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I don't think Magsafe as we knew it is coming back, but rather the Magsafe we may be getting is what's implemented with the iPhone 12. Some form of conductive charging somewhere. One example may be we may very well still charge the Macbook via USB-C, but as with the earlier patents, Magsafe will be there to charge peripherals like the iPhone and the Apple Watch.
 
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After having bit the bullet and invested in a range of USB-C chargers and cables, I'd prefer Apple to stick with USB-C or at least keep USB-C charging as an option. Being able to carry a single USB-C charger with a few cable to charge EVERYTHING I'm carrying with me is great. Plus, with all the great battery life of Apple Silicon macs, I'm hopeful that fast-charging isn't as critical. Apple is still keeping the Lightning cable (see Airpods Max), so adding another connector to the mix isn't helpful.
 
Hopefully the new MagSafe will just be a clip-on to existing usb-c cable solution so it carries power and data. :p
 
unless Apple were epically stupid and removed USB-C charging
That's the entire argument though.

Magnetic break-away USB-C charge cables are literally a thing that exists right now. You can go buy one right now, if you want that functionality, and it'll work with any USB-C charger and any USB-C device.

Why on earth would Apple add a new dedicated port to charge, in that scenario?

My first reply in this thread, was a sarcastic comment about how MagSafe on phones didn't mean lightning charging went away - so I understand the concept that multiple charing methods is not foreign to Apple.

My second reply in this thread was replying to someone who asked essentially what I'm asking: why would they support two fundamentally similar charging methods.

MagSafe on a phone is nothing like charging via a lightning port. Charging via MagSafe on Mac laptops was really not that different (in terms of how you use it) than charging via USB-C ports now, and as I said, if you want the break away cable, those things exist, and I have zero doubt Apple could make and ship their own break-away USB-C cable like that.

Also, a bunch of you keep telling us how "epically stupid" Apple was for dropping a handful of single use ports and adopting four ports that can connect your laptop to practically anything you can imagine, so why now would you suggest they can't do things that someone might consider "epically stupid"?
 
I think the only logical place it could be on a laptop is the sides with the other ports so Apple is either going to add a dedicated MagSafe port or have a USB-C adapter/cable like the one I bought from Amazon.
 
I don't follow your argument. Apple managed to place the coils in the iPhone without making the phone larger or reducing the battery life.

Anyway, I agree that it's not a feature to kill for. And it's known that Apple patents a lot of things without ever implementing them. My main point is that I don't think old MagSafe is coming back in any form or fashion. If new laptops will feature "MagSafe", that's going to be something else than what people expect.
It's basic physics. If the phone has the same dimensions with extra components, something had to be sacrificed. Battery life is same because of better chips, but it could have been better. I'd change in a heartbeat this useless, ineffective (hence polluting) crap for a minute of extra battery life. But rest assured, more was lost.
 
Are they ever going to add Face ID and a much better camera or is there a reason they haven’t already? Is it just because the screen thickness would have to increase or they just leave it out to keep costs down or what? Face ID to me would just be a better feature than Touch ID to have imo.
 
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Not even close. A charging cable is for charging, not data.

It's asinine that Apple ever got rid of MagSafe to begin with. Completely bonkers.
You can charge and connect multiple displays and peripherals with just 1 thunderbolt cable.
 
Are they ever going to add Face ID and a much better camera or is there a reason they haven’t already? Is it just because the screen thickness would have to increase or they just leave it out to keep costs down or what? Face ID to me would just be a better feature than Touch ID to have imo.

I can wait for Face ID. I'm using five and six year old MacBook Pros and am ready for an upgrade.
 
Not even close. A charging cable is for charging, not data.

It's asinine that Apple ever got rid of MagSafe to begin with. Completely bonkers.
I guess I have to concede. History does show that no one has ever combined power and data transmission in a single cable.. except for USB-C. and Mini USB. and Micro-USB. and Lightning. and the 30 pin dock connector. and Firewire. and ADC. and Power over Ethernet. and Ethernet over Powerlines.
 
I think a little green/orange light on the charging cord would be nice.

A third party could probably do that, assuming that information can be retrieved via USB-PD?

You can certainly get USB-C charging cables with an integrated LED if thats what you want. This one, for example:


Personally I really don't like such lights, though, as I find it very annoying at night in a dark room. Perhaps I'm still traumatised by the early-2000s MacBooks/iBooks/PowerBooks and their nightmarish, pulsing sleep light!

I appreciate that you want confirmation that something is successfully charging, but the sound my Mac plays when the charge plug is connected is good enough for me.
 
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I actually do use the Touch Bar quite a bit. I understand that it's a feature some people don't enjoy, but it'd be nice if they kept it as an option for those of us who do. I appreciate that they seem to have gotten a bit better to listening to user feedback but it's a fine line to thread because for some features, dissatisfaction will be louder than satisfaction, which doesn't mean the satisfaction won't be there.

It's not a make or break thing by any stretch of the imagination, but I would find myself missing it, especially on Photoshop and when writing. Hopefully these reports are wrong but I suppose we'll have to wait and see.
 
The circuitry in any USB-C charger would have to be compatible with MagSafe and I doubt that that would be the case.

The iPhone MagSafe charger is compatible with any USB-C charger. It just doesn't charge as fast as it does with Apple's special 20W charger.
 
Good, I can finally buy a Macbook again. I said I'd never buy another Macbook until they brought back MagSafe. Now I can finally put my money where my mouth is.
 
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i suspect MagSafe on the Mac will be more akin to MagSafe on the iPhone than the old dedicated charging port last seen on the 2015 Mac ie inductive.

Like many have said, I’m sure you’ll still be able to charge via TB & that we’ll still see the same amount of TB ports - it’s just that if you use MagSafe you’ll get an extra TB port ‘for free’.

Finally Apple - please have the ‘courage’ to get rid of the touch bar.
 
The MagSafe rumor probably refers to this, hard to imagine new MagSafe charging ports replacing usb-c...
MacBook-airelessly-chargiong-other-Apple-devices-–-iPad-too.jpg
My thoughts exactly. Including a MagSafe 2020 "pad" would remain consistent with the rumor and have nothing to do with charging the Macbook. I can not imagine a future where Apple brings back the "charge the laptop" version of MagSafe. That feature is owned by USB-C I firmly believe.
 
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i suspect MagSafe on the Mac will be more akin to MagSafe on the iPhone than the old dedicated charging port last seen on the 2015 Mac ie inductive.

Nah, it explicitly says in the report that it will be a similar plug design to the original Mac MagSafe.
 
Can someone explain to me my I would want "MagSafe" charging, so all it does is instead of plugging a charger in the wall and a cable into my Mac, I plug a more expensive charger in the wall, connect it with a more expensive cable magnetically to my Mac, and it charges with less power?
 
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i suspect MagSafe on the Mac will be more akin to MagSafe on the iPhone than the old dedicated charging port last seen on the 2015 Mac ie inductive.

Like many have said, I’m sure you’ll still be able to charge via TB & that we’ll still see the same amount of TB ports - it’s just that if you use MagSafe you’ll get an extra TB port ‘for free’.

Finally Apple - please have the ‘courage’ to get rid of the touch bar.
Absolutely correct. The rumor says "MagSafe" and Apple sneakily named the new iPhone charging tech this name. I just don't think the dedicated charging the laptop MagSafe will ever happen again.

Also agree on the touch bar. Nice try Apple. Be courageous and dump it. I rarely use my MB without my external keyboard but when I use the built in, I never use the touch bar. Love Touch Id, always have to think about the volume control, literally the only time I touch the Touch Bar.
 
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