Apple's New 16-Inch MacBook Pro Charger Has a Compatibility Issue

[tic]

This is a very strange change. Why would Apple make ordering the power extension cord accessory more difficult? Now customers will have to specify model/year/geographical market details to get a compatible cord.

I can confirm that the 'new' connector is in the power adapter I received with my Apple MacBook Pro 16" M5 Pro model. I live in Australia.

The Apple Australia website doesn't sell a compatible power extension cord at the moment. It only sells an extension cord compatible with the old connector. The pins are further apart on the new power adapter connector, so there is no way to modify previous connectors to work with it.

If you read the description of the current power extension lead connector on the Apple website, it would be fair to expect it to be compatible but it is not. The website's description says "The 1.8-metre Power Adapter Extension Cable is an AC extension cord that provides extra length for your Apple power adapter. Use it with MagSafe and MagSafe 2 power adapters; 10W and 12W USB-A power adapters; and 29W, 30W, 61W, 67W, 87W, 96W and 140W USB-C power adapters." . The power adapter that comes with the new MacBook Pro 16" M5 Pro models is a 140W USB-C adapter.

Also ordering standard plugs for different countries is going to be more difficult as the connector type is going to have to be specified.

I expect this may be a change made by one of Apple's suppliers, perhaps without full consultation with Apple. It will be interesting to see Apple's response to this.

Images attached.

 

[loby]

You are correct, the law says if you include one with a charger then you have to include one without a charger. The spirit of the law was to offer choice and reduce waste.

Apple decided that if they didn’t include ANY chargers (EU) then they would not contravene the law - as there is no law to say that you must include a charger in the first place.

The Apple application is within the law but goes against the intended spirit, it benefits Apple by saving money on a charger but also by reducing weight (and in turn shipping costs - wholesale & retail) and is a detriment to the customer who didn’t save any money on the product without a charger and will now have to pay for an appropriate one.

Does Apple subtract the cost if you buy without an adapter?

 

[zecal]

And I am using a longer standard two pin/prong cable as an extension, a life safer, which would not fit anymore, arghh.

 

[zecal]

This makes absolutely zero sense. It's not about compatibility with the Apple charging cable. It's compatiblity with ANY 2 prong cables that often get used for this. (such as the power cable from a mac mini, or airport that you have lying around)

The only reason I could think it matters is some sort of electrical code where the extension must be a grounded connector and using the 2 prong cable would make it against code. But even then, they've been using the same connector since oh, about 2001 so it's an odd change to say the least.

Check the travel adapter, most adapters only have two pins, so now grounded connector needed I guess

 

[diligiant]

Is yours from a 110V or 220V country.

220V

 

[vanishing]

Does Apple subtract the cost if you buy without an adapter?

No, the base 16” MacBook Pro (in the UK) costs £200 more than last year and doesn’t include a charger which they charge £99 for.

 

[hugogogo2003]

That seems like an odd decision. However to all the haters out there, we’ve had interchangeable connectors that have worked the same since at least 2003 (my first iPod). 23 years of white bricks that can use the same plug adapters from various countries and can change between short plug and extension cables (including extension cables from various countries, which had been extremely convenient for someone like me who lived in Canada, UK and France during that time). There’s not a single other electronics brand that can say the same.

 

[Abazigal]

Tim Cook supporters would be happy if Cook decided to greedily remove chargers from the box and charge extra money for them, just like he did with iPhones.

You aren't obligated to buy chargers only from Apple.

Here's one I recently picked up from Amazon.

Anker 140W USB-C Charger, 4-Port Multi-Device Fast Charging Laptop Charger, Advanced GaN Power Adapter, Intuitive Touch Controls, for MacBook, iPhone, Samsung, Pixel, and More (Silver)

Enjoy the convenience of powering four devices simultaneously with our advanced GaN technology for optimal performance.

www.amazon.sg

I find that I almost never use Apple's default bundled chargers anyways, since they each have only 1 port, and in this day and age, I am turning more to multi-port charging solutions to manage the myriad of devices I need to charge and manage. 🙂

Heck, even my power strip came with 2 USB-A ports, which I had been using to charge my 13 pro max for years.

 

[Mainyehc]

This makes absolutely zero sense. It's not about compatibility with the Apple charging cable. It's compatiblity with ANY 2 prong cables that often get used for this. (such as the power cable from a mac mini, or airport that you have lying around)

The only reason I could think it matters is some sort of electrical code where the extension must be a grounded connector and using the 2 prong cable would make it against code. But even then, they've been using the same connector since oh, about 2001 so it's an odd change to say the least.

Also, if they must have earthed prongs for this model, why not make this charger more similar to the iMac one instead? You know, with a simple, bog-standard IEC C5 socket (the Mickey Mouse style one) and a new C6 adapter, which would also make it compatible with the same C6 extension cable that also comes with that desktop, the C6 cable from the Mac Studio, or any third-party variant thereof? Sure, it wouldn’t be as tug-proof as Apple’s current nail-shaped earth connector that does double-duty as a slide-in locking mechanism (which, if you ask me, should be submitted to the IEC as a standard, but ok), but then again, with a USB-C-to-MagSafe 3 cable on the other end, it would be a bit of a non-issue.

