

Using the USB-C port and adapters on your MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015) - zdw
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204360

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jimrandomh
They should've put USB and other ports on the power brick, making it a hub.
That would be a good match for the common use case where a charger and a few
USB devices are permanently placed together on a desk.

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legulere
Then they would have needed to supply a usb 3.0 charging cable. I guess one
reason why they are using only a usb 2.0 cable is that they want it to be
thin.

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seanp2k2
IANAEE, but maybe it's due to the cable length and signaling requirements of
the 3.1 spec when transferring that amount of power. I wouldn't be surprised
if you're right about it being the thin cable, though.

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legulere
You can get full featured cables supporting 3.1 with power delivery support

One example:
[http://www.belkin.com/us/F2CU030-Belkin/p/P-F2CU030/](http://www.belkin.com/us/F2CU030-Belkin/p/P-F2CU030/)

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mef
Pretty sad to see MagSafe go. It's saved my laptop's life many times before.

Also, it's crazy that none of the adapters has more than one non-C USB port.

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UnoriginalGuy
It might be possible, theoretically, to build a breakaway adapter for USB-C.
Maybe further downstream on the cable itself, so the USB-C plug remains in but
the cable comes away and can be re-connected.

The ONLY problem with this is safety. USB-C can easily kill, so any breakaway
would need to cut power reliably.

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mrob
USB type C supports up to 20V DC for power delivery. It certainly can't
"easily" kill. Assuming an unusually low 300ohm internal resistance, and
electrodes piercing the skin and positioned such that current flows through
the heart, that's still only 67mA. That's potentially lethal with AC, but well
below any published threshold I can find for DC. Despite rumors of deaths from
9V DC with electrodes piercing the skin I'm unable to find any officially
documented deaths from such low DC voltages.

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minimalism
So this basically amounts to a mandatory $80 mark-up for a not-so-optional
USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter, right?

[http://store.apple.com/us/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-
av...](http://store.apple.com/us/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-
adapter)

Without it, the machine is essentially limited to wi-fi speeds for everything
you try to do.

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jws
Yes, it is "limited" to something like 500mbps. At least the 2013 models got
that, this one might be fast, 802.11ac can go faster than gigabit ethernet.

You could spend $12 on a superspeed+ USB-C to USB-A adapter at amazon. But
that doesn't get you power.

I predict USB-C high power hubs will happen soon and we'll all be happy.

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melling
How long before PC's ship en masses with USB-C? Keyboards, mice, scanners,
cameras, printers, Android phones, etc. It'll be nice to finally have a small
reversible connector.

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chrisseaton
Aren't almost all of those things normally wireless now? Apart from charging
phones.

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_delirium
I don't see a lot of wireless mice in PC-land. They exist, but don't seem to
be as common as with Macs. I did have one for a bit, but switched back because
it ate batteries way too fast.

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sz4kerto
Batteries last very-very long in many mice designed for PCs. The biggest
reason I'm sticking to a wired one is weight and response time.

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Dylan16807
Wait _what_? They're allowing "USB 3.1" to be used to refer to 3.0 speeds?
Since when does "gen 1" mean "exactly the same as the previous generation"?

It's going to be half-impossible to figure out what actually supports 10Gbps.

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audunw
ArsTechnica has a good explanation about this:

[http://arstechnica.com/apple/2015/03/explaining-the-
usb-3-1-...](http://arstechnica.com/apple/2015/03/explaining-the-
usb-3-1-gen-1-port-in-the-retina-macbook/)

In short: "USB 3.1, by contrast, is a much smaller change—so much so that the
USB 3.1 specification has actually absorbed the USB 3.0 spec. For whatever
reason, this has led to some odd name changes. The 10Gbps version of USB 3.1
that you probably think of when you think about USB 3.1 is called “USB 3.1 Gen
2.”"

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sschueller
I predict that there will be a kickstarter for a small attachment that will
provide 3+ ports. A port extender that is attached to the side.

One port is not enough when that port is used to charge the device.

You can't even use a logitech mouse unless it is bluetooth capable!

EDIT: Something like this: [http://media02.hongkiat.com/zendock-cable-
management/zendock...](http://media02.hongkiat.com/zendock-cable-
management/zendock-non-blocking.jpg) just smaller and with two ports.

~~~
epistasis
It's not clear that you read the article, as it describes several devices like
that, and the whole point of the article is the somewhat obvious point you're
making with the rest of your comment.

For Kickstarters, this one looks pretty nifty:

[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/668098663/infiniteusb-o...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/668098663/infiniteusb-
one-usb-port-unlimited-devices)

~~~
sschueller
I am thinking of something that is permanently attached not a dongle.

~~~
epistasis
Ah, I think I understand now, thanks for clarifying. Though I'm sure one will
be made, IMHO I'd much prefer a dongle. My ideal dongle would have AC adapter
+ USB + Gigabit tthernet + HDMI + 2-3 USB ports all in a small package: a
docking station over a standard USB connector.

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protomyth
What is the USB hub situation with USB-C? I haven't see a hub that will charge
and provide ports like a Thunderbolt hub.

~~~
colomon
Dang, I had no idea "Thunderbolt hub" was even a product category. I've been
lamenting the fact the only way to get that sort of functionality was a $1000
monitor...

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protomyth
This would be the high-end
[http://www.sonnettech.com/product/echo15thunderboltdock.html](http://www.sonnettech.com/product/echo15thunderboltdock.html)

This is around the norm
[https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Thunderbolt/Dock/OWC/Thunder...](https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Thunderbolt/Dock/OWC/Thunderbolt2-Dock/)

The good thing about a USB-C version would be taking the place of the power
cable too.

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saurik
I would have loved to see the availability of a "give me all the ports from an
11" Air" adapter: literally giving me Display Port (not HDMI! and then I can
continue to share Display Port adapters with all of my friends), two USB ports
(which I use quite often :/), and (this is the most hilarious part) MagSafe 2
(so I can continue to share power adapters with all of my friends as well, and
get to continue to use MagSafe).

The current crop of adapters for this device is infuriating: I already carry
around VGA and HDMI Display Port adapters... now to have those two adapters,
they are forcing me to carry around adapters that are twice as large (so I can
still get power, and then get... just one... USB port). If I am going to be
effectively carrying around a second massive adapter (in addition to two small
ones), it should be an orthogonal one :/.

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SiVal
I certainly don't mind the idea of a universal connector that is capable of
doing everything. Now give me four of them instead of just one, and we'll be
all set.

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hedwall
Does anyone know if there is an adapter that gives me the possibility to
connect a Macbook to a Cinema Display ?

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sz4kerto
It would be so great if the connector/port module was customizable _on_ the
laptop. I.e. I could get a laptop with USB-C, DP, USB-A, while someone else
could use the same machine built with USB-A, VGA, card reader. Without all
these clunky adapters.

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platinum1
So what happens when you connect one Macbook to another with the USB C Charge
cable?

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DenisM
Something like this: [http://venturebeat.com/2015/04/06/watch-this-microsofts-
surf...](http://venturebeat.com/2015/04/06/watch-this-microsofts-
surface-3-thinks-it-can-charge-itself/)

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whalesalad
No mention of the Thunderbolt display. Hmm.

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lorenzfx
I get an "Access Denied"

