[Atlplasma]

Apple is moving to (or back) to USB. Future models will have a USB 3.1 compatible connector. There's more detail at http://www.itnews.com/laptops/90594/six-things-know-about-usb-31-port-new-macbook?phint=newt%3Ditnews_daily&phint=idg_eid%3D2056cb14e8c81380782ac126c09af601#tk.ITNEWSNLE_nlt_itndaily_2015-03-11.

[neekomax]

Interesting.

I think this article is a little more explanatory:

http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/10/8181551/thunderbolt-lightning-usb-type-c-new-macbook

[Jon L]

This is the kind of thing that makes me weary to buy those nice but premium-priced Apple computers.  Apple seemed to be pushing Firewire, which they have abandoned (I still have some firewire devices in my drawer), and it just seems like yesterday Apple touted Thunderbolt as the greatest thing since you-know-what.  Now those folks who have invested into the premium-priced Thunderbolt products appear to be abandoned by Apple once again 

[themadmilkman]

I would take both of those articles with an exceptionally large grain of salt.  Until the additional ports begin to disappear from any of the other models (and, I will note, the 13" rMBP was updated at the same time and still contains Thunderbolt ports), these articles are little more than click bait, written by people who want to claim they were the first to guess where Apple is headed.

[dB Cooper]

Agree with themadmilkman. Don't sweat Thunderbolt, I seriously doubt Apple will abandon something so quickly that it invested so heavily in. More likely that Thunderbolt will be on the Pro line and this new connection will be on the 'book (non-Pro) machines (the same way Apple removed firewire from the last gen plastic macbooks but retained it on the Pros until Thunderbolt was released.)

FWIW USB3.1 seems to perform in the same league as T-bolt (version 1 anyway). Most people don't need anything better than USB3 and have no concept that the difference between, say, a 2.6 and 2.7 gHz processor is meaningless to their word processing and email, or that the difference between USB 2 and 3 makes little to no difference in how long it takes them to back up their spreadsheet work for the day.

I wouldn't blame them if they did though. Like Firewire before it, the Thunderbolt accessory market is sparse and expensive compared to USB. Why make the investment in something few people want? Ihave a Retina MBP and the USB3 HD I have connected to it serves my needs just fine.

[JohnR]

Yeah Thunderbolt is so useful. I use it for Ethernet, Firewire, and Display Port... with adapters. For external storage, I use USB3 - faster and cheaper.

I don't much like the idea of having only one connector (which is also the power connector). I loved the original Air and it's dedication to a vision, but this is going too far.

[Atlplasma]

The new MacBook Pro has one USB-c port. You can buy adapters to simultaneously support power and other interface schemes. Here's a blurb from the Apple site:

USB-C port with support for:

    Charging
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (up to 5 Gbps)
    Native DisplayPort 1.2 video output
    VGA output using USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter (sold separately)
    HDMI video output using USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter (sold separately)

[dB Cooper]

Yeah Thunderbolt is so useful. I use it for Ethernet, Firewire, and Display Port... with adapters. For external storage, I use USB3 - faster and cheaper.

I don't much like the idea of having only one connector (which is also the power connector). I loved the original Air and it's dedication to a vision, but this is going too far.

I agree. How the **** thin does it need to be?