Are Apple ever going to design a new AC power adapter for forthcoming MacBooks

[Nerdy Keith]

A lot of people have been experiencing issues with the AC power adapters for the MacBooks, they just burn out and no longer work. They clearly have been very poorly designed.

If Apple can redesign the usb adapters for the iPhone 5 they can do the same for the MacBook and the MacBook Pro. We have paid a lot of money for these devices as it is and its not really up to standard.

Your thoughts?

 

[GGJstudios]

A lot of people have been experiencing issues with the AC power adapters for the MacBooks, they just burn out and no longer work. They clearly have been very poorly designed.

Those experiencing problems with adapters represent a very tiny minority of users. There's nothing wrong with the design. When you make millions of anything, it's inevitable that a small percentage may have manufacturing defects.

 

[Stetrain]

The one change I would like to see would be to make the magsafe end of the cord connect to the power brick with a plug instead of being permanently attached.

That way when the magsafe end gets nicked or frayed you only have to replace that part of the power adapter, rather than having to replace the whole thing.

It would also let other companies make various converters and battery units that could use your own magsafe cord without any workarounds.

 

[Ploki]

The one change I would like to see would be to make the magsafe end of the cord connect to the power brick with a plug instead of being permanently attached.

Great idea!

That way when the magsafe end gets nicked or frayed you only have to replace that part of the power adapter, rather than having to replace the whole thing.

It would also let other companies make various converters and battery units that could use your own magsafe cord without any workarounds.

you can see why apple doesn't want that right

 

[Nerdy Keith]

Those experiencing problems with adapters represent a very tiny minority of users. There's nothing wrong with the design. When you make millions of anything, it's inevitable that a small percentage may have manufacturing defects.

You couldn't be more incorrect. It is actually the lowest ranked apple product in the Apple store at present. It received an overall rating of only 1.5 / 5 stars (based on just a little under 1500 reviewers) on Apple.com

http://store.apple.com/us/reviews/MC461LL/A/apple-60w-magsafe-power-adapter-for-macbook-and-13-inch-macbook-pro

I honestly cannot remember seeing so many bad reviews for one single product. I am now using my third charger, hopefully this one won't break in a few months time. If it was a minority of users experiencing issues with the chargers, you wouldn't be seeing most of the reviews as bad reviews. In fact it is a minority of persons who have voted positive reviews.

 

[alphaod]

I have to say the problem with the AC adapters is mostly user error.

I've never had an AC adapter fail, so I'm not sure where you get your "a lot of people" figure from.

Fraying, burning, etc.; I see many folks like to wind their cords tightly instead of leaving some slack. This what I call user error.

You couldn't be more incorrect. It is actually the lowest ranked apple product in the Apple store at present. It received an overall rating of only 1.5 / 5 stars (based on just a little under 1500 reviewers) on Apple.com

http://store.apple.com/us/reviews/MC461LL/A/apple-60w-magsafe-power-adapter-for-macbook-and-13-inch-macbook-pro

I honestly cannot remember seeing so many bad reviews for one single product. I am now using my third charger, hopefully this one won't break in a few months time. If it was a minority of users experiencing issues with the chargers, you wouldn't be seeing most of the reviews as bad reviews. In fact it is a minority of persons who have voted positive reviews.

Yeah, who really will intentionally log in, write some glowing review for a damn AC adapter? Also 1500 reviewers is very few people.

 

[fs454]

You couldn't be more incorrect. It is actually the lowest ranked apple product in the Apple store at present. It received an overall rating of only 1.5 / 5 stars (based on just a little under 1500 reviewers) on Apple.com

http://store.apple.com/us/reviews/MC461LL/A/apple-60w-magsafe-power-adapter-for-macbook-and-13-inch-macbook-pro

I honestly cannot remember seeing so many bad reviews for one single product. I am now using my third charger, hopefully this one won't break in a few months time. If it was a minority of users experiencing issues with the chargers, you wouldn't be seeing most of the reviews as bad reviews. In fact it is a minority of persons who have voted positive reviews.

On the flip side, would you go on and review something as mundane as the power adapter that came with your computer if it was working as advertised? The only time you'd really go on there is to blow off some steam when it breaks. It's a poor representation of the spread of users who have had no issues with it compared to those who have had issues. This is why Apple hasn't redesigned it in ages. It'd be cool to see one resembling Apple's more recent design characteristics, though.

If you've gone through three of them, contact customer support and see if they can do anything for you. The one time I had one die back in 2008, I made a genius bar appointment, stated my case even though I was out of warranty, and got a free replacement. Squeaky wheel gets the grease.

 

[urkel]

I tend to be pretty critical of Apple products but Ill never complain about the MagSafe Power Adapter design. That design has been around for what, a decade? And during that time AC adapters on Windows machines STILL havent caught up because they're still bulky, sloppy, inconsistent and feel so behind the times.

