Apple has temporarily cut the price of all of its USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 adapters. Because it turns out people still use USB-A and HDMI, and don't necessarily want to pay top dollar just to be able to use their own peripherals. Who'd have thunk?!

Where Apple leads, the world follows. Unfortunately for Apple, it seems to have seriously misjudged the mood of its users recently. First, by removing the headphone jack from the iPhone 7, and second, by switching the new MacBook Pro to USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports.

This latter change may have sounded fantastic in the boardroom, but the reality is very different. Very few devices use USB-C right now, which means MacBook Pro owners are being forced to buy dongles too. You can easily spend hundreds of dollars on dongles on top of the thousands of dollars you've already spent on the new MacBook Pro.

Potential MacBook Pro owners complained, and Apple has responded... by cutting the price of all of the USB-C adapters it sells with the exception of charging cables. Apple has also explained why it dumped the SD Card slot too, but that's another story.

Dongles Going Cheap, Get Your Dongles Here

The prices of the various USB-C dongles Apple sells through the Apple Store are:

  • The USB-C to USB-A Adapter is now $9 (from $19)
  • The Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter is now $29 (from $49)
  • The USB-C to Lightning Cable (1m) is now $19 (from $25)
  • The USB-C to Lightning Cable (2m) is now $29 (from $35)
  • The USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter is now $49 (from $69)
  • The USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter is now $49 (from $69)
  • The SanDisk Extreme Pro SD UHS-II Card USB-C Reader is now $29 (from $49)
  • All other third party USB-C peripherals are currently 25% off

There are some good deals here, but then none of these products would be necessary purchases if Apple hadn't switched all the ports on the MacBook Pro to USB-C. So regardless of the generous price cuts, Apple's decision is still costing its customers dear.

Think Different. Think USB-C.

Not that Apple sees it this way. The company issued a statement regarding the price cuts, talking up the new MacBook Pro, and referring to anything other than USB-C as "legacy connectors":

"MacBook Pro uses the most advanced industry-standard connector, USB-C with Thunderbolt 3, to provide maximum performance, expandability and compatibility. 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."

Have you bought a new MacBook Pro yet? If so, how do you feel about the decision to switch all ports to USB-C? How many dongles were you forced to purchase? Are these price cuts enough to quell your anger? Please let us know in the comments below!

Image Credit: Pixelmenschen via Flickr