Thin, new MacBook Pro. Elegant design. Pure jewel. Lack of legacy ports? Well, OWC comes into play to help those in need offering a Thunderbolt 3 Dock. However, sometimes this could be too much for what we actually need.
I am sure many brands will come with solutions to the lack of legacy ports in the new MacBook Pro. There are two main options to choose from: adaptors only for the devices we use, or a dock that may offer more ports than we might need. Both are a compromise to having a sleek machine way ahead of its time, but still having to get the job done.
OWC announces its new Thunderbolt 3 Dock that offers 13 ports, and is designed to be used with the new MacBook Pro. It has everything professionals complained they desperately needed: SD card reader slot, Gigabit Ethernet, five USB 3.1, mini display, analog and digital audio, FireWire 800, and two Thunderbolt 3 ports.
If you need too many adaptors or you swear to never use an SD card dongle adaptor, such solution is for you.
Now for the not so exciting part: It's pricey and it's only available for pre-order. OWC is going to ship those in February, 2017 (they say "only") for $279. Well, what is this price compared to the considerable amount of money already gave to Apple! At least the dock looks sleek too.
Do you think it's worth carrying another expensive device slightly larger than your smartphone and keeping it always connected to your thin MacBook Pro?
[via MacRumors]
They've conveniently neglected to label the power port!
What power port?
I think Stephen's referring to the AC power port on the right hand side of their promo image. I'm pretty sure this dock needs to be plugged in to AC power to work. From a bandwidth perspective, I'm keen to know if the USB ports in this device drop in speed when a monitor is attached as was just discovered with the newly released USB-C dock from Caldigit...
I was joking about not seeing it.
On paper they support 2 4K displays at once. It's logical to conclude USB ports' speed won't drop but who knows...
I will gladly pass and buy a Surface Studio
I have to scratch my head, I have been using macs my entire professional career, and if someone asked me to switch to Windows it would take me considerable effort and an immense discomfort. Nothing against Windows, I just do not use them for work, and I am totally baffled by this phenomenon where people are willing to change their entire system for a pracitally effortless solution, buy a new cable. Seems like dillusion to me. Now if your primary goal is a touch screen and you prefer the Windows platform, then great, you have an awesome solution, but if you are simply changing systems so you don't have to buy a new cable, well that is something else entirely.
Understood and spoken well.
Yet, the automatic bread slicer was dreamed up by a guy who was simply... frustrated. Wasn't scheming for money. Just couldn't stand endlessly slicing bread.
Logical or not, emotions factor in. Apple seems quite fine without me, so why not switch?
The cool touch screen I'll savor for my illustration artwork; the increasing cost/diminishing return with this current MBP "upgrade" and, while not preferring the Windows platform, I'm certainly not chained to Ma OS and happily open to change.
I agree Michael. I got the new MBP 15 and love it. I don't use dongles. I just replaced the original external drive cables with USB(various) to USB-C and I'm good. Can't wait till everything is usb-c. Fast and good.
I think a lot of really hardcore Apple fans are getting disappointed with a manufacturer that doesn't improve or innovate their product on a meaningful way but just makes them less efficient and a lot more expensive.
It's "less efficient" when using connected devices that do not support USB-C. If someone uses it as an everyday computer, they don't have any problem with these ports.
The problems arise when you constantly need to plug something into the machine and thus you need an adaptor if the device is not a USB-C standard compliant.
I'm sure their move is not just to "drive the industry forward", but also patents (=money). They are part of the USB-C engineering.
To be fair... "a lot more expensive" is relative and frankly not factually correct. A similarly specd new gen vs older gen is 300$ in price difference, the new gen has a newer processing engine as well as a faster graphic card, well worth the 300$ in price.
Your reasoning is faulty. They have just replaced an older chip with a newer. Prices of chips are going down over time. There is no reason why that should make the device that more expensive. In your reasoning every device should get 300$ more expensive every time a new chip is introduced.
But it's a beautiful chip.
That is true. Though not an Apple chip. it is of course made by intel.
Actually looking at the history of MacBook Pro releases, this is a forst to break away from their 1999 starting point. So yes you are correct they are asking more money, although looking at preorders it seems as though consumers are not voting negatively with their wallets, the new MacBook pros are selling well. I think i will look for a refurb 2015 model, I cannot spend 4K on a laptop.
Good luck with Windows though!
Well, Windows got better and Apple started to fade away from its glory. I can't tell which one is better now because professionals from both camps do great job with these tools. They are just tools anyway. If one can get the job done using Apple, good for them. The same with Windows guys. It's all a matter of personal preference now. And wallet.
Agreed.
I use Windows at work and it's fine. Just differences here and there. Worth any hassles I'll face so I can enjoy the Surface, not have to buy dongles (or slice bread)
It's still not mandatoy to buy a Mac. It's like cars. Not everyone buys a Lambo because 1) it's expensive and 2) it doesn't work for the job they want it for (e.g. they rather need a truck).
Well, to go in the same direction as Tihomir, in the final, a computer is just a tool. Would you see a difference if you put the same glass on a nikon and a canon and ask the photographer to take the same shot, same exposure, same everything, and process the same way?
