I have one of the more recent models. When I sit down at my desk, I just plug it into a Thunderbolt dock anyway, through a single port. All those extra ports just sit unused, despite having a USB-A keyboard and mouse, Ethernet jack, and 4k monitor at that desk. Plus the dongle provides power to the laptop.
I do use the SD reader from time to time, though. I used to have an external reader that was a bit unwieldy on the laptop, but it was also a requirement from when I was shooting pictures on a CompactFlash, which has never had a built in reader on any laptop.
And this picture doesn’t show the more recent models with the mag lock power, hdmi, and sd card reader.
Type c ports are the best. I connect my monitor through one and it has a type ports on it for a wired keyboard and speakers.
I can just plug my laptop into a monitor via USB-C, and with that one cable I have:
the display/audio signal going to the monitor
USB passthrough to the monitor that has my wireless KB+M dongle plugged into it
65W charging for my laptop
It’s great.
I have one of the more recent models. When I sit down at my desk, I just plug it into a Thunderbolt dock anyway, through a single port. All those extra ports just sit unused, despite having a USB-A keyboard and mouse, Ethernet jack, and 4k monitor at that desk. Plus the dongle provides power to the laptop.
I do use the SD reader from time to time, though. I used to have an external reader that was a bit unwieldy on the laptop, but it was also a requirement from when I was shooting pictures on a CompactFlash, which has never had a built in reader on any laptop.