of integrity and there you’d want a HDMI->C cable/adapter that’s an active part.

For SD cards, the majority of people don’t use SD cards (even customers for the pro line). It’s a concession to an important niche, but forcing that niche to have a USBC adapter that is built into the SD card (maybe not possible?), having a separate SD card reader dongle, or having the camera itself be the SD card reader all seem like better choices than forcing all laptops to have an SD reader.

What’s the compelling story for why SD card or HDMI strictly need to be built in for all customers? The story for HDMI is kind of the strongest because the HDMI market is much more common day-to-day and USB-C as a display technology hasn’t yet permeated standalone TVs and projectors.

[tempoponet]

Generally I agree, but projectors specifically have almost always required dongles w/ Macs and the solution was usually to keep one attached to the projector cable or tethered nearby. Mini-DVI, Mini-Displayport, and even HDMI wasn't standard on many office projectors. It's a hassle but not specific to usb-c or a recent phenomenon.

[athenot]

My LG 5k monitor acts as my hub and power source, so I'm pretty close to "plug 1 thing". And from there I have a wired apple keyboard that connects to the monitor (yes with a dongle). But the keyboard has 2 old USB connectors which double as thumb drive connectors.

As it stands, I still have an analog audio out because I've procrastinated on getting a usb digital in/out, and I also have a ethernet <-> thunderbolt connector because I only got about 400Mb/s when going via the monitor instead of 950+ when going direct.

3 small connectors all on 1 side isn't that bad.

That being said, I welcome the HDMI addition mostly for older conference rooms which aren't equipped with Apple TV / Webex Proximity / etc.

[FinalBriefing]

Yea, having "one cable to rule them all" is great. I can see why having an HDMI port would be nice when you're traveling, or using shared projectors, but at this point, if you don't have a USB-C to HDML adaptor...

[whimsicalism]

Do we have more than 2 port USB-C hubs yet?

[cbarrick]

There are 4x Thunderbolt 4 hubs.

- 4x Thunderbolt 4 (1x with power supply) - 3x USB-A 3.2 - 1x USB-A 2.0 (with power supply) - 1x Gigabit Ethernet - 1x UHS-II SDXC - 1x Audio

Actually, it looks like this same hub is sold by both Sonnettech and Kensington.

https://www.sonnettech.com/product/echo11-thunderbolt4-dock/...

https://www.kensington.com/p/products/device-docking-connect...

[Isthatablackgsd]

Yes there are but they are rare. I found a 4-port[3.1] USB-C Hub in Amazon for $70 USD.