Bloomberg: Next MacBook Pro to Feature SD Card Reader

Last week, reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo outlined his expectations for new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models later this year, including the return of the MagSafe charging connector, the removal of the Touch Bar, a new flat-edged design, and the return of more ports built into the notebooks for expanded connectivity.

2021 mbp sd slot feature2

A concept of a modern MacBook Pro with an SD card reader

Kuo did not specify which ports might be making a comeback, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today reported that the next MacBook Pro models will feature an SD card reader for transferring photos shot with a digital camera and other files:

The upcoming MacBook Pro is an example of Apple's renewed focus on Mac loyalists. The company is planning to bring back an SD card slot for the next MacBook Pros so users can insert memory cards from digital cameras. That feature was removed in 2016, to the consternation of professional photographers and video creators, key segments of the MacBook Pro user base.

The latest MacBook Pro models only have Thunderbolt ports, forcing photographers to use an adapter or dock to gain access to an SD card reader.

In his research note last week, Kuo mentioned that "most users may not need to purchase additional dongles" for the next MacBook Pro, so it is possible that an SD card reader will not be the only port that returns. As recently as 2015, the MacBook Pro was also equipped with an HDMI port and USB-A ports, but it would certainly be surprising to see the latter make a comeback given the tech industry's transition to USB-C.

Kuo expects the new MacBook Pro models to launch in the third quarter, which spans July through September. They would replace the higher-end 13-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models released in May 2020 and November 2019, respectively. The base model 13-inch MacBook Pro was already updated with Apple's custom M1 chip a few months ago.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Expected to Release iOS 18.3 Next Week With These New Features

Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3. Notification Summary Changes Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries Apple Intelligence...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
Apple Pay Walmart Feature

Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.

Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today. A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
truecaller

Truecaller iOS Update Rolls Out Real-Time Caller ID Support

Wednesday January 22, 2025 2:07 am PST by
Popular caller ID app Truecaller is rolling out an update that brings real-time caller ID support to its iOS subscribers. Apple introduced Live Caller ID Lookup in iOS 18, allowing third-party caller ID apps to securely retrieve information about a caller from their servers, hence today's Truecaller update. iPhone users can enable the Live Caller ID Lookup feature by going to Settings ➝ ...
ipad pro 2024

New iPad Pro Reportedly Launching This Year

Tuesday January 21, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple plans to release at least one new iPad Pro model this year, according to a supplier-focused report today from Korean website The Elec. It is likely that the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models would be updated simultaneously. After receiving an OLED display last year, the report said the iPad Pro will receive only "minor" changes this year. Overall, the next iPad Pro is expected to...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Launching This Year With These New Features

Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device. The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...

Top Rated Comments

xnu Avatar
52 months ago
So sad that this makes me very excited. Take something away, then make me happy when they give me small things back. It is like an abusive relationship.
Score: 90 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bollman Avatar
52 months ago
Either Apple is backtracking all of their decisions since 2016, or they have sent out the specs for the late 2015 MacBooks as decoys to find leaks.
Score: 89 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SuprUsrStan Avatar
52 months ago

Either Apple is backtracking all of their decisions since 2016, or they have sent out the specs for the late 2015 MacBooks as decoys to find leaks.
Either that or Engineers have better utility sense than Jony Ive in what customers actually want.

Who would have thought.
Score: 81 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DAC47 Avatar
52 months ago
Is it a coincidence that Jonny Ive is no longer in charge of design at Apple and useful ports suddenly start returning?
Score: 78 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacFather Avatar
52 months ago
Introducing the new Macbook Pro.

Score: 65 Votes (Like | Disagree)
verniesgarden Avatar
52 months ago

Why bring back an obsolete slot? We are on CFExpress A and B now, with SD Express coming to fight CFExpress A. SD is dead.
SD still has a life for at least 5 years. Camera manufacturers are being very slow to go all in on CFExpress, and even when they do they keep an SD card as the second slot. And this isn't even getting into the consumer grade cameras or micro SD devices
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)