 

[Mainyehc]

The old connector allowed the use of un-grounded plugs. Using a new design can force the use of grounded plugs. Not saying this is what they are doing, but I am an EE.

Sure. But why not use a C5/C6 combo like on the iMac? Also, why on earth (pun unintended) must the use of grounded plugs be forced on a freaking 140W power adapter? What country would force such an idiotic requirement? And these computers support the USB-C PD standard, so it’s not like users can’t circumvent that, which means, the machines themselves can’t really need that to function correctly…

 

[Mainyehc]

The first model is a directional plug meant to correspond with a directional pin end that goes into a 110V receptacle.

Not if you plug a standard IEC C8 cable into it, nope.

The second model is completely reversible for a 220V feed.

Not if you use it with one of Apple’s first-party, pack-in adapters. Sadly, the same can’t be said for adapters compatible with other countries’ mains plug-and-socket standards, as an equivalent to the World Travel Adapter Kit or the individual earthed extension cords hasn’t been made available for this particular model.

Which means, the customers who bought an M5 MacBook Pro and got one of these in the box have effectively been shafted, as they will have to either buy an older 140W Apple-branded IEC/World Travel Adapter Kit-compliant power brick, or a third-party one, or an extra mains plug adapter, and domestically, they must buy a third-party mains extension cord or power strip if their home or office setup requires it.

So, anyone who bought this, and especially old-time Apple customers who may have such extension cords and adapters laying around, are being punished by Apple with extra expenses, maybe even forcing them to contribute to e-waste, and definitely pushing them towards more inelegant and maybe even unsafe solutions over which Apple has zero control.

 

[Runaway Train]

Madness.

 

[Mainyehc]

Also, @Joe Rossignol , thank you for bringing this the attention it deserves. It’s a sad day when Apple eschews a standard in favour of a proprietary solution with no discernible advantage, without even bothering to explain why or even addressing the incompatibility they themselves created on the affected products’ pages on their online store.

For all those out there playing this down, come on. It’s a blatantly consumer-hostile move any way you slice it, and if it was made due to some regulatory compliance bs, Apple would do well to come clean about it and throw whoever was responsible under the bus. And properly inform their customers on their retail channels while they were at it.

 

[The Cockney Rebel]

Oh come on, Apple is struggling, financially.

They need to nickel & dime, or they'll go out of business.

 

[ThomasPicard]

Well - nobody needs a 140W charger - I always charge my MBP M5 Pro with max 90W - better 60W - thats more than enough in 99,9% of the cases - and helps the battery for a longer live..

BUT I need to use my world traveller kits - with all my apple bricks - as I travel a lot - especially to asia - and this is a really game changer if you fly around the world..

So PLEASE Apple - make this a "one time mistake" - an keep the connectivity to your "plug-system" ! 😇

 

[Mainyehc]

That seems like an odd decision. However to all the haters out there, we’ve had interchangeable connectors that have worked the same since at least 2003 (my first iPod). 23 years of white bricks that can use the same plug adapters from various countries and can change between short plug and extension cables (including extension cables from various countries, which had been extremely convenient for someone like me who lived in Canada, UK and France during that time). There’s not a single other electronics brand that can say the same.

This. I sometimes get the sense that they are just trolls and not true Apple product users. Any long-time Apple customer worth their salt has boxes full of extension cables and adapters, most of them compatible with each other and ALL of them somewhat industry-standard. From the top of my head, I own:

1 FireWire charger that came with my iPod 3G
1 USB-A iPod charger that I had to buy separately for my iPod 5G
3 USB-A 10W iPad chargers
1 barrel plug charger that came with my brother’s iBook G4, which I now own
2 low-power MagSafe 1 chargers that came with a 13’’ MacBook and a 13’’ MacBook Pro and 1 new old stock, the beefier one that came with bigger MacBook Pros, that I bought just in case
1 2-port USB-C 35W charger that came with my 15’’ MacBook Air
Probably a couple of other ones that came with old PowerBook G4s and MacBook Pros that people gave me over the years
4-6 (don’t remember exactly how many, and I gave at least one of them away to my ex, as they no longer came with new MacBook Pros since 2016 and she bought hers in the UK, which meant she had no way to plug her adapter straight into Schuko outlets) Type F/Schuko extension cables
1 Type G/BS 1363 extension cable that I asked a friend to buy in London before a trip I made to Macau and Hong Kong
2 (not one; TWO) World Travel Adapter Kits that I also bought before said trip, because I was also taking my iPod and my iPhone along for the ride, and all those old and current chargers were very handy.

