Apple MacBook Pro With Touch Bar Sans Support For Optical Digital Audio Output Unlike Last Year’s MacBooks

Apple introduced its new MacBook Pros late last week with emphasis on their redesigned bodies and the advanced OLED display panel that gives them obvious distinction from their predecessors. However, there are some things about the new laptops that the Cupertino giant did not disclose during its launch event.

According to AppleInsider, Apple’s new 13-inch MacBrook Pro does not have support for optical digital audio output that was present in the 3.5mm headphone jack of its 2015 predecessor and earlier. This feature enables users to connect the MacBook to devices like DVD players, computers and video game consoles for a surround sound experience.

Based on the technical specifications of the 13-inch and the 15-inch MacBook Pros, they come with a 3.5mm headphone jack. The listing does not include “support for audio line out (digital/analog),” and this could only mean that both models do not have optical digital audio output support.

It appears Apple is getting rid of support for this kind of technology, since it was also found out that even the Apple TV (third and fourth generations) are also void of TOSlink connector and are instead sporting USB-C ports.

Explaining why it has ditched TOSlink or optical digital cable support, the Cupertino giant said that the feature was not being used by many consumers and that there’s already information to prove that “plenty of USB-C zero-latency professional peripherals” with optical audio out connectivity are coming to the market soon.

Aside from AppleInsider’s discovery, there’s also a recent revelation about the MacBook Pros that is making headlines. Unfortunately, the tech giant has removed the SD slot on the new laptops.

Speaking with The Independent on why they decided to ditch the SD slot, Apple’s Phil Schiller said, “One, it’s a bit of a cumbersome slot. You’ve got this thing sticking halfway out … And then more and more cameras are starting to build wireless transfer into the camera. That’s proving very useful. So we think there’s a path forward where you can use a physical adapter if you want, or do wireless transfer.”