Apple’s latest MacBook Pro range will require $370 worth of dongles

APPLE’S forthcoming MacBook Pro line-up is the thinnest and fastest ever released by the tech giant, but its also jam-packed with hidden costs.

APPLE’S forthcoming MacBook Pro line-up is the thinnest and fastest ever released by the tech giant.

The laptops have also been designed with a customisable OLED touch bar at the top of the keyboard, with hopes to make touchscreen displays obsolete.

As part of its innovative approach, Apple removed all of its MacBook Pro legacy ports — except for the 3.5mm headphone jack, which was worthy of its own story.

This means there are no longer ports for USB 3, HDMI, SD Card or even Apple’s MagSafe connector, with the tech company opting for four USB Type-C ports.

Not only does USB Type-C allow the laptop to be thinner, but it is set to become the a next-generation industry standard as it offers ultra-fast data transfer speeds, device charging and video output.

This might prove Apple is forward thinking with the connection ports, but it is not so great for consumers who will need to buy a number of dongles to effectively use their new MacBook Pro.

Let’s just have a quick look at what would be required for the laptops.

As the latest iPhone 7 charging cable is USB 3 to Lightning, a dongle will be needed so that you can charge Apple’s latest smartphone on its most recent MacBook Pro.

With no HDMI port on the new laptops, another dongle will be required to hook your MacBook up to a television screen.

HDMI? Yeah, you’re going to need a dongle for that.

A quick browse of the tech company’s online store shows a USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter capable of solving both of these problems.

“The USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter lets you connect your MacBook with USB-C port or MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports to an HDMI display, while also connecting a standard USB device and a USB-C charging cable,” Apple wrote.

So on top of the cost of the new laptop, consumers will have to pay another $109.00 for this luxury.

Now let’s assume you not only want to charge your iPhone and watch TV, but you are also an avid photographer.

If you have grown accustomed to using the SD slot on your laptop to upload photos, you will need to purchase dongle number two — the SanDisk Extreme Pro SD UHS-II Card USB-C Reader.

So how much will the ability to “quickly transfer high-resolution photos and videos” to your MacBook Pro cost? Just a sneaky $84.95.

Want to get SD card photos onto your MacBook? Dongle.

With USB 3, HDMI and SD out of the way, let’s assume the wireless internet you have isn’t the most dependable and you need an Ethernet connection.

Apple’s website has a Belkin USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adaptor for sale, which will have you covered.

“The Belkin USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adaptor allows you to connect to wired networks with speed and endurance where wireless connectivity is unreliable or inconsistent,” Apple wrote.

Compared to the earlier adaptors, this is slightly cheaper at only $49.95.

We’re not done yet, because if you like using other monitors you will need to purchase a Belkin USB-C to VGA Adaptor for $59.95.

Oh, let’s not forget the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adaptor, which will be needed for all of your old Thunderbolt 2 devices such as external hard drives and Thunderbolt displays.

This product will add another $75.00 to your shopping basket, taking the total of these luxuries to $378.85.

By adding all of these to the cheapest 13-inch MacBook Pro — which doesn’t include the new Touch Bar — you’ll be looking at $2,577.85.

What are your thoughts? Continue the conversation on Twitter @mattydunn11.