I bought a Microsoft Surface laptop 13” for work to test builds with. That laptop has a headphone port, USB-A, USB-C and a proprietary Microsoft port the power adapter plugs into. Don’t have that adapter handy while traveling? You can still charge it via the USB-C port with another charger. I can see Apple copying another facet of Microsoft’s Surface line. The other being the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro.
All kinds of reasons - my biggest one being why MagSafe was invented in the first place; I know my power cord is run across the living room due to a lack of power outlets in my 70-year-old apartment, and gets tripped over regularly. Not to mention a proprietary charger can free up a USB port for additional peripherals.
Tripping over a power cable was a problem created by a battery life that was shorter than a work day, IMO. I have been charging my M1 Mac at night, like my phone.
Wait a couple years and you can say goodbye to your MBA superb battery capacity. Mine is now at 70% after only 3 years and less than 400 cycles. For all the buzz it receives, Apple does not really provide the highest quality. I’ve concluded that:
“Apple gives you awesome first impression and terrible relationship in the long term.”
It’s a bit redundant, but pretty far from being terrible. I have it on my laptop. Offhand it’s nice to leave the port free if you have a lot of usb needs. If anything it provides some flexibility. Can’t say it’s necessary but I certainly don’t mind it.
> You're argument is the same thing that led to "we should get rid of headphone jacks because we have Bluetooth."
I mean... yeah it's the same argument and I agree with both. When we got Bluetooth and decent ear pods... time to get rid of the headphone jack we don't want both, one is redundant. Simpler, cleaner, more uniform is better for these devices in my opinion.
Wireless headphones are an e-waste nightmare (in particular Airpods, designed to never be disassembled). When used with a mobile phone, their convenience is incredibly minor, and for me is more than offset by the need to keep them charged.
I agree with getting rid of dying interfaces, but this is a case where it makes way more sense to keep options available. Almost everyone uses audio, and different people have different priorities. Waterproofing the jack is easy, and phones still have enough space for them. The only way I can interpret their decision to remove that jack was to incentivize wireless headphone sales, and perhaps appeal to the small ultra minimalist crowd.
Does the fact that there's a tiny and cheap dongle not make it all ok? You can keep using whatever devices you want if you've got some special use-case. Just pop the dongle in. For everyone else... we don't have to add it to the devices and we get a better device.
Apple's 3.5mm audio dongles are honestly very well engineered and they're selling them at an uncharacteristically reasonable markup. Great DAC implementation. I use mine all the time.
I just don't believe most people think the device is better without the headphone jack. It's not a "special use-case". Deleting the jack has definitely driven some sales for wireless headphones to people who don't want to use the dongle, rather than a desire to get rid of the wire.
For some reason it's very hard to find a cheap and solid way to charge via Lightning and use wired audio at the same time. My workaround is to charge after I'm done listening. Probably good for reducing phone use, but it can be annoying on occasion.
I'm just one data point but thanks to "courage" I hardly ever use headphones on my iPhone anymore. I never have the lightning earpods with me, and it can't use any of the random headphones I had stashed in various useful locations. Bluetooth headphones don't really fit into my life either. Thanks, Jony.
Can't really connect my phone to venue sound systems by Bluetooth when teaching dance classes. And wouldn't want to have to be forced to choose between a 3.5mm adaptor and a charger...
This is the main reason I'm still on Android, since the last iPhone I would even consider buying was the original SE.
Do you realise that for your (extremely specialised) use-case you can get a dongle that gives you both 3.5mm and power at the same time? They're about $10.
Everyone else who doesn't need this doesn't have to pay for it by excluding it.
> This is the main reason I'm still on Android
For a $10 dongle? That's the critical decision in your mind?
Yes, a terrible idea, like putting a motor on a sailboat! I mean, why would you ever need 2 methods of propulsion?! (Some boaters even bring oars and towline! Insane!)
You obviously don't sail. You need a motor on a sailboat to either fight a strong tide to dock, to escape an incoming storm if the wind is pushing you towards a storm. Many other uses such as regenerating the batteries so you have your food not spoil. Sails/masts/rigging also fail so you need a backup to get you to port in an emergency.
The true statement is that either I don't sail OR sarcasm is sometimes hard to pick up on the internet. I grew up cruising on my dad's sailboats, raced dinghies in college, and have owned a variety of sailboats myself, the last being a humble 35' Erikson. So, I would say it's the later.
Awesome a fellow salt. Sarcasm was definitely hard to pickup but glad you had so much fun on the boats. I picked it up later in life and would have been so nice to have done that as a kid.
That analogy is silly. Two methods of propulsion is a good idea - when the wind is not blowing then use the engine. If the engine runs out of petroleum use the engine.
Having a proprietary power interface and a USB C interface that does the same thing is ridiculous.
USB-C can’t charge nearly as quickly as a high power proprietary charger. In use USB-C needs to supply power for both charging and operating the laptop, so what might take 3 hours to charge with USB-C might take 20 minutes to charge with a dedicated connector.
That’s not to say every laptop’s proprietary charger will supply noticeably more than 100W, but many examples exist.
13” Surface laptops had up to 90Wh of battery. Batteries get hot when charging due to inefficiency, meaning it takes more than 90Wh to charge a 90Wh battery. Subtract the power demand while in use and your well over an hour to fully charge.
By comparison a quick charge to 80% in under 20 minutes while under full load should be possible assuming sufficient cooling and power. That’s not a huge deal most of the time, but it’s still plenty useful if your sharing a single outlet etc.
Their still common with gaming laptops like Razor 15’s. It’s ancient at this point, but a friend used to have a dual GPU laptop that used 2 different AC adapters at the same time.
The MS proprietary cable doesn't follow the USB-c spec and can therefore do a lot more (and I think it's still expandable). I think usbc is limited to 20V @ 5a?. And using USBC for charging takes up a data port. And many docks and stands make use of the MS port. And the MS cable is magnetic.
Except in practice, you get the worst of both worlds: a proprietary charger that looks like a USB-C. And even if it is proprietary, the Magsafe and similar ports are miles ahead of any USB-C charger in preventing tripping and IO port damage from dogs, children, and clumsy adults walking over the charger (granted, USB-C is a huge improvement over traditional round DC ports)
I had an XPS that had both and indeed it was useless to have a port for just charging. But if the charging port is also used for magsafe that makes it worth it.
The XPS 15 has a dedicated charging port that can draw much more power for the discrete GPU - up to 130W, but lets you charge it on the go with the USB-C port. You get full graphics performance with one but have the choice not to lug around a larger power brick on the go.
Why would I want only one option when I can have both?
We went to Surfaces in my house for a while. They're by and large fine, but Windows 10 is sufficiently painful and hard to use that I'm bringing the family back to macs just to stop having to do so much tech support.
