How robust does the USB-C socket seem?

[Chrissybear]

Ok I'm being slightly paranoid maybe. I have an iPad Air 2 and the single Lightning connector seems great...

...but, with the rMB, there seems to be a potential issue in that if the USB socket wears, goes intermittent, or worse still, fails, you might be left with a few hours power (at best) to get your stuff sorted before failure and a trip to the repair facility (and no MacBook!)

Not being a laptop owner (yet!), does this concern anyone? Owners, how solid does that socket seem?

I assume MagSafe on traditional laptops is much better in this regard?

 

[darkgremio]

Well, that has concerned me as well since it's similar to an HDMI plug where the cable is the female end and the port in the male end. I am going to make the assumption that it is robust, due to Apple's testing of there products during the R&D phase. I think if it was really an issue people would be posting about it more frequently over YouTube and other social media venues.

I am quite confident in Apple making the USB-C plug quite robust, due to the nature of the port and how many uses it serves.

Yes, MagSafe seems much more robust, in the sense that it magnetic and pretty much consists of not really plugging anything, rather then just making contact with the the pins on the charger.

 

[mattopotamus]

Ok I'm being slightly paranoid maybe. I have an iPad Air 2 and the single Lightning connector seems great...

...but, with the rMB, there seems to be a potential issue in that if the USB socket wears, goes intermittent, or worse still, fails, you might be left with a few hours power (at best) to get your stuff sorted before failure and a trip to the repair facility (and no MacBook!)

Not being a laptop owner (yet!), does this concern anyone? Owners, how solid does that socket seem?

I assume MagSafe on traditional laptops is much better in this regard?

get that time-capsul and use cloud storage . If my mac randomly dies all of my important files are in iCloud drive, and my entire mac is backed up to time capsule.

 

[Chrissybear]

Yes Matt good point. I do use cloud storage. Dropbox has saved me and my business more than once!

I guess I am more concerned about the socket inside the MacBook and how well it is connected to the chassis/board...

 

[Queen6]

This will alleviate your concerns

USB C Mechanical specs:
o Receptacle opening: ~8.4mm x ~2.6mm
o Durability: 10,000 cycles minimum
o Improved EMI- and RFI-mitigation features
o Power delivery capacity: 3A for standard cables and 5A for connectors

As point of reference the lifetime of a USB-A male connector is approximately 1,500 connect/disconnect cycles for standard durability class & 5000 for high durability minimum. Cables are designed to sacrificial, therefore the socket will always outlast the cables.

Q-6

 

[Cvx5832]

Ok I'm being slightly paranoid maybe. I have an iPad Air 2 and the single Lightning connector seems great...

...but, with the rMB, there seems to be a potential issue in that if the USB socket wears, goes intermittent, or worse still, fails, you might be left with a few hours power (at best) to get your stuff sorted before failure and a trip to the repair facility (and no MacBook!)

Not being a laptop owner (yet!), does this concern anyone? Owners, how solid does that socket seem?

I assume MagSafe on traditional laptops is much better in this regard?

How is this different from every other device out there with one (1) charging plug?

 

[Chrissybear]

This will alleviate your concerns

USB C Mechanical specs:
o Receptacle opening: ~8.4mm x ~2.6mm
o Durability: 10,000 cycles minimum
o Improved EMI- and RFI-mitigation features
o Power delivery capacity: 3A for standard cables and 5A for connectors

As point of reference the lifetime of a USB-A male connector is approximately 1,500 connect/disconnect cycles for standard durability class & 5000 for high durability minimum. Cables are designed to sacrificial, therefore the socket will always outlast the cables.

Q-6

Thank you Q-6. It does indeed alleviate concerns!

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How is this different from every other device out there with one (1) charging plug?

Clearly it isn't!

I suppose I am enquiring as to how well the connector inside the computer is connected/soldered/whatever to its internals.

Off to ifixit next for a closer look I guess!