So, on the power side of the equation, I have come to understand why they chose to go the direction they did.
With the previous generation of MagSafe/MagSafe II power supplies, if the cable gets frayed, you have to replace the entire power supply. If the MagSafe connector gets hosed, you have to replace the entire power supply. Basically, if anything goes wrong beyond the AC input side, you have to replace the whole power supply. I ended up buying a whole bunch of these things over the years, so I am particularly sensitive to the amount of money I've spent.
With the USB-C power supplies, if something goes wrong with the cable, you just get a new cable. If something goes wrong with the connector on the cable, you just get a new cable. The only time you need to replace the entire power supply itself is if something goes wrong internally, or if something goes wrong with the USB-C connector on the power supply. And since cables are engineered to break before cable connectors, that is much less likely.
Don't get me wrong, the MagSafe connector has saved my machine on several occasions. But I understand why they want to be able to cheaply and easily replace just the cable part, because that's the part that is most likely to have hardware failures.
I do wish they had figured out some way to have a standardized cable interface on the power supply itself, and a MagSafe-like connector on the other end. That would have been the best of both worlds. But failing that, I think I will grudgingly take the second-best solution, which is to have a standard USB-C connector on both ends.
Now, this whole concept of mixing USB-C, USB-C Power Delivery, and Thunderbolt 3, that's a whole 'nother Gordian Knot that I really wish they had not created.
> if the cable gets frayed, you have to replace the entire power supply
This is true for the existing design but it would have been easy to redesign the power supply to avoid it.
Just look at the other end: the wall-plug end has long been replaceable; it slides out so you can put on a different plug or a longer cable. This could be true on the MagSafe side as well -- then any Mac power supply could be used with any generation Mac, just by switching out the MagSafe/USB-C end.
But the MagSafe cable would serve exactly one purpose, whereas the usb-c cable does not. And now I can charge from Either side of the box too – great stuff! When my cable broke it wasn’t a big deal, I had an extra (shorter) cable I could use, and then go get a new one later. I’d be hard pressed to buy extra MagSafe cables to carry around just in case one broke, but the extra usb-c cables are actually useful or other things too.
Common sense and good design will not rule over sales generation thru designed in obsolescence. I had to buy new adapter with mag-safe for my 2013 Air. Got a new MBP at work a few days later and the replaceable cable makes so much sense. Now just needs a cable maker to produce a USB-C to MagSafe cable.
Funny how other laptops (and I've owned PC laptops and macbooks) have cables that don't fray. Only Apple's old magsafe cable has that fine rubbery material that disintegrates with time, and no strain relief on the connector.
On my cables the material starts to crumble and crack. Something about that particular type of rubber. But maybe it depends on the market or where it is manufactured. I seem to remember some lasting longer than others, I think it didin't happen on the 2014 model, but did on my original 2011 charger and on the replacement I had to buy (within the first year). But the 2016 usb-c cable doesn't really have this issue I think. Maybe it's the climate, warmer summers?
I found that this happened if you are around cigarettes. Once I moved away from that family member, I’ve not had another one die in that fashion since.
Happens all the time with any cables really. I've had many cables succumb to the good ol' lemme just adjust may chair right over your cable there type situations. Particularly when you have to run the cable to an awkwardly placed outlet.
You can certainly damage a cable, but I'm sure those old thick black PC charging cables with a barrel connector are way sturdier than the flimsy but aesthetically pleasing macbook ones.
That's such nonsense. I've never had a thinkpad cable wear out on me. I've got a whole box sitting around somewhere full of them because they never break. But thinkpad cables aren't unusually robust; Dell cables last just as long. Most cables last effectively forever unless you slam a door on them or something unreasonable like that.
The only cables I've seen reliably fall apart after no more than a few years are Christmas tree light strings from the dollar store, and Apple charging cables.
Every other consumer electronics manufacturer just figured out how to make cables that didn't fray, and it's nothing to do with the magnet...
The boon from the USB-C is that you can charge with a borrowed commodity cable when you've left your adapter at home and aren't in an office full of Macbooks. But it's been left to third parties to implement the concept of combining USB-C and a magnetic joint in the same cable.
(I'd have been tempted to get into the manufacturing business if they hadn't...)
I always hated the MagSafe connectors because I almost always used my laptop with the power connected but not on a table or other hard surface (eg a bed), and it would invariably fall off constantly.
I had this problem too on my 2015 MPB, when Apple went from Magsafe 1 to Magsafe 2, which was (vertically) thinner. The Magsafe 2 easily disconnected when there was even a little vertical torque.
I bought a Snuglet, a thin metal shell that inserts into the Magsafe recess on the MBP. It reduces vertical and horizontal clearance between the Magsafe connector halves. In my case, this has completely eliminated unwanted disconnects.
Disclaimer: no connection with Snuglet or NewerTech, just have found the product useful as advertised.
USB-C is not making it better, my t480s cable is too heavy and you can see it tugging on the connector and it's not sitting straight but tilted. I already managed to break one USB-C socket on my 2016 macbook pro, I can see it breaking soon on the thinkpad if I don't caress it, which means not letting the cable hang and making sure not to bump it with my knee.
I was annoyed by the MagSafe removal but I've had 5 of these [0] since the change and I have zero complaints. My Neato has eaten them multiple times and they are still kicking and if they ever die, it's just a cheap cable rather than a new power supply. I went through multiple of the old magsafe power supplies despite ample application of Sugru [1]. Overall I think moving the magnetic disconnect to the cable is a good move.
> With the previous generation of MagSafe/MagSafe II power supplies, if the cable gets frayed, you have to replace the entire power supply. If the MagSafe connector gets hosed, you have to replace the entire power supply. Basically, if anything goes wrong beyond the AC input side, you have to replace the whole power supply. I ended up buying a whole bunch of these things over the years, so I am particularly sensitive to the amount of money I've spent.
This is a design issue that doesn’t require a USB-C cable to fix.
With the previous generation of MagSafe/MagSafe II power supplies, if the cable gets frayed, you have to replace the entire power supply. If the MagSafe connector gets hosed, you have to replace the entire power supply. Basically, if anything goes wrong beyond the AC input side, you have to replace the whole power supply. I ended up buying a whole bunch of these things over the years, so I am particularly sensitive to the amount of money I've spent.
With the USB-C power supplies, if something goes wrong with the cable, you just get a new cable. If something goes wrong with the connector on the cable, you just get a new cable. The only time you need to replace the entire power supply itself is if something goes wrong internally, or if something goes wrong with the USB-C connector on the power supply. And since cables are engineered to break before cable connectors, that is much less likely.
Don't get me wrong, the MagSafe connector has saved my machine on several occasions. But I understand why they want to be able to cheaply and easily replace just the cable part, because that's the part that is most likely to have hardware failures.
I do wish they had figured out some way to have a standardized cable interface on the power supply itself, and a MagSafe-like connector on the other end. That would have been the best of both worlds. But failing that, I think I will grudgingly take the second-best solution, which is to have a standard USB-C connector on both ends.
Now, this whole concept of mixing USB-C, USB-C Power Delivery, and Thunderbolt 3, that's a whole 'nother Gordian Knot that I really wish they had not created.