In January, Ming Chi Kuo excited fans of Apple’s pro laptops with the news that the 2021 MacBook Pro will feature a new design, Apple Silicon, and the return of MagSafe and more IO ports.
The analyst followed up the report today to be a little more specific: he expects Apple’s 2021 MacBook Pro models to include an HDMI port and an SD card slot. As a reminder, the current 16-inch MacBook Pro is only available with Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports and a headphone jack.
When Apple introduced the new MacBook Pro style with the 2016 version, the idea was that four Thunderbolt USB-C ports would be enough for everyone. Thunderbolt 3 ports have high bandwidth and multipurpose: they are high bandwidth data transfer ports and can even transmit power and serve as display outputs.
To connect most peripherals, however, users need dongles or adapters that have converted the USB-C to HDMI or even traditional rectangular USB-A to support their existing external peripherals. Even four years later, the dongle problem remains a pain point for many MacBook Pro customers. Many users use multifunctional USB-C adapters with them and depend on all their accessories.
Apple appears to be willing to admit that it has jumped the gun slightly, as indicated by the repair of dedicated HDMI ports and an SD card slot to transfer photos from cameras.
It remains unclear what the full range of IOs on the new MacBook Pros will be. It does not seem likely that Apple has two ports in addition to the four USB-C ports, but Kuo does not give the exact explanation. Also remember that some of these laptops also have a MagSafe port for charging.
By comparison, the ‘old’ 2015 MacBook Pro MagSafe has two Thunderbolt ports, USB-3 and a headphone jack on the left and another USB-3 port, HDMI and SD card slot on the right side of the machine. It achieved a total of 8 I / O on Apple’s pro workstation laptop. The 16-inch today has only 5 ports, 4 USB-C and a headphone jack. Even though the four USB-C ports are more versatile and technically proficient, many people crave the ability to plug in just fine stuff without worrying about dongles.
The new MacBook Pro series is expected to launch in the fall. The machines are not only expected due to the form factor changes, but customers can also experience how well Apple silicone performs in higher-end CPU and GPU products.
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