Then don't get the dongle. Just upgrade your accessory to use USB type C. Having a bulky USB A port just to appease the 1% of users who spend $2000 on a shiny new macbook but cheap out on a mouse they've been using from the 90s? I exaggerate, but if you really want to keep your old accessories then leave the dongle permanently attached to the accessory. You can get like a 10 pack for like $5 probably.

More like: constantly attached to the cable. Only USB-A device I use is a printer and I have an adapter permanently attached to the cable.

There is absolutely zero need for USB-A. None. It does nothing whatsoever that USB-C can't do, and there are ton of things that USB-C can do better. There is no need for two USB "mid sized" plug standards - and obviously USB-C is now the dominant. Almost every single peripheral, device, component, that can run on USB-A runs on USB-C. And there is a huge contingent of devices that could never run on USB-A. As soon as everyone has agreed that USB-A is dead, completely dead, people will cease manufacturing USB-A peripherals, which further enhances the value of a port that almost everyone is now using for everything.

Honestly - the USB-A port should have been wiped out a couple years ago - the only reason it didn't is that everyone has this massive legacy of USB-A ports (Hotels, Airports, Airplanes, etc...) that people plug into, which kept them holding onto those legacy peripherals longer than they should have. Also - some weird hardware dongles that haven't been upgraded to USB-C.

What we need to do is start seeing how quickly Hotels/Cars/Airplanes/Airports/... start switching over to USB-C. When that happens there will be this massive cascade effect - it will be exponential:

   2022 - ~0% of legacy is USB C
   2023 - 1% legacy USB-C
   2024 - 2% legacy USB-C
   2025 - 4% legacy USB-C
   2026 - 8% legacy USB-C
   2027 - 16% legacy USB-C
   2028 - 32% legacy USB-C
   2029 - 64% legacy USB-C
   2030 - 90% legacy USB-C
   2031 - 95% legacy USB-C

I'm guessing by 2032, nobody will be carrying legacy USB-A peripherals anymore. Only wildcard will be if there is a USB-next that will replace C. Please don't let that happen before USB-C takes over the world.

The argument is that it's legacy and it will die because USB-C is better is a variety of ways. And in true Apple fashion, Apple is killing it somewhat aggressively. Though it's not just Apple. Something like a Google Pixelbook is USB-C only as well.

because inferior tech that lasts a long time has a constant tax on productivity.

I have a hard time believing that people use SD cards more frequently than they do USB-A. Sure, photographers probably get good use out of it, but developers, students, content creators who aren't shooting with DSLR, animators, musicians, 3D artists, regular artists and video editors will probably never touch it.

There are plenty of fairly common USB-A peripherals still in use anyways. A lot of audio interfaces, mice, keyboards and webcams rely on low-bandwidth but ubiquitous ports like USB-A. Apple and their pride would never put one on a modern Mac, but we're really at an impasse: neither side will adopt either standard, so it's more likely that we'll simply see wireless peripherals gain popularity instead. Not exactly bad, but kinda an asinine take for a company that just released a professional desktop computer with USB-A, but refused to add it to their laptops.

> Devices stopped being shipped with USB-A a long time ago now.

Are you talking about Macs or devices in general? My 2021 laptop has an SD card slot, x2 USB A and x2 USB C (well, Thunderbolt 4). Despite how much I like USB C (all the devices I take with me have it), USB A is still here and will be for quite a while.

Oh, I forgot to mention that my laptop also has (full-sized!) HDMI and a headphone jack.

Photographers use SD Cards. Most Everyone uses keyboard, mice and plenty still have USB thumb drives.