Apple Went All-In For MacBook Pro 2021 Upgrades, Except The SDXC Slot
Aside from using an older-generation slot for the SD card, the 2021 MacBook Pro relies on the older HDMI 2.0 port instead of the newer HDMI 2.1 build.
You Are Reading :Apple Went AllIn For MacBook Pro 2021 Upgrades Except The SDXC Slot
Apple made sure that the refreshed MacBook Pro is loaded to the gills with top-of-the-line hardware, but the company forgot to extend the same treatment to the SD card reader, which is stuck at the two-generation-old and slower UHS-II standard. Nevertheless, the company wowed eager fans with its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro updates that pack an all-new mini-LED display with an ugly notch, better keyboard, improved thermal design, higher-resolution front camera, and faster chips.
The new M1 Pro and M1 Max processors stole most of the limelight, thanks to some impressive performance gains compared to Apple’s own M1 chip and previous-gen 16-inch MacBook Pro from 2019. However, the return of I/O options such as an HDMI port, the upgraded Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, and the SD card reader is what power users have been craving for years. But it appears that one aspect flew under the radar amidst all the excitement concerning the SD card’s output.
Apple’s official product pages for the MacBook Pro don’t mention the SDXC card bus interface. However, the company has told The Verge’s Dan Seifert that the slot supports the older UHS-II standard. Established by the SD Association, the SDXC bus interface falling under the UHS-II bracket offers a peak data transfer speed of 312 MB/s. The newer and faster UHS-III interface can achieve a speed of up to 624 MB/s, double that of the UHS-II standard supported by Apple’s latest and greatest ‘Pro’ laptop. In fact, the bus interface is two generations old, as the SD Express standard with PCIe Gen 4 offers a blazing fast 3.9GB/s throughput.
Apple has confirmed to us that the SD card slot in the new MacBook Pro 14/16 is UHS-II (over 300Mbps). Not as forward looking as UHS-III (over 600Mbps) would be, but thank god it’s not UHS-I (about 100Mbps) . https://t.co/MN1ZCLyC4T
Apple Is Content With Just Bringing The Slot Back
Both the UHS-II and UHS-III bus interfaces rely on a two-lane system for data transfer requiring two rows of pins used for upstream and downstream data movement, respectively. In a nutshell, users can’t experience the faster read and write speeds of a corresponding SDXC Class-III card if they insert it inside the UHS-II bus on the new MacBook Pro models. For creative professionals such as photographers and filmmakers, Apple’s odd choice of sticking with an older UHS bus interface comes as a bummer for a machine that costs a pretty penny.
However, it’s not just the SDXC slot where Apple has cut some corners. The HDMI port on the MacBook Pro is also compliant with the 2.0 standard and not the latest HDMI 2.1 standard. An HDMI 2.0 port only supports a 4K at 60Hz on an external display, while the HDMI 2.1 standard takes things a notch higher by going up to 4K at a 120Hz refresh rate. Yes, 4K panels with 120Hz refresh rate output are not commonplace, but it would be a future-proof solution as the adoption slowly increases. It would appear that Apple focused more on the raw processing power boost and display quality enhancement by using a mini-LED panel rather than pondering too much about the port capabilities. After all, it’s better to have them in the first place rather than omitting them altogether.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/apple-macbook-pro-2021-sdxc-slot/