All the connectors that a Mac has: USB-C, card reader... — 2022

What input and output ports does a Mac have?

There are different types of computers on Apple's campus, from the more desktop versions such as the Mac mini and iMac to its versions more focused on professional use such as the Mac Pro. All this with a range of laptops in which we find MacBook Air and MacBook Pro of different sizes. If you want to buy one of those currently sold by the Californian company, these are the ports that you will find in each of them.

iMac

They are divided into two sizes, on the one hand the 24-inch model launched in 2021 and on the other the larger 27-inch whose latest version was launched in the summer of 2020.

24-inch iMac
• magnetic socket
• 2 Thunderbolt ports (USB 4) compatible with:
  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt 3 up to 40 Gb per second
  • USB 4 up to 40 Gb per second
  • USB 3.1 up to 10 Gb per second
  • Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI, and VGA via adapters sold separately
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Gigabit Ethernet (configurable)
• 2 additional USB 3 ports (configurable)

27-inch iMac
• classic socket
• 4 USB-A ports
• 2 Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports compatible with:
  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb per second
  • USB 3.1 up to 10 Gb per second
  • Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI, and VGA via adapters sold separately
• Configurable con Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000BASE-T (RJ-45)
• Configurable with Ethernet 10 Gb
• Kensington security slot
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• SD card reader

Mac mini

The little Mac still has two versions for sale, one with the Apple M1 chip and another with the Intel Core i5 or i7 chip. Of course, in both cases we find similarities in terms of ports.

Mac mini (M1)
• Plug
• 2 USB-A ports
• 2 Thunderbolt 3 (USB 4) ports compatible with:
  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt 3 up to 40 Gb per second
  • USB 3.1 up to 10 Gb per second
  • Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI, and VGA via adapters sold separately
• Gigabit Ethernet (configurable a 10 Gigabit Ethernet)
• 3.5mm headphone jack

Mac mini (Intel)
• Plug
• 2 USB-A ports
• 4 Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports compatible with:
  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt 3 up to 40 Gb per second
  • USB 3.1 up to 10 Gb per second
  • Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI, and VGA via adapters sold separately
• HDMI 2.0
• Gigabit Ethernet (configurable a 10 Gigabit Ethernet)
• 3.5mm headphone jack

Mac Pro

The case of this Mac is different from the rest, since it is much more configurable than the previous ones, admitting different modes depending on its graphics card:

AMD Radeon Pro 580X
• 2 HDMI 2.0 ports
• 4 DisplayPort connections
AMD Radeon Pro W550X
• 2 HDMI 2.0 ports
• 2 DisplayPort connections
AMD Radeon Pro W5700X
• 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports
• 1 HDMI 2.0 port
• 2 DisplayPort connections
AMD Radeon Pro Vega II
• 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports
• 1 HDMI 2.0 port
• 2 DisplayPort connections
AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo
• 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports
• 1 HDMI 2.0 port
• 4 DisplayPort connections

In addition to this we also find these serial ports:

• Plug
• 2 Ethernet ports of 10 Gb per second
• 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports compatible with:
  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt 3 up to 40 Gb per second
  • USB-C up to 10 Gb per second

MacBook Air

The most basic of Apple's laptops is currently sold in two different versions based on the M1 processor cores. However, in both we find identical connections:

• 2 Thunderbolt ports (USB 4) compatible with:
  • computer charging
  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt 3 up to 40 Gb per second
  • USB 3.1 up to 10 Gb per second
• 3.5mm headphone jack

MacBook Pro

On the other side of Apple laptops, what we find are up to 3 versions of MacBook Pro, even having differences in the ports in each of them. A good part of its connections are shared, only in some cases the number of ports is multiplied.

MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1)
• 2 Thunderbolt ports (USB 4) compatible with:
  • computer charging
  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt 3 up to 40 Gb per second
  • USB 3.1 up to 10 Gb per second
• 3.5mm headphone jack

MacBook Pro 13 Inch (Intel)
• 4 Thunderbolt (USB-C) ports compatible with:
  • computer charging
  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt 3 up to 40 Gb per second
  • USB 3.1 up to 10 Gb per second
• 3.5mm headphone jack

MacBook Pro 16-inch (Intel)
• 4 Thunderbolt (USB-C) ports compatible with:
  • computer charging
  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb per second
  • USB 3.1 up to 10 Gb per second
• 3.5mm headphone jack

Can the ports on a Mac be expanded?

When you go to buy a Mac, either in a physical Apple Store or from the online store, it is possible in some cases to choose the type of ports. The one that usually supports more configurations is the Ethernet in the chaos of the iMac and Mac mini. In most cases a particular thing happens and that is that Apple usually markets the same model of computers with different specifications, in such a way that they differ in the type of processor or some section of the graphics card and incidentally also in the number of ports (something that can be seen perfectly in the case of the 16-inch MacBook Pro).

Beyond being able to make this choice in the computer's pre-configuration, the truth is that more ports cannot be added, and less once they have already been purchased. What perhaps can serve as an alternative is the purchase of a multiport hub, which would allow connections that Macs do not incorporate or multiply the possibilities with existing ones. There are different variants on the market, and you can find some examples like the following on Amazon.

buy it at EUR 19.54

This accessory is one of many out there and it serves us perfectly as an example. It connects to the Mac via a USB-C connection, a port that all Apple computers already have. Once connected, the same accessory can be used to connect as many others. In this case we find several USB 3.0 inputs, another USB-C input, HDMI and even a card reader. There are different prices depending on the quality and number of ports of the hub and although in the end it is not as comfortable as having it as standard on the Mac, it can perfectly serve as an alternative.