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The collective Apple mind lost its cookies during the Jony Ive era as the erstwhile designer slowly and steadily removed ports from Apple’s devices.
As Ive removed more and more ports, users complained that Apple was going too far.
Especially contentious was the port-culling on MacBook Pros. Apple killed USB-A ports and the SD card slot, and minimized the remaining USB-C ports that were left. Eventually, some MacBook Pros came with just two USB-C ports — and one of them was also used for charging.
But as Phil Schiller, then Apple’s marketing head, explained, things like the SD card slot were "cumbersome." We hit peak Schiller when he famously defended the removal of ports — specifically the 3.5 mm headphone jack on the iPhone 7 and various ports on the MacBook Pro — by citing the "courage" to move toward a wireless future.
"It really comes down to one word: courage,” he said. “The courage to move on, do something new, that betters all of us."
Schiller was widely mocked for his statement, but I think history has proven him 100% right. USB-C and wireless transfers are much, much better.
I look forward to the day when I don’t need to plug anything into any device, but unfortunately, we are not yet living in the totally wireless future. Plugging things in is still very much a daily reality for us all.
Lots of people hate dongles and USB hubs, but I really like them. I think they’re an elegant solution to the port problem.
You don’t need things plugged in all the time — just when the occasion calls for it.
And as Schiller noted, it’s foolish to maintain legacy ports that are used only occasionally, and by fewer and fewer users as time goes on. (Yeah, Apple reversed this trend with newer MacBooks. I guess Apple lost some nerve after Schiller soft-retired.)
Anyway, that’s why a USB dock is the one essential piece of kit for all Mac users — mobile and desktop alike.
Today’s top post takes a detailed look at perhaps the ultimate dock, which promises ports and bandwidth aplenty for just about any task.
Also in today’s newsletter:
Apple’s upcoming AI adjustments to the iPhone’s camera and image-editing workflow sound great. The camera’s getting built-in Visual Intelligence, and you’ll be able to make AI image edits quickly and easily.
The once-crazy-popular short video app Vine just returned as Divine — and it’s banning AI slop.
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: Mother's Day is coming up, and Ugreen is running a sale on power banks, chargers and other devices. What mom wouldn’t want a NAS for Mother's Day? #affiliate
I remember being pretty shocked by Steve Jobs’ attack on Adobe’s Flash technology. I’d not seen such open corporate warfare before.
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
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One more thing ...
Did Alexander Graham Bell do any market research before he invented the telephone?
Today’s poll
Has Apple reached a good compromise on MacBook ports?
Results from yesterday’s poll:
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