Switching to new MacBook Air, but confused

So it appears you're going to connect 3, and sometimes, 4 devices to your new Mac. MacBook Airs have:

• (2) Thunderbolt 3 / USB 4 ports
• (1) MagSafe 3 Charging Port
• (1) Headphone jack

If you want to connect your external display, ethernet LAN, and mouse, you'll need a hub to accomplish it. (And your external Time Machine backup disk would constitute a 4th device). When you shop for hubs, make sure you get a powered hub, as older USB devices may not charge or operate correctly otherwise. Also be aware that the MacBook Air supports one external display, not multiple displays.

If you look at the specs for the M3 Pro/Max MacBook Pros, you'll see they have the following:

• (3) Thunderbolt 4 ports
• (1) HDMI port
• (1) SDXC card reader port
• (1) MagSafe 3 charging port
• (1) Headphone jack

With the M3 Pro/Max MacBook Pro, you wouldn't need a hub to connect everything. And, it supports multiple external monitors, should you grow into that someday. The "base" M3 MacBook Pro specs differ in that it offers (2) Thunderbolt 3 ports, and support for only one external monitor.

All the above being said, you'll want the following adapters for your devices:

• USB C to USB A adapter for your mouse and ext. Apple offers this one: USB A to USB C adapter
• USB C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter for your LAN connection. Apple offers this Belkin adapter: Ethernet Adapter
• USB C AV Multiport Adapter for your monitor. Apple offers this one: USB C AV adapter

And to answer your question, USB 4 is interchangeable with USB C (for these purposes). I've always used Apple branded adapters, as there are off brand ones out there that are kinda finicky with Macs. Belkin is a good brand I've never had issues with, though.

Hope this helps.

gwesq wrote:

My MacBook is 10 years old, so time for a new one. THinking I'll take advantage of the slight benefits from Black Friday sale. BUT I'M CONFUSED.

1 - The Ports! Currently, I have a Dell Monitor hooked up via the Displayport, using an HDMI to Displayport adapter. Works fine. But I can't figure out what kind of adapter I'll need with the new Air. It says the ports are "Thunderbolt/USB 4."

Those are multi-purpose "Swiss Army knife" ports that can carry

• USB 3.1 Gen 2
• USB4
• DisplayPort
• Thunderbolt
• Charging power (in to the laptop)

depending on what is plugged in.

Sounds like what you need is a USB-C (DisplayPort) to HDMI adapter or adapter cable. Amazon carries many such cables. That, or a USB-C or Thunderbolt hub that has a built-in adapter - and brings out the video signal from your new MacBook Air on a HDMI port.

For very-high-resolution (5K and 6K) monitors, you'd use Thunderbolt instead of USB-C (DisplayPort). But USB-C (DIsplayPort) is enough to support just about all ordinary monitors with resolutions up to 4K.

In looking at adapters using that search term, I keep coming up with USB - C adapters & hubs. Aren't they making USB 4's yet? Or is C the same as 4?

Other way around. USB-C is a connector. It predates USB4. Because it is a more flexible connector than USB-A, when the industry came out with USB4 (the fourth major version of USB), they said that anything called a "USB4" host port had to have a USB-C connector.

USB4 defines some new data transfer modes – you may have seen "USB4 (up to 40 Gbps)" as one of the things that the MacBook Air's USB4 / Thunderbolt / USB-C ports support. The USB4 20 Gbps and USB4 40 Gbps USB transfer modes are so new that nothing uses them yet. So if you plug USB devices into the Air, you'll be using the USB 3.1 Gen 2 support. Same protocol as with USB-A ports, just on a different connector. So it's easy to convert the connector types back and forth (for USB 3.1 Gen 2 or lower), and there are many ways of doing it.

Should I use only an Apple brand adapter, or are the off brands OK?

I would think that most quality third-party brands are OK. Watch out for adapters that only support USB 2.0 speed, or cables that only support charging (no data transfer). USB-C allows for a lot of high-end capabilities, but there is no guarantee that a particular USB-C port, cable, or device implements most of them.

There are USB-C docks, Thunderbolt docks, and even simple USB-A hubs (that plug in via a USB-C cable) that can give you several USB-A ports in return for the use of one of your USB-C ports. (Or you could plug a USB-A hub into the Apple adapter.)

I also use an old USB port for a wired mouse, and use USB to charge many devices from time to time, such as headphones, camera, etc. And I also connect my Network via LAN connection rather than using WiFI. WIll I still be able to do all that with a USB C adapter? SOmething Like this, for example: https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-MacBook-Accessories-Thunderbolt-microSD/dp/B0C6M9YRJ6/ref=sr_1_13?crid=1Q8EECTXFTB0H&keywords=macbook%2Bair%2Bm2&qid=1700847056&sprefix=macbook%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-13&th=1

There are lots of docks around – that being one of them. Note that the MacBook Airs have hardware support for only a single external display. If you see hubs or adapters that claim to support two or more monitors, they may be using a software connection method that requires you to install DisplayLink or Magic Control Technology software on your machine, and that has drawbacks compared to a real hardware connection to an external display.

You might also want to look at USB-C and Thunderbolt docks from Other World Computing – a company that caters to the Mac market.

For instance, here's a portable travel dock that gives you HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, a SD card reader, and a couple of USB-A ports.

OWC USB-C Travel Dock E

And, lastly, I often download photos from my camera memory card in the card reader slot. Seems that is no longer there either?

You'll need to get an external card reader (or a hub or dock that contains one). If you are using SDHC/SDXC cards, both the dock to which you linked and the dock to which I linked have readers for those.

That, or go for one of the 14"/16" MBPs instead of the Air. The 14" MBP with the 'base' M3 chip is sort of halfway between the Air and the MBPs with the Pro and Max chips. It picked up a mini-LED screen, HDMI port, and SDXC card slot from the higher-end models, but still just two USB-C (TB) ports and support for just one external display, like the Airs.