Mark Gurman:

The upcoming MacBook Pro is an example of Apple’s renewed focus on Mac loyalists. The company is planning to bring back an SD card slot for the next MacBook Pros so users can insert memory cards from digital cameras. That feature was removed in 2016, to the consternation of professional photographers and video creators, key segments of the MacBook Pro user base. The heavily criticized Touch Bar, the current model’s touchscreen function row, is also going.

The potential disappearance of Touch Bar and the rumored return of a specialized port have rampaged around Twitter this weekend.

I’d love to see lessons learned lead to an evolution of Touch Bar, perhaps into a smaller footprint scrub-bar or some other specialized hardware add-on that did not do away with the escape and function keys.

The return of the SD card slot is another matter altogether. I, for one, miss all the ports on my older MacBook Pro. It was a great mix, a Swiss Army Knife of ports I always had with me, no dongles required. The SD card slot is the most sorely missed, for sure, but the USB-A ports are certainly next.

I’d posit that if you own a modern USB-C Mac, you own at least one, if not multiple USB-A adapters, if not a complex hub with multiple USB-A ports. The universe continues to prioritize USB-A over USB-C for low cost devices.

And if you travel and forget one of your dongles, you either do without the functionality or head to an electronics store to buy another.

I’d love to see the return of the SD card, a bit of a fight back against the all the unified port regimentation.

All that said, I do appreciate the massive improvements we’re seeing in the Mac.

Joe Cieplinski, on Mac advancements:

M1, for starters. Thunderbolt 3/4, a massive leap forward in speed. Touch Bar (for me, though it should probably be optional.) Vastly superior battery life. Lighter weight. True Tone, P3 Display. Support for driving 6k displays.

Well said. These gains are massive, indeed, well worth carrying my baggie of dongles.