3 ms·

photo/video people use those ports constantly, like all day every day.

geerlingguy 5y ago
Can confirm. Outside of the higher-end cameras (photo and video), EVERYthing still uses SD cards. And it's easy to adapt microSD cards to it for Raspberry Pis, drones, dash cams, phones, audio recorders, etc.
krzyk 5y ago
OK, but there are dongles for that, I use one (the same one) for 10 years, since I got my first camera. Used it before laptops had sd port, and now use it when they don't have it again. No issues with that. In case of cameras there are sdcards that are wifi enabled, and also newer cameras should support wireless transfer - isn't that easier and faster instead of pulling out the card?
- NovaS1X 5y ago
  >In case of cameras there are sdcards that are wifi enabled, and also newer cameras should support wireless transfer - isn't that easier and faster instead of pulling out the card? No, because transferring 1TB+ of data from your camera over the crappy built in wifi chip is a much worse user experience than just plugging in an SD card. Lots of cameras also require you to connect to the camera's hot-spot, which means while transferring that data you are not on wifi. If you're just sending a few jpegs over, fine, wifi is great, but for people to whom the "Pro" moniker actually matters, it's a big deal. Dongles are fine for sure, but having a slot built in is better, and there's no real reason not to have one other than "aesthetics"
  - krzyk 5y ago
    > No, because transferring 1TB+ of data from your camera over the crappy built in wifi chip is a much worse user experience than just plugging in an SD card. I didn't thought that pro cameras that support 1TB sd cards have crappy wifi chips, I stand corrected. But usually sdcards are not the fastest storage mediums. > there's no real reason not to have one other than "aesthetics" There is a reason - they take up space inside the laptop that could be used for something else. Not sure if that applies to macbook, but additional ports are not a free lunch.
- romwell 5y ago
  >OK, but there are dongles for that Well, why have any ports at all? A single USB-C suffices; For everything else, there's a dongle. No need to stop at ports either. If the SD Card reader can go through USB-C, so can webcam, audio, and the peripherals. Surface and iPad have shown us that a portable device doesn't need a keyboard/touchpad, and those who want them can connect via bluetooth. Of course, even having bluetooth built-in is superfluous when perfectly fine Bluetooth dongles are available. Finally, there are great USB-C portable monitors out there. Why limit the users to something built-in, especially when not everyone has a need for it? The same goes for the battery; given the abundance of USB-C power banks. Once we get rid of all these unnecessary bells and whistles, we'll end up with peak MacBook: a shiny, metal square with a single USB-C port, an Apple logo on top, and all the dongles one can dream of (available separately).

Can confirm. Outside of the higher-end cameras (photo and video), EVERYthing still uses SD cards. And it's easy to adapt microSD cards to it for Raspberry Pis, drones, dash cams, phones, audio recorders, etc.

krzyk 5y ago

OK, but there are dongles for that, I use one (the same one) for 10 years, since I got my first camera. Used it before laptops had sd port, and now use it when they don't have it again. No issues with that. In case of cameras there are sdcards that are wifi enabled, and also newer cameras should support wireless transfer - isn't that easier and faster instead of pulling out the card?

NovaS1X 5y ago
>In case of cameras there are sdcards that are wifi enabled, and also newer cameras should support wireless transfer - isn't that easier and faster instead of pulling out the card? No, because transferring 1TB+ of data from your camera over the crappy built in wifi chip is a much worse user experience than just plugging in an SD card. Lots of cameras also require you to connect to the camera's hot-spot, which means while transferring that data you are not on wifi. If you're just sending a few jpegs over, fine, wifi is great, but for people to whom the "Pro" moniker actually matters, it's a big deal. Dongles are fine for sure, but having a slot built in is better, and there's no real reason not to have one other than "aesthetics"
- krzyk 5y ago
  > No, because transferring 1TB+ of data from your camera over the crappy built in wifi chip is a much worse user experience than just plugging in an SD card. I didn't thought that pro cameras that support 1TB sd cards have crappy wifi chips, I stand corrected. But usually sdcards are not the fastest storage mediums. > there's no real reason not to have one other than "aesthetics" There is a reason - they take up space inside the laptop that could be used for something else. Not sure if that applies to macbook, but additional ports are not a free lunch.
romwell 5y ago
>OK, but there are dongles for that Well, why have any ports at all? A single USB-C suffices; For everything else, there's a dongle. No need to stop at ports either. If the SD Card reader can go through USB-C, so can webcam, audio, and the peripherals. Surface and iPad have shown us that a portable device doesn't need a keyboard/touchpad, and those who want them can connect via bluetooth. Of course, even having bluetooth built-in is superfluous when perfectly fine Bluetooth dongles are available. Finally, there are great USB-C portable monitors out there. Why limit the users to something built-in, especially when not everyone has a need for it? The same goes for the battery; given the abundance of USB-C power banks. Once we get rid of all these unnecessary bells and whistles, we'll end up with peak MacBook: a shiny, metal square with a single USB-C port, an Apple logo on top, and all the dongles one can dream of (available separately).