As a bonus, it’s aesthetically inoffensive-it doesn’t look like it belongs with the greatest hits of ugly ’90s technology, unlike some of the other hubs we’ve tested.

It has seven upward-facing USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 data ports with a helpful LED activity indicator for each it also has three 12-watt (2.4-amp) power ports just for charging. The inclusion of the drive made the laptop a lot heavier, and it was omitted in the 2012 MacBook Air, and most subsequent laptops, for that reason.If you’re mainly concerned about connecting to your computer as many devices as you can, choose the Anker 10-Port 60W USB 3.0 Hub. It also allows people to burn their own DVDs and CDs. The built-in CD and DVD drive in certain MacBook models allows people to watch movies and listen to music on their laptops. So FireWire is highly utilized in film and editing, in addition to anything that needs a fast connection to work.

To transfer video, you may have to plug the camera into the FireWire 800 port. Some cameras can connect to MacBooks via USB, and only transfer pictures along that connection. With faster transfer rates than a USB port, FireWire ports can connect things like high-speed external hard drives, but also camcorders and webcams. The port doesn’t have many uses beyond that. Using an Ethernet cable in this port, instead of Wi-Fi, can make the internet run faster on your MacBook. The Gigabit Ethernet port allows a MacBook to connect directly to a router, modem, or wall jack to access the internet. But SD cards that are typical in digital photo and film cameras pop right in and can be accessed on a MacBook the second they’re plugged in. The SDXC card slot lets a MacBook read and write on SD cards.Ī converter or adapter would need to be used for inserting miniSD cards into here. But despite this, and the speed issue, it was a major port on most MacBooks and Apple computers for a long time! SDXC Card Slot With USB-A ports, the direction of cable insertion can’t be messed with-a cable must go in perfectly for the port to work. It can power some small microphones and USB accessories as well.ĭespite speed advantages over USB 2 and USB ports, the USB 3 port is not fast enough for connecting monitors or high-quality webcams. It also allowed iPhones, iPads, and iPods to connect to a MacBook for charging and data transfer or management. It supports a large number of computer accessories including flash drives, external hard drives, external CD/DVD players, and more. USB 3 ports are in a USB-A shape-the traditional USB shape you’re probably familiar with.

Hdmi to mac connector