Im not a fan of MagSafe2 because it requires me to buy a $10 adapter for it so I can use my legacy adapters, but thats a tiny price to pay for such an elegant and space efficient design.

(BTW. Yes, I have fryed/frayed a few MagSafe over the years but Apple has ALWAYS replaced it for me.)

 

[NT1440]

You couldn't be more incorrect. It is actually the lowest ranked apple product in the Apple store at present. It received an overall rating of only 1.5 / 5 stars (based on just a little under 1500 reviewers) on Apple.com

http://store.apple.com/us/reviews/MC461LL/A/apple-60w-magsafe-power-adapter-for-macbook-and-13-inch-macbook-pro

I honestly cannot remember seeing so many bad reviews for one single product. I am now using my third charger, hopefully this one won't break in a few months time. If it was a minority of users experiencing issues with the chargers, you wouldn't be seeing most of the reviews as bad reviews. In fact it is a minority of persons who have voted positive reviews.

We've had three magsafe chargers for 4 years, not one has had an issue. I didn't even include my friend's macbook charger.

I work for the geeksquad. I can't tell you how many times a day I need to show a client our universal chargers (not kidding usually a minimum of 4 clients a day, and I don't even work at the counter) because, frankly, most PC chargers suck. Always the first thing to go naturally (no damage).

 

[GGJstudios]

You couldn't be more incorrect. It is actually the lowest ranked apple product in the Apple store at present. It received an overall rating of only 1.5 / 5 stars (based on just a little under 1500 reviewers) on Apple.com

Let's see... over a million Macs sold per month, over 12 million per year, and some portion of 1500 reviewers don't like the MacSafe adapters.... Yeah, that's a representative sampling!

While some may simply want a spare adapter, it stands to reason that those who are buying an adapter by itself are more likely to have lost, damaged or had some problem with an existing adapter, so naturally, a higher percentage of those would complain about them. If a larger percentage of adapters were having problems, you'd have FAR more than 1500 reviewers for that item. The fact is, most don't have problems with them.

 

[BeeJee]

These chargers die all the time. I wish people would acknowledge this fact. They have a higher than normal failure rate. Every person that I know that has a MacBook has had at least one replacement including myself. Many geniuses don't even question the customer when they say the charger doesn't work because it is such a common issue.

 

[thehustleman]

Ah typical apple people, if something goes wrong with an apple product it isn't Apple's fault, it has to be the users fault.

Comments like that are the reason people call us (apple fans) a cult, they think we never find fault in Apple products, but looking at some responses, one backed up with a link and another user story (you REALLY think a company is going to replace a product that isn't faulty for free OUTSIDE the warranty term if there was nothing wrong with it?



But the op is right, the magsafe end should be detachable so we can just replace the cable

 

[ssmed]

We have bought 5 replacement adapters in the last 3 years, one for a MBP where someone forgot to take an adapter with them on a trip, all of the rest for malfunctioning MBA power packs. There are only 3 of us and most of the time in the office we are using power from the display so I do think this is a very weak product and agree with the OP that a change would be useful.

 

[leman]

I'd like to see some more serious evidence instead of anecdotal one's. If you want anecdotal evidence - well, during the last 5 years I was working in my department, we never ever had a problem with any charger (these are over 15 MBP and MBA being used regularly).

 

[Ccrew]

I honestly cannot remember seeing so many bad reviews for one single product.

The new version of The Sim's comes to mind if you want to see bad reviews.

 

[Ccrew]

Oops, dupe post.

 

[takeshi74]

You couldn't be more incorrect. It is actually the lowest ranked apple product in the Apple store at present.

Pot, kettle. While the reviews are there for shoppers to refer to they don't carry the statistical significance that you assume. You need to cite some actual numbers with a statistically meaningful sample to support claim.

 

[Brian Y]

You'll find, with MagSafe adapters, that people either have no problems with them, or have repeated problems, suggesting it's not the adapters fault (poor electricity supply is probably the number one culprit).

I keep mine plugged into a surge protector, and don't abuse the cable. And guess what, in ~7 years of owning MacBooks with a MagSafe adapter, I've never had one fail.

 

[bobr1952]

I have to say the problem with the AC adapters is mostly user error.

I've never had an AC adapter fail, so I'm not sure where you get your "a lot of people" figure from.

Fraying, burning, etc.; I see many folks like to wind their cords tightly instead of leaving some slack. This what I call user error.



Yeah, who really will intentionally log in, write some glowing review for a damn AC adapter? Also 1500 reviewers is very few people.

The other problem with the logic of many bad reviews with this product is that all of us with no problems have no need to buy another one when the one that came with the laptop works perfectly fine.

 

[dukebound85]

These chargers die all the time. I wish people would acknowledge this fact. They have a higher than normal failure rate. Every person that I know that has a MacBook has had at least one replacement including myself. Many geniuses don't even question the customer when they say the charger doesn't work because it is such a common issue.

