Thoughts on USB-C ports only laptops?

[Kevin]

Figured I'd start a new thread instead of polluting the 'replace a desktop with a laptop' thread any further.

So how does everybody feel about newer laptops that only have USB-C ports?

My newest toy is a Dell XPS 9510 and my first reaction was that I liked being able to use USB-C for charging instead of traditional proprietary power cords my laptops have used in the past. Finally my work laptop, my headphones, all of our family cell phones, and my personal laptop could all use one common power cord. Yay! But... then I needed to plug in a memory stick in order to play around with Chrome OS Flex. No problem, run upstairs, grab a random stick, bring it back downstairs, go to plug it in and.... no, not on the right side, maybe the left side... hhhmm, none there either, and nothing on the back. Wait... wasn't there a... oh, yeah, Dell included a dongle converter in the laptop box. D'oh!

It's more an irk than an issue for me since I don't use memory sticks too often these days but now I'm thinking about all of the various things that I plug into the laptop as the need arises, like my scanner, camera, external DVD drive, and misc. items. I'll have to remember now to keep some extra adapters & cables in my backpack.

 

[davidzvi]

Getting use to it, also like LT and Phone common plug. All the laptops in the house also now use the same plug ( though they do have different power requirements.

I got a set of these for thumbs and other externals.

https://smile.amazon.com/Syntech-Adapter-Thunderbolt-Compatible-MacBook/dp/B07CVX3516

But an SD slot was on my list of requirements so I don't need them that often.

 

[phigmov]

I just picked up a 34" curvy HP screen which will take usb-c input + feed power & act as a 4-port usb hub - its been liberating to remove a bunch of dvi, usb, power & (Targus) dock cables from under the desk for my WFH setup. Also takes display-port & hdmi which I might leverage for my Mac mini & another PC (but sadly I didn't get a monitor which can act as a KVM).

The work laptop is an Elitebook 840 G7 which is mostly legacy free - 2 x usb-c (one for power), 2 regular usb-3 & HDMI. No ethernet, display-port or vga. Seems to work fine running everything through usb-c - including my GH3 feeding a usb-hdmi capture card for conferencing. I've also discovered usb powered & driven 14" portable screens - I have a Lenovo M14 which I plug into the regular usb3 port and get an extra monitor (no good for gaming as its a bit dim but fine for Outlook/Teams etc).

Now I just want everything to go wireless, including power & peripherals. That would be truly liberating

 

[lucien]

I would lean towards a device like this and your existing hubs can connect to it as well. Even better get one that's powered so there isn't much drainage on the host device

Amazon.ca : usb c hub

www.amazon.ca

 

[agentlossing]

I find it mind-boggling that any laptop would forego a full-size USB port... even one would be better than none. I hate dongles on principle.

 

[Lawrence A.]

My XPS 13 has usb-c only. I've gotten used to it - adapted, so to speak, using adapters when I need to. I got it for size and weight while traveling , so usb c only is OK, though I'd hardly say I'm a fan.. I love the usb-c charging, which I can use with a power pack when traveling, but despite the push by Dell, Samsung and others, it hasn't become the USB-C only universe they envisioned..

 

[John King]

Not for this little black duck.

I like things to be flexible, not rigid.

 

[bartjeej]

I'm all in on USB-C for charging everything with a battery - which is why I'm still iPhone free. But for connecting externals to a laptop, I prefer to have dedicated USB-A ports and SD card ports. Although I can imagine that with the memory card situation becoming more stratified again - SD, Micro SD, CF, XQD - I can see why dongled readers are the laptop manufacturers' preferred option. I, liking my tech standardized, can't see myself moving away from SD cards anytime soon.

 

[Brian]

I use the DB-9 a lot on my Laptops. USB for many things: Chip programmers, Card readers, Development boards, JTAG programmers, external drives, Floppy drives, and memory sticks. Just looked at my Desk. All plugged in currently.

Modern laptops are not for engineers. Fortunately, Panasonic Toughbooks are.

 

[Richard]

First they took away my parallel port, then they took my serial port, keyboard and mouse connectors, my PCMCIA slot, my CD player, my RJ-45 Ethernet connector and my full-size SD card slot. Now they want to take away my full-size USB connector ...

Mind you, my laptop is a lot smaller these days

-R

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

USB-C is great, except that all our old devices use USB-A. Personally, I don’t use many USB-A devices anymore, so I could forgo the ports if there is an SDcard port.

 

[PacNWMike]

In my experience USB-C ports are fragile. The port on my last phone died just outside the warranty period and the one on my current phone is sketchy just after the warrant ran out. Thumb drive and charging cord keeps falling out. Wish it still had a mini usb. They never wore out.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

In my experience USB-C ports are fragile. The port on my last phone died just outside the warranty period and the one on my current phone is sketchy just after the warrant ran out. Thumb drive and charging cord keeps falling out. Wish it still had a mini usb. They never wore out.

Some of that is just the implementation by the manufacturer. Google Pixel’s come to mind as devices where the port was notorious for failing.

 

[gryphon1911]

I was used to USB-C only stuff from years ago when I ran a lot of Chromebooks and that is the only input they had. Even my newest addition of an iPad Air has a USB-C input. I just bought a 4 port USB-A hub and run anything that I need from it like card readers and external drives. Mice and keyboards are all bluetooth enabled.

I can appreciate the smaller ports as they give you the option of a smaller form factor - or at least the ports size is not something that can hold you back at that point.