Apple MacBook Pro to get HDMI, SD card reader back to meet fan demand

People have been complaining about a change Apple enforced five years ago, but for frustrated Mac fans the company might backflip.

People have been complaining about a lack of connectivity ports on Apple’s computers ever since the company first adopted a new connection in 2015, but a rumoured backflip is coming with Apple expected to restore some important connections.

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, models of the MacBook Pro coming later this year will once again pack an SD card reader and an HDMI port.

HDMI lets you plug into a TV or other external display with video and audio being sent through the one cable, while an SD card reader makes it quicker and easier to download photos and video from a camera as well as provide expandable storage.

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Hubs like this one have become more prevalent as device makers increasingly require them.

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Apple previously included both on the MacBook Pro and the larger MacBook Air model.

Beginning in 2015, with the 12-inch MacBook that also introduced the company’s awful butterfly keyboard, Apple included only two USB-C ports and a headphone jack.

Other models followed suit, including the new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air powered by Apple’s new M1 chip the company announced last year.

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Apple first introduced the USB-C port in the 12-inch MacBook.

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USB-C is a powerful port that can provide power while also streaming huge amounts of data, and can be daisy chained together in some cases to make up for a lack of ports on some devices.

But it also requires many people to carry around “dongles”, little cables and adaptors that can turn the USB-C/Thunderbolt port into something you can use.

According to Mr Kuo, that’s set to change within months.

“We predict that Apple’s two new MacBook Pro models in 2H21 will have several significant design and specification changes,” Mr Kuo said in a research note, according to MacRumors.

“Some of the practical changes for users are equipping with the SD card reader and HDMI port.”

Apple announced new Mac computers powered by its own silicon last year. Picture: Apple Inc

Another recent report from Bloomberg also suggested MagSafe could return to the MacBook after being introduced to the iPhone.

MagSafe magnetically attaches to the computer to charge and gets the “Safe” part of its name for the insurance it provides against people tripping over your power cable.

If tension is applied to the cable it comes straight out of the port rather than introducing your spenno laptop to the ground, but when Apple added USB-C they took away MagSafe, another decision it could soon reverse.