In 2016, Apple started to excise the good old USB-A port (the rectangular plug you always try to insert the wrong way) with USB-C ports (the little reversible oval) on all its laptops.
It started with the MacBook Pro and the new 12-inch MacBook, which had only one USB-C port that had to be used for both power and peripherals. That was a frustration, but the reasoning for dumping USB-A seemed sound: USB-C was the obvious future. One port that is smaller, thinner, reversible and easier to plug in, that guaranteed high-speed USB 3.0 speeds, and maybe even other stuff like Thunderbolt connectivity.
Just as Apple did when it dropped serial and parallel ports with the original iMac in favor of only USB, it was embracing the obvious future, and pressuring the rest of the industry to keep up.
