Apple extends USB-C accessory discounts until March 31st

Apple has extended the price cuts on nearly all USB-C cables and adaptors in its store, pushing the sale’s end date back three months, from December 31st to March 31st.

The price cuts were announced at the beginning of November, shortly after the introduction of the MacBook Pro and amid a flurry of complaints from potential buyers about the computer’s lack of commonly used ports. Because it only has USB-C ports, new cables or adaptors are needed to connect pretty much anything a person already owns, tacking on added costs to the computer and potentially requiring more devices to be carried around.

While temporarily cutting the price on USB-C cables by no means solves the problem created by the MacBook Pro’s questionable port situation, it does help to address it for existing owners. Apple’s cables are some of the best that you can buy. And with these price cuts, they’re available at what are actually reasonable prices.

Here’s the breakdown:

• USB-C to traditional USB adapter from $19 to $9
• Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter from $49 to $29
• USB-C to Lightning cable (1 meter) from $25 to $19
• USB-C to Lightning cable (2 meters) from $35 to $29
• Multiport adapter with HDMI, USB, and USB-C from $69 to $49
• Multiport adapter with VGA, USB, and USB-C from $69 to $49

All third-party USB-C peripherals sold by Apple will receive around a 25 percent price cut. Only Apple’s USB-C charging cables aren’t being discounted. 

In addition to extending the cable discount, Apple is also beginning to ship LG’s UltraFine 5K Display and extending a sale on it — from $1,299 to $974 — to March 31st.

Discussion around the MacBook Pro’s port situation has died down some since November, but another issue has popped up since: the computer’s surprisingly short battery life. Apple recently removed the “time remaining” estimate from all MacBooks as a way to hide resolve the issue (the counter was inconsistent on the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, though it’s always seemed to work just fine on other MacBooks), but it didn’t change the actual battery life, nor the fact that buyers continue to experience frustrations with the new Pro.

The article was published on : theverge