The new MacBook Pro has a few pretty awesome features, the headliner of which is the new TouchBar. The TouchBar, however, isn’t the only change — another big change to the computer is the fact that it now only has USB-C/Thunderbolt ports. What this means is that most of your peripherals are going to need adapters to work properly.
That’s sparked some outrage among Apple customers. While most consider USB-C to be the future of the ubiquitous port, the fact is that we’re not yet at a point when all our devices would work with the new standard. Thankfully, it seems like Apple has listened to its customers concerns, and given its USB-C dongles a major price cut.
“We recognize that many users, especially pros, rely on legacy connectors to get work done today and they face a transition. We want to help them move to the latest technology and peripherals, as well as accelerate the growth of this new ecosystem,” said Apple in a statement. “Through the end of the year, we are reducing prices on all USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 peripherals we sell, as well as the prices on Apple’s USB-C adapters and cables.”
It’s a little unfortunate that these price cuts aren’t permanent — but it’s nice that its happening at all.
So just how much cheaper are the new dongles? Quite a bit cheaper apparently, especially the most common ones. Here’s a quick rundown of the new prices.
- USB-C to standard USB: $9, down from $19
- USB-C to Lightning cable (1 meter): $19, down from $25
- USB-C to Lightning cable (2 meters): $29, down from $35
- Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter: $29, down from $49
- Multiport adapter with USB-C, USB, and HDMI: $49, down from $69
- Multiport adapter with USB-C, USB, and VGA: $49, down from $69
As you can see, in one case the price cut is as much as 50 percent, which is a pretty good deal for those in the market for new dongles and adapters. Sure, you could probably find even cheaper adapters on Amazon, but the fact that you can now order a MacBook Pro and the adapters you’ll need in one package at a relatively low price is a big deal.
