It's time for Microsoft to drop the Surface Connect port

[Redaktion]

There is no need for a Surface Connect port now that Thunderbolt 3 is becoming ubiquitous amongst mid-range to high-end laptops and tablets. There is nothing that Microsoft can't do with the more universal Thunderbolt 3 port that they are already doing with the expensive proprietary Surface Connect port.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/It-s-time-for-Microsoft-to-drop-the-Surface-Connect-port.448104.0.html

[Andrew]

If Microsoft manages to have a reliable and fast MagSafe-like USB Type C charger for their Surface Products, it would be a hit.

[Digitalguy]

Stupid article, not realizing that the connect port is magnetic, contrary to USB C and that Microsoft has already moved to USB C in all their line so you can already use any USB C dock (and charger) and don't need to rely on the overpriced surface dock...
Until there is a good and reliable magnetic usb c port, I hope Microsoft will maintain their surface connect port in all their devices. This will save many devices from accidents...

[Zhuang Jiefeng]

I think there's a point about how useless surface connect is for accessories, but it's still great for charging, imo. I prefer to have the choice between surface connect and usb c.

Would love to see surface connect sticking around alongside thunderbolt 3 instead of them replacing surface connect

[Abhishek]

Doesn't look like a well-researched article that I like reading notebookcheck for.
Thunderbolt 3 itself is proprietary of intel. While the 4 one might not be its yet to materialize.
Thunderbolt should never be compared to usb c. One is an electrical/electronic/signalling standard and the other is a physical one.
If any company let's go of their docking ports for thunderbolt they will need to stick with Intel only processors thus limiting them in future when AMD/Qualcomm becomes relevant in this space. Or pay a licensing fees and integrate the tech which might be a costly investment too if at all possible/allowed by Intel.

After this you can discuss whatever legacy things you want to get into. Profits from dock accessories, backward compatibility and what not. But there are other very real reasons too.

[Jason Bush]

In the enterprise market having dedicated docking ports is necessary.

There are multiple reasons why and this article fails to outline them.

[Dan Ridenhour]

Now that they support usb-c with power delivery and display port...   they could just support thunderbolt 3 as well...  keep their proprietary port for people who already have their docks and are upgrading.     Then they can release a next gen thunderbolt 3 dock and widen their market to 3rd party devices. 

The only potential issue would be how many PCIe channels are available...  but even 2 channel thunderbolt3 would be better than none.

[Peteski]

I love the connect port, having a magnetic power adapter so you don't have to worry about tugging your power adapter causing you to drop your surface or laptop. Obviously it should be in addition to USB-C/thunderbolt but they should by no means remove it.

[Bob]

What they should do is open it up for adoption or give it to the USB consortium. I'd much prefer this on my phone/tablet/laptop than type c

[Tipu Shah]

Thanks God

Thanks God

Thanks God

Who in the first place designed such a duffer port.

And please use less glue inside.

Why complicate it's repair and maintenance.

I was a huge fan of Microsoft but surface has really turned me away from Microsoft.

Three things.

The soft cover keyboard fades, its magnet contact points get dust and it's keys malfunction.

Second is the issue with power connector. Make it simple please!

Third is the glue inside.

Have some sense

[Philip]

No please. It's very well designed. I have seen laptops in coffee shops suffering from very had fall because of the tight/snug ac connectors. I like that the surface's is easily removable, making it safe from accidental trips. The white LED is cool to look at, too.

[Philip D]

Put me in the group against this idea.  As much as I usually hate proprietary cables, ports, etc. I really like the surface current connect port system.  I've used other devices with thunderbolt connections and I would rather keep this.  I don't care about universal connectivity.  I've got surface devices and don't plan to change that anytime soon, so my docks aren't going anywhere.  It may be "nonessential" now, but just because something isn't essential doesn't mean it's not useful and a helpful design.  I'd be sad/angry to see it go.

[morteza]

i prefer surface port, unlike usb c port this one is flat and don't bother you when you are working with the device no matter how you are holding it.

[Matt S.]

The problem with just relying on USB-C Thunderbolt "docks" is that I've found the cost-effective ones (30-60$) make the computer work really hard and get hot, make the dock hot as well, and give some occasional lag on wired mouses (extremely annoying).  I tried around 5 of them with my X1 Carbon (returned all), and ended up making my own ghetto-dock by encasing all plugged-in cords in thermal plastic (luckily the X1C is flush in ports on the left side), because Lenovo's dock was absurdly expensive, but probably worked a lot better as it has power supply and used both USB-C ports.  There are probably great 3rd party powered docks that work with multiple laptop brands, but they're going to be quite expensive as well.

I just got a Surface Laptop from work, and the connect port / dock works great - very secure but easy-to-disconnect port (magnetic), and the computer and dock stay cool.  I bought another one for home use for $110 open box.  You're not going to find a powered 3rd party usb-c dock  (surface laptop now has usb-c on the left side of course), that will work as well as the Surface dock at that price point IMO (or even at normal non-MS vendor price $150 new).   

Unless you REALLY need to use the same dock for a Surface and non-surface computer, I see no compelling reason to not go with the connect dock for surface.  And if you must go USB-C dock, don't cheap out....if it's under $100 and non-powered, probably will give you some issues (hot computer, not good) if you tax it with external monitors and peripherals.

[passenger]

Why drop when m$ could just add more tb3 ports w/ PD support?

The built-in magsafe-like charging functionality is extremely useful. Yes, aftermarket alternatives are available under 30 USD, but saying that there's aftermarket solution so you don't need to worry is kinda like dropping the 3.5mm headphone jack and saying that you could just buy a type-c-to-3.5mm adapter, or dropping any port but tb3 like what the fruit company did and saying that you're now free as never before.

A universal port for everything is definitely good, but this doesn't mean you have to drop any other "old-school" ports.