The easy answer is you will never see the différence.
So we get to spend an extra $200+ to get back the ports that Apple has taken away from us? No thanks.
I used to be the biggest Apple fanboy, but I'm gonna jump ship when it's time to replace my current Macbook Pro.
Unfortunately the truth today is MBP is a very expensive toy.That's because of lack of wide USB-C support. Apple just forces every manufacturer to deal with that.
Or you could just buy a 24.99$ adapter, and still have access to more ports and vastly superior speeds as soon as the inevitable hardware gets released.
This is not a solution. It's a workaround.
True that.
From the "getting job done" point of view, this is a solution.
From the "having a beautiful machine" point of view it's a workaround that buys Apple some time before all manufacturers keep up with the (forced) USB-C standard...
In 1 years time every single new external harddrive, and peripheral will ship with usb-c and I would love to see all the grumpy grandpas complaining then.
In 1 year we'll have lots of videos like:
- 1 year on Windows
- 1 year with adaptors
- 1 year without external devices
...
"In one year's time" is correct and a different statement entirely than "one year" which leaves room for ambiguity upon what said year is referencing, as opposed to "in one year's time" which is directly placing possession to "time".
but apple has bet on the wrong horse before. Remember Firewire? Also Thunderbolt 1 and 2 haven't exactly "taken off"
Why not try a 3rd time. Now without giving the user any other options :)
Thankfully, I bought a maxed out 2015 MBP back in May. Hopefully, Apple will get their heads out of their bums by the time I replace it or the rest of the tech manufacturers catch up.
We live in a fast changing world. I think most manufacturers are already working on USB-C standardized products. Apart from Apple users' anger it's true that his will boost sales of new USB-C devices...
Care to bet that Apple still wont have any USB-A or B ports when you get time to buy no matter how long you wait?
I'm thinking of kick-starting a new wardrobe brand, for all the hipsters to showcase thier beautifly apple designed dogles as well as Apple dongle book
You'd better hurry up before manufacturers have all their devices supporting USB-C.
by the time every manufacturer switches to USB-C, apple will come out with "lighting-C" port or iwireless or something else. I'm not against changes and i'm always excited for the future. But don't you see a problem when you can't even charge your newly release iPhone 7 with newly realesed MBP, or use iPhone lightning headphones with MBP without purchasing a dongle?
Yeah, it's pathetic.
Are we arguing about computers now?
We are arguing about tools we can use to do our job easier.
I know I've recently written a few articles about apples dongles but I'm having my own issues here with a Windows laptop. This new laptop is so thin it doesn't have an Ethernet jack and these USB 3 adapters are not reliable. I'm not convinced any of these adapters are reliable. Look at the reviews for any brand on either Mac or windows. They all have horrible reviews.
Unfortunately I know...
That's why I write about something that nobody tested as it doesn't have a horrible review yet :)
I personally use only USB 2 and 3 devices (Wacom, External hard drive, Card reader) so I'm fine with just 2 adaptors... if there are any "best" ones that actually work.
so basically, you can add another 279$ to an already overpriced item to let it function properly.
It is supposed to function properly without that item unless you have devices that don't support USB-C. It's a workaround for those who have older devices (including iPhone 7).
Lack of ports? Upgrade your workflow. Don't buy something you're not ready for. This topic is getting old. (Ok the sd card reader is a legitimate argument)
That's kind of true. However there are devices professionals use that are quite expensive to replace them so quickly (and many manufacturers don't support USB-C in a wide range of their products line).
Probably in 6 months it will be different.
Most adaptor/dock companies know they're have a sales boost in the early months so they have high prices in the beginning. After some time manufacturers will catch up and consumers will start buying the new devices instead. Then prices of adaptors and docks will drop and the poorer consumers will start buying them because they can't afford the new devices yet.
"(and many manufacturers don't support USB-C in a wide range of their products line)" This is what I mean. We are in a new transition of phasing out the Legacy USB. If you're a working professional and being that 4k content isn't anything new now. I don't see why people would need to upgrade. You already have the machines to do that. 4k being a power hog over photos. I don't see any real benefit of getting this Macbook especially if you're not ready to utilize it. It honestly seems like people buy it just to have it first. Without realizing the needed accessories to use it because their not ready. (Don't take my rant to personal.)
It's not personal at all. For me, if I buy this machine in the near future, 2 adaptors are more than enough (and I rarely use 2 USB's at the same time). It's bearable for me. And with time I have to save to buy USB-C devices instead of the old ones.
I wager you that at the next iteration of the macbook pro, they will have a brandnew socket that exactly fits nothing. That is nothing new. They have been doing that for ages. Apple's bottomline is to get the maximum profit out of their customers.
There is nothing wrong with usb-c, it is great. But it is stupid to make all the sockets usb-c at once. There is no logic in that. Or your logic is to sell tons of adapters.
Read about who took part in the USB-C patenting.
There is a lot of rumour but I haven't been able to get confirmation it was Apple.