UK Edition
Apple discontinues 2015 MacBook Pro leaving users to wrestle with dongles
Apple has discontinued the 2015 MacBook Pro, meaning buyers will now have to wrestle over new dongles as the company drops traditional USB ports from its popular laptop.
The upgraded MacBook Pro for 2018 includes upgraded internal features, but does away with regular USB ports, its SD card reader and an HDMI connector, meaning Apple fans will have to pick up adapter cables to link up old devices.
It is not the first time Apple has pushed consumers towards its preferred forms of cable. Apple controversially ditched the headphone jack on the iPhone 7, causing consternation among users who now have to buy a dongle to connect wired headphones or use headphones that have a Lightning cable.
Meanwhile, the company's 12-inch MacBook only features a single USB-C port - meaning users cannot charge the laptop and connect it to another device with a wire at the same time.
The new MacBooks also add Apple's Touch Bar, a digital strip replacing normal function keys on the keyboard which add a number of customisable shortcuts. Apple has also added voice control so users can activate the Siri voice assistant simply by saying "Hey Siri". Apple said new processors on the MacBook Pro would make the device up to 70pc faster.
The move also means Apple is discontinuing its cheapest version of the MacBook Pro, which started at £1,249. The only Apple laptop which still keeps legacy ports such as USB-A is the older MacBook Air.
However, Apple is not set to make significant changes to its Butterfly keyboard design after the keyboard came under criticism from users and even lawsuits due to the keys jamming.
Apple has been hit by three class action lawsuits over the keyboard design. The lawsuits claim that even a "minimal amounts of dust or debris" can cause the keyboard to stop working. The butterfly design differs from the normal design, which features a scissor-like mechanism.
Apple is expected to release a set of new smartphones later this year, rumoured to include a larger iPhone and a successor to its premium iPhone X.