I nor anyone else I know has never had issues with them

 

[el-John-o]

I have to say the problem with the AC adapters is mostly user error.

I've never had an AC adapter fail, so I'm not sure where you get your "a lot of people" figure from.

Fraying, burning, etc.; I see many folks like to wind their cords tightly instead of leaving some slack. This what I call user error.



Yeah, who really will intentionally log in, write some glowing review for a damn AC adapter? Also 1500 reviewers is very few people.

EXACTLY.

When is the last time you got to work and said "Gee, there was a red sedan that was courteous, used their turn signal, and followed the speed limit?". Okay, now, when was the last time you got to work and said "Some idiot cut me off in traffic!"

People are much much more likely to complain about something poor than to write a good review, save for a more substantial product. I can't even imagine writing a review for a Magsafe adapter, I would've never thought to do that. I might, if I felt like doing such a thing, write a review for my iPhone or my MBP though, which I've been relatively pleased with.

Most 'common problems' are isolated to a few hundred or even thousand people among millions and millions. However, internet forums/reviews/etc. will be saturated disproportionately because those who experience the issue are many many times more likely to post about it, than those who don't. Think about MacRumors, the vast, vast majority of users are either asking a question regarding how to use their machine, or reporting a problem. Few get on just to say "Hey it worked fine today, didn't have any issues". That, of course, doesn't include the dozens of threads every day about the Retina Macbook Pro vs Classic, whether they should wait for haswell, or when the next upgrade is going to be by search and/or scroll down challenged posters.

Also, much of the fraying can be prevented by taking care of your product! It's easy to get the cable bound up and bent, don't let it. For example, when it sits on my night stand on the charger, the cord first goes around my lamp, then to the MBP, so that it doesn't fall down and 'crimp' at the connector, which can stress it over time.

You'll find, with MagSafe adapters, that people either have no problems with them, or have repeated problems, suggesting it's not the adapters fault (poor electricity supply is probably the number one culprit).

I keep mine plugged into a surge protector, and don't abuse the cable. And guess what, in ~7 years of owning MacBooks with a MagSafe adapter, I've never had one fail.

Another +1. They are frayed due to poor handling and just being thrown around. If they are failing but not fraying, those individuals ought to think about whether or not light bulbs don't seem to last very long and/or other electronics seem to give them issues, as they may have fluctuating voltage or over-voltage in their home, something they should consult an electrician about. A slight over-voltage in their home will cause accelerated wear, but not necessarily instant destruction of components, which is why it often goes undiagnosed (they blame the product, not their home).

 

[old-wiz]

I have 3 AC adapters....all on at least a surge protector..never had an issue with any of them. One travels with me, nar an issue.

 

[SpyderBite]

These chargers die all the time. I wish people would acknowledge this fact. They have a higher than normal failure rate. Every person that I know that has a MacBook has had at least one replacement including myself. Many geniuses don't even question the customer when they say the charger doesn't work because it is such a common issue.

As a former Genius.. It isn't about the quality. It is about the 20 minute maximum appointment length and the probability that the issue resides with the end user. It is more cost efficient to give them an adapter and get them out of the store than it is to spend 20 minutes arguing with them about conspiracy theories.

 

[Tubamajuba]

Ah typical apple people, if something goes wrong with an apple product it isn't Apple's fault, it has to be the users fault.

Comments like that are the reason people call us (apple fans) a cult, they think we never find fault in Apple products, but looking at some responses, one backed up with a link and another user story (you REALLY think a company is going to replace a product that isn't faulty for free OUTSIDE the warranty term if there was nothing wrong with it?



But the op is right, the magsafe end should be detachable so we can just replace the cable

I highly doubt the user is to blame very often when chargers die, but why is it such a problem to point out that it can be the user's fault sometimes? It's a true statement.

The gist of the responses here claim that the adapter design is just fine, but also agreeing that like all electronics, there will be duds. That is a very logical statement, so I don't know why you felt the need to bring up what other people think about Apple fans. Quite frankly, I don't care what other people think about "us". If somebody is going to call Apple fans a cult based on the dialogue that has occurred in this thread, that person has issues.

 

[Brian Y]

I highly doubt the user is to blame very often when chargers die, but why is it such a problem to point out that it can be the user's fault sometimes? It's a true statement.

The gist of the responses here claim that the adapter design is just fine, but also agreeing that like all electronics, there will be duds. That is a very logical statement, so I don't know why you felt the need to bring up what other people think about Apple fans. Quite frankly, I don't care what other people think about "us". If somebody is going to call Apple fans a cult based on the dialogue that has occurred in this thread, that person has issues.

You have to remember this is MacRumors, where should one dare say anything positive about Apple, or not bash Apple at any given opportunity, one is branded a fanboy.