I might argue that moving to just USB-C for the 2016 era MacBook pros was a little premature. In 2018 I opted for a refurbished 2015 largely because I wanted the variety of ports, and it seems they’ve stepped back a bit on the latest releases. Now though, if they didn’t move to USB-C I’d say they’re waiting too long. The issue with adopting new ports is most customers already have a plethora of devices with the existing standard, so many tend to carry on with that momentum rather than adopt the new thing and it’s growing pains. At some point though we need to rip off the bandaid and standardize on the best option. EU regulations are a big step to making this happen, and Apple is the kind of company that’s able to push the market based on what they support in their devices.
Remember the benefits of USB-C are that you can have one(or a few cables) that scale between 5 W and 240 W charging, USB 2 to Thunderbolt 4 data rates(plus things like audio/video, etc.), and even if you’re limited by the cable or the device at each end, there’s still some backwards compatibility that provides some base functionality rather than being completely worthless because the ports don’t match. You’re better off being able to connect a USB-C product at USB-2 speeds than have a micro-USB Super Speed cable/product that doesn’t connect at all.
Either way, people are going to complain. Some that there’s little innovation and things are too much the same as they were years ago. Others that the new innovation breaks compatibility and they need to replace cables/accessories to stay up to date.
I might argue that moving to just USB-C for the 2016 era MacBook pros was a little premature. In 2018 I opted for a refurbished 2015 largely because I wanted the variety of ports, and it seems they’ve stepped back a bit on the latest releases. Now though, if they didn’t move to USB-C I’d say they’re waiting too long. The issue with adopting new ports is most customers already have a plethora of devices with the existing standard, so many tend to carry on with that momentum rather than adopt the new thing and it’s growing pains. At some point though we need to rip off the bandaid and standardize on the best option. EU regulations are a big step to making this happen, and Apple is the kind of company that’s able to push the market based on what they support in their devices.
Remember the benefits of USB-C are that you can have one(or a few cables) that scale between 5 W and 240 W charging, USB 2 to Thunderbolt 4 data rates(plus things like audio/video, etc.), and even if you’re limited by the cable or the device at each end, there’s still some backwards compatibility that provides some base functionality rather than being completely worthless because the ports don’t match. You’re better off being able to connect a USB-C product at USB-2 speeds than have a micro-USB Super Speed cable/product that doesn’t connect at all.
Either way, people are going to complain. Some that there’s little innovation and things are too much the same as they were years ago. Others that the new innovation breaks compatibility and they need to replace cables/accessories to stay up to date.