Not everyone believes me when I say Apple is only half the genius that it once was, and maybe it is just me, but——

Observe this image of my current, the MacBook Pro late 13.  As the first Retina Display laptop, this machine was a beast and is still incredibly capable.  Yet, observe its completely illogical placement of the right side user input and output interface, the i/o.

Bear with me:

The SDXC card slot should be in between the two other ports.

Further, The USB 3 Port should be where the HDMI port is; first of the ports as you reach toward the back, with, again, the SDXC card slot dividing them, which then leads to the HDMI port most to the rear.

This is pragmatic, and will probably look nicer, too.  Think of it this way:

Your most frequent use of an HDMI slot is to connect your laptop to a high definition HD display or sound system.

These systems are usually connected through cords that run toward the back of the desk or table at which you are sitting.  To connect to your HD screen, or your sound system, for example, your cord will most likely reach behind your MacBook Pro and connect to the back or rear of the HD display or other peripheral.

As such, the HDMI slot should go to the rear most space for the i/o, towards the back joint where the USB 3 slot is currently.  The cord likely reaches to the behind, so putting it in the back removes the necessity of cables wrapping around each and forming annoying knots.

Likewise, your most likely USB port accessory on the right hand side of the MacBook Pro is a USB mouse or trackpad for right handed users.  This cord will invariably reach toward the front, toward where you are sitting and using the laptop.   Therefore it is currently in the wrong space.

It is positioned in the rear but extends forward.

They left this design flaw as is for the next several iterations of the MacBook Pro.  Apple never redesigned the i/o board.

Instead, they dedicated their newest machines to use an entirely new, albeit much, much better, type of i/o, the USB-C port and USB-C cables.

In other words, Apple’s solution to their design flaw was to sell you more stuff.

This was not always the standard.  This is the Apple laptop from 2003, the iBook G4.  Notice how the i/o ports are positioned.  They are where they should be: the VGA video port is in the back, to connect to displays, and the USB port for your mouse is towards the front.

This period of Apple, this Midpoint of the Jobs Renaissance, truly saw design genius.

Case in point, the legendary iMac G4.  Just look below, and see for yourself.  

11 ports designed in such a way as to make each port user friendly.

Ports you are less likely to need to remove are positioned to the harder-to-reach rear  (like the power cord in the center), while the more likely used ports are in easier reach positions around the base of the machine like the headphone jack or the power button.

Now, I fully understand that this is a point with little worth, as there are much bigger fish to fry in the arena of capitalism design causing societal woes.

However, as I spend these midnight hours panning the Apple Store, daydreaming for an upgrade that is worth the incredulous pricing, I can’t help but say, I miss the old Apple— the genius now lacking was what made it all worth while.