I don't think that's true. I don't like the idea of buying a laptop that for some reason is super thin but then I have to carry around adapters. I would much prefer a lot of common adapters built into the device even if it's thicker or heavier. Make the MacBook Air have only USB-C and thin but the "Pro" should be more utilitarian and practical.

Do you go to a presentation assuming someone will have an HDMI cable handy to plug into the projector? If you do, you're a braver person than I. But I can carry a USB-C to HDMI cable just as easily as a HDMI to HDMI.

At some point, inconvenience to part of the user base has to be outweighed by convenience to everyone else. The new MBP fits a 15" screen into a form factor that is edging in on where 13-14" laptops were not too long ago. The new 13" is edging into where 12" laptops used to be. Given that lots of "pros" and "road warriors" suffer through 12-13" laptops for size/weight reasons, that's a pretty huge benefit that might easily justify the loss of ports for a big segment of the user base.

In my company all projectors have an HDMI cable already so there is no need to carry one. I just think if you need really small go for an Air. With my current MBP I can walk around without adapters and have reasonable confidence that i can deal with most unexpected peripherals like USB devices or HDMI screens. In my view they should have put in a USB-C port but also left at least some legacy ports. My MBP 13 has an SD card reader , screen connector and USB ports and is still pretty small so I don't buy the size argument.

> My MBP 13 has an SD card reader , screen connector and USB ports and is still pretty small so I don't buy the size argument.

Why'd you get a 13"? If the 15" was close to the same size/weight would you have gotten the 15"?

I think the new 15 is still quite a bit bigger than the older 13. In any case, if some more connectors would have made the new MBP slightly thicker or heavier I would have preferred that. If you want super super thin, buy an Air.

Or, it may be an actual PITA to spend even more money on an already expensive laptop for what's a downgrade: less features and the inconvenience of carrying dongles everywhere, for the "benefit" of a laptop that's half a milimetre thinner.

Except it's not "half a millimeter thinner." The new 15" is halfway in size between the old 13" and the old 15". It makes it that much more practical to move up from an Air to a Pro, or from a 13" Pro to a 15" Pro.