but it's pretty common in any multi USB-C port laptop
and most times the intuitive port usage will anyway be the right one
Like most external devices don't benefit in a notivable degree from USB-4 over USB-3.2. The most common exceptions are expanders, docks, monitors with integrated docks, eGPUs and similar.
But most of the you would normally anyway prefer on the back ports to get the cables out of the way.
Where the front ports are more often used for input devices, usb disks and similar. But they very very often yield the same practical performance on USB-3.2 and USB-4 (not always, but _really_ often).
So yes for some people which want 4 USB-4 port or 2 USB-4 ports and a HDMI port and a charging port and are not okay with the charging cable being on the front right port.
But the huge majority of people will not care.
And there are limitations with what the different laptop CPUs can support so it's not that they could just have magically added additional USB-4 ports or give DP support to all ports.
I actually find more value in the current year's port setup but everybody's needs are different so some will gain, some will lose. I just found the statement in the article to be untrue.
I've never used 4 USB-C/TB ports at the same time, even when charging. I have used the same port for charging and HDMI via a dongle though. I also like the SD card slot, even though I mostly use micro-SDs. Depending on how much an SD protrudes on the side, keeping an adapter in permanently might solve for that though.
Yeah, being limited to only 4 ports is a complete non-starter for me especially when you are required to use one of them to charge the laptop. So practically everybody is going to end up filling one of those modular ports with a USB-C module, when they could have easily fit two dedicated USB-C ports in the same space, with no practical loss in expandability.
No one wants all the different ports though, they usually just want the correct ports. If you're plugging more than 4 things into your laptop at once you should be using a dock.
You loose one usb-c port to get all the others. I've never needed 4 usb-c ports at a time, but definitely have needed all the others. And one usb-c port is replaced by power, which many times I have had to use one for anyway. So whether you bought into full usb-c future or not I don't see the extra ports hurting you. Maybe a 'whatever', but don't see it as a reason to dislike it.
I don't want all the different ports at once, but I definitely use more than 4 in total. My current laptop the following (and I'd love to have more):
- 2 USB-C (1 of which is used for charging, I'll probably have reason to use the other at some point with increasing USB-C adoption)
- 2 USB-A (1 for a wireless mouse, 1 frequently used for flash drives and whatnot)
- SD (used occasionally - cameras and with an adapter for micro SD in phones)
- RJ-45 (used occasionally, probably more often soon)
- HDMI (used somewhat regularly)
- Headphone jack (also built into the Framework)
So with the Framework I'd be missing out on 3 ports. I could survive with that, but it'd be pretty sub-optimal. Thankfully I shouldn't be in the market for a new laptop for 5+ years, so hopefully Framework will have more options by then.
> Lastly, there may be 4 ports in total, but since 1 is used for charging
Only if you're using it exclusively for charging. They literally showed using it with a display that gets video out over the same cord it powers the laptop with.
"But 1 port is sad, because now you have to choose between a lot of things (charging, using hdmi, whatever)"
No, USB Type-C allows multiple concurrent uses, such as: charging and using HDMI at the same time. See http://www.anandtech.com/show/8518/hands-on-with-usb-type-c-... : "This opens up the possibility for a dock scenario where a single cable to the monitor can charge a laptop and also mirror the laptop's display onto the external monitor, and the external monitor would also be able to serve as a USB hub for a keyboard, mouse, headsets, flash drives, and other USB peripherals."
Edit: @rakoo: I agree that in scenarios where you do not have a hub, it is annoying to have only 1 port. Even if the power brick integrates a USB hub it would be weird to have to plug a USB drive in the brick... I guess this opens a market opportunity: sell a tiny USB hub with 3 ports (type-C power in, type-C power out, type-A generic port) that is meant to be left almost permanently attached to the laptop or to the end of the power cord.
It's certainly worse from one aspect--you get less of the ports because they have to support so much. My laptop has a power port, two Thunderbolt, two USB-A and an HDMI. The new ones have just two USB-C, which can do all that stuff, but you only get two of them (or just one if you are plugged into power!).
Honestly, two USB ports is not enough sometimes, that is the biggest gripe with my current laptop. Three seems like a sensible amount for nearly all situations, especially on something targeting corporate customers.
The google pixel 2015 was the top of the heap for ports. 2 usb-c ports, headphones!, 2 usb-a, sd card. All laptops should have this. It's just endless pain. Certainly 2 usb-c ports are better than 1. But why not put 4? Even better usb-c + usb-a.
It's a good way to reduce the number of cables and PSU's I have to carry around.
It's true that it's complex but the only problem is people not reading the specs/manual when they buy something. Other than that I use the same USB Type-C cable for my external monitor, tablet, phone, work laptop, USB HDD's. I only carry 2 identical cables instead of god knows how many. If anything I'd like to see the day when all devices use the same port.
But then we're back at the beginning of this conversation and you're saying you'd rather have a larger, bulkier, laptop that can accommodate several of these single-use ports. The entire conversation was related to why USB-C was a good/bad decision. I think it was a good decision because I have infinitely more flexibility than I'd have with what you're suggesting. Anything that needs to work over the "lifetime of said device" needs to be able to handle future technologies and having dedicated HDMI ports, for example, is not useful for that because even the HDMI spec has changed multiple times in the last few years.
That's what I meant by "full" USB4... in that you get TB compatibility and higher speed... One third port on one side also has displayport mode over usb or can use an hdmi adapter on that port. Only 1 isn't capable of display out, and 2 are capable of high speed connections (external gpu or dock).
In the end, I do think the connectivity, while less than the Intel option, is probably enough for most people for most uses. I honestly don't use my personal laptop much and my work laptop is pretty much always docked to my TB3 dock at my work desk.
That argument would make far more sense if these anorexia laptops at least compensated for the removed ports with more USB ports. But no, you get the same pathetic 4 (at most) as always.
Even worse when they're the pathetic failure (host-side) that is USB-C, so nothing fits without a dongle anyway. Bonus points if you have to waste one of them for charging the laptop, yay!
but it's pretty common in any multi USB-C port laptop
and most times the intuitive port usage will anyway be the right one
Like most external devices don't benefit in a notivable degree from USB-4 over USB-3.2. The most common exceptions are expanders, docks, monitors with integrated docks, eGPUs and similar.
But most of the you would normally anyway prefer on the back ports to get the cables out of the way.
Where the front ports are more often used for input devices, usb disks and similar. But they very very often yield the same practical performance on USB-3.2 and USB-4 (not always, but _really_ often).
So yes for some people which want 4 USB-4 port or 2 USB-4 ports and a HDMI port and a charging port and are not okay with the charging cable being on the front right port.
But the huge majority of people will not care.
And there are limitations with what the different laptop CPUs can support so it's not that they could just have magically added additional USB-4 ports or give DP support to all ports.
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