HDMI is almost the same size as the Mini DisplayPort. Apple just loves their own connectors, unfortunately. I was shocked when I noticed the VGA adapter wasn't included in the package.
Luckily I realized this before my first conference presentation with the new computer ;-)
> HDMI is almost the same size as the Mini DisplayPort.
Not it's not. HDMI is almost the same size as full DisplayPort (and nowhere near as good a format for computers).
An HDMI Type A connector is 13.9mm x 4.45mm, a mini-DP connector is 7.4mm x 4.5mm. The mini-DP connector is half as wide.
> Apple just loves their own connectors, unfortunately.
You are aware mini-DP is now under VESA and has been integrated by a number of laptop manufacturers right? (and again, that DP in general is a much better A/V interface than HDMI for computers)
* It's both internal and external, so in a laptop you can drive both the laptop's own screen and the external A/V plug with the same display interface (instead of having an internal LVDS interface and an external HDMI one for instance)
* It's backwards compatible with DVI-I (and HDMI for that matter): you can carry DVI-I or HDMI signals on a DP cable and only need a passive adapter (although that is limited to single-link on both DVI and HDMI, there aren't enough pins in the DP connector to handle dual-link DVI and HDMI via passive adapters)
* It's packet-based and includes arbitrary pure data transfers (ignoring Thunderbolt) so you don't need a separate data cable to have your screen act as a HUB (USB or 5-in-one for instance), HDMI is TDMS and has no data stream (it comes from TV analog cables)
* It includes a Direct Drive Monitor spec (allows for controller-less monitors which are directly driven off of the displayport signals, although this puts limits on the panel's resolution and color depth)
* DP 1.2 includes independent video streams (to daisy-chain multiple monitors without the need for multiple connectors or a hub), though AFAIK no monitor handles daisy-chaining so far.
* DP includes a mini-connector (mini-displayport) with roughly half the footprint of the full-size one, a boon for ultra-portables (it was developed for Apple, and Apple gifted it to VESA) available under the same royalty-free license-free terms as DP itself (mini-DP was folded into the DisplayPort 1.2 spec)
HDMI is a good A/V standard for TVs, but DP is far superior for computers (and it's driven by computer manufacturers). There is probably a future for both (that's VESA's own party line), but I'd much rather find all my computer video output available as DP first and foremost (with HDMI as an option if they want to).
If by "almost" you mean "over twice as big", sure. (I happen to have an HDMI connector sitting next to my MBP's Thunderbolt (nee Mini-DisplayPort) port.
Edit: They have "mini-HDMI" out, which is an entirely different beast than the mini-HDMI adapters included on many Android smartphones. A mini-HDMI port would require similar adapters to connect to anything useful.
A normal "type-A" HDMI port is a sizeable connector, larger than a USB port.
Several mobile phones have HDMI out. For me that is "small enough". I think HDMI would even make the ports on different sides more balanced, as the size is more similar to the magsafe adapter
Luckily I realized this before my first conference presentation with the new computer ;-)