And guess what: apart from the smaller, ungrounded power bricks that can only use the straight plug adapters and can’t fit the extension cords, ALL are compatible with one another, and ALL are compatible with ungrounded IEC C8 cords, which may not be ideal for MacBook bricks but will work in a pinch.

Now, I wouldn’t say that I travel a lot, but I do travel on occasion to places that use plug-and-socket standards other than Type F/Schuko, and even at home, I have my computer setup on a very large and tall drafting table and often connect my computers to my TV, projectors at home and at school, and whatnot. I NEED those damned extension cables, and those adapters to be compatible. And the same goes for the two Type G-to-IEC C8 cords that came with both of my LaCie external hard drive power adapters, for that matter.

I don’t want to have to buy crappy mains plug adapters on airport shops (well, it’s not like I would have to, as I do own an IEC C13-based Allocacoc PowerCube, with five Schuko plugs and its own C13-based travel adapters, but I don’t travel with Apple gear or their old chargers exclusively, I also carry a couple of their newer embedded Europlug ones for the iPhone and the Apple Watch and it’s very easy to run out of sockets on that rather bulky… thing), or scour whatever place I’m going to for the nearest DIY store (which isn’t something you usually find in city centres anyway); I’d much rather use an all-Apple-branded solution that I can take, ready-made and tested by a company I do trust, with me from home, and charge my Apple wares straight from the mains, like a local (also, blending in is very much part of my personal safety strategy; the less conspicuous you look, the better, and a freaking purple Schuko PowerCube very much gives you away as an European tourist).

 

[baryon]

This seems unnecessarily stupid. The old design was great and used a standard plug, and if you were wealthy enough to buy the international travel adapter pack that had several plugs of which you'd only ever use one, then at least you could use those. Now you have to buy them again, though I doubt anyone buys that stupid thing instead of using any old adapter that you can buy for 50 times cheaper anywhere.

 

[svish]

Maybe Apple will release a new extension cable in the coming months. But issues like this are frustrating.

 

[Mainyehc]

This seems unnecessarily stupid. The old design was great and used a standard plug, and if you were wealthy enough to buy the international travel adapter pack that had several plugs of which you'd only ever use one, then at least you could use those. Now you have to buy them again, though I doubt anyone buys that stupid thing instead of using any old adapter that you can buy for 50 times cheaper anywhere.

I mean, I bought that stupid thing, twice over, because it is elegant and safe, even if overpriced and redundant. The thing is, Apple outright discontinued it, doesn’t sell the damned plugs individually, and doesn’t even feature compatible extension cables for that weird power brick. It should definitely become a one-off, that Apple should replace, free of charge, with its standards-based predecessor for any customers that complained – and rightly so – about its non-compliance with even Apple’s own extension cables and adapters.

 

[wikiverse]

The old connector allowed the use of un-grounded plugs. Using a new design can force the use of grounded plugs. Not saying this is what they are doing, but I am an EE.

But the existing ones in Australia and China already have a grounded plug. The two pins, plus the metal button are the three connections for the extension cable. I'm Australian and have a few of them around, and they're all 3 pin grounded plugs.

So it doesn't make sense that the change would happen only in the countries with the Type I connector, when the existing design already had grounded plugs.

 

[citysnaps]

No, it's literally EU law that manufacturers can't include chargers in the box.

Spot-on. EU’s Common Charger Directive: Manufacturers are required to provide consumers with the option to purchase laptops without a charger, encouraging the reuse of existing USB-C chargers.

Not surprising... the Cook hate continues.

 

[visualseed]

Steve Jobs would never

I have at least 4 different MacBook/PowerBook power adaptors from the Steve Jobs era that don't interchange extension cables with each other.

 

[theluggage]

However to all the haters out there, we’ve had interchangeable connectors that have worked the same since at least 2003 (my first iPod).

Well, yes - so why change it?
This isn't something like USB/Lightning/Thunderbolt where the tech has changed beyond recognition over 20 years.

What might explain Apple's sudden need to block the use of C7 connectors it is some new regional regulations requiring extension leads (maybe above a certain power rating) to be earthed - but that's still very much "citation needed" and, anyway, Apple could have fixed that by using a 3-pin C5 or C13 connector.

There’s not a single other electronics brand that can say the same.

Really?

I've had various laptops and Chromebooks over the years, including Sony, Mac and Asus, and with the exception of one silly-cheap EEEPC they all came with an in-line power supply with a standard IEC mains connector (they can't agree on IEC C5, C7 or C13 - but I've seen all three of those in Apple equipment, too). My extensive collection of redundant wall-warts mainly came with smaller devices, like phones, external drives etc. but even some of them came with in-line/IEC PSUs. I'd give Apple credit for having removable plugs and C7 connectors even on the cheapest iDevices - but now they're going for wall-warts there, too.

 

[hajime]

Perhaps the new design brings in more profits?

 

[hajime]

Could users please post the country where they bought their machine and whether or not the plug has been changed?