Let me just briefly elaborate on my main point, which I think is getting missed amid discussion of which is "better"...
The Pinebook Pro is a budget laptop. And since it is a budget laptop, why allocate that limited money to having two power ports? If you could choose between a $199 laptop with two incompatible power ports, or a laptop with only one power port but a longer battery life or upgradeable RAM or even just cheaper, which would you choose? Yes I'm sure if you ask enough people, someone would say they'd rather have three power ports, but such people are in the minority.
The point of business is finding out how to best utilize the limited resources available. Putting two power ports on one device is not a good way to utilize limited resources. And this isn't a cheap problem either... the cost of using the barrel jack is the cost of adding it to the laptop plus the cost of the proprietary power supply-- proprietary because it only works with the PB Pro. All this could be replaced with just a USB-A to USB-C cable and optional wall outlet (since USB-C is so commonplace that some people like me already have several USB-C chargers).
And since we're also now discussing the issue of barrel jacks vs. USB-C, let me just add that I have at least eight different devices with barrel jacks, and every single one is incompatible with the others. I'm not a huge fan of adding a ninth incompatible power supply to my power supply bucket. I'm still planning on buying the PB Pro just because it's so cheap and everything else about it is fantastic, but personally I'm going to throw that charger straight in the bucket as soon as I get it... And it's kind of annoying to pay for something that I will never use, especially in a budget device.
The Pinebook Pro is a budget laptop. And since it is a budget laptop, why allocate that limited money to having two power ports? If you could choose between a $199 laptop with two incompatible power ports, or a laptop with only one power port but a longer battery life or upgradeable RAM or even just cheaper, which would you choose? Yes I'm sure if you ask enough people, someone would say they'd rather have three power ports, but such people are in the minority.
The point of business is finding out how to best utilize the limited resources available. Putting two power ports on one device is not a good way to utilize limited resources. And this isn't a cheap problem either... the cost of using the barrel jack is the cost of adding it to the laptop plus the cost of the proprietary power supply-- proprietary because it only works with the PB Pro. All this could be replaced with just a USB-A to USB-C cable and optional wall outlet (since USB-C is so commonplace that some people like me already have several USB-C chargers).
And since we're also now discussing the issue of barrel jacks vs. USB-C, let me just add that I have at least eight different devices with barrel jacks, and every single one is incompatible with the others. I'm not a huge fan of adding a ninth incompatible power supply to my power supply bucket. I'm still planning on buying the PB Pro just because it's so cheap and everything else about it is fantastic, but personally I'm going to throw that charger straight in the bucket as soon as I get it... And it's kind of annoying to pay for something that I will never use, especially in a budget device.
