Losing MagSafe gains options

[WolfSnap]

While I love my MagSafe, there are definitely positives with not using a proprietary charger. All the battery manufacturers can finally provide inline external batteries without having to cut the MagSafe adapter off and splice it inline. Or, powering the computer from an airplane no longer requires specialty plugs/adapters.

There really is a big silver lining here imho.

 

[chemistslime]

I'm more concerned with tripping over the power cord and dragging my mac off to the ground with it. Done it a bunch of times and always thankful magsafe saved the day. I guess now they'll have a higher rate of screen cracks from accidents ;(

 

[Floris]

And with apple care being 350 euro, it's a bit of a risk to take .. do you buy apple care and spend the "breaking things" money now. or risk having to repair it for couple hundred bucks possibly down the line.

 

[Phil A.]

And with apple care being 350 euro, it's a bit of a risk to take .. do you buy apple care and spend the "breaking things" money now. or risk having to repair it for couple hundred bucks possibly down the line.

Apple care doesn't cover accidental damage on Macs...

 

[Floris]

Apple care doesn't cover accidental damage on Macs...

k

 

[Altis]

You can buy 3rd party MagSafe for USB-C (I think from Belkin).

I don't think the 5W from airplane USB outlets or any others will charge the laptop. It will have to be a power source of some kind (power brick, monitor, dock).

 

[killawat]

I predicted (it was obvious anyway) that one would be able to charge from any port, thats the kind of flexibility they wanted to provide.

 

[0388631]

Griffin, not Belkin. Belkin introduced a USB-C hub today.

 

[macintoshmac]

They gave value previously. Now, I am reasonably sure they are relying on us tripping over and breaking things so that additional revenue can be generated for them via repair cost to us.

 

[Spink10]

They gave value previously. Now, I am reasonably sure they are relying on us tripping over and breaking things so that additional revenue can be generated for them via repair cost to us.

I doubt that is their logic.

 

[macintoshmac]

I doubt it too, but stands to reason with their attitude lately.

 

[Spink10]

I doubt it too, but stands to reason with their attitude lately.

There differently is pros and cons...

Not sure I have ever used the MagSafe feature so I may have a different view point.

 

[macintoshmac]

MagSafe was Apple's way of telling its costumers that Apple cared about the customer's investment in Apple products. No other party has so far come up with anything like it, because they don't care. Now, Apple decides they don't, too, when nobody else does.

 

[Lucjan]

I think the reason being that MagSafe got less reliable in the last generation of MacBook Pros already. The way I see it, MagSafe requires a certain weight of the notebook to easily detach. With each notebook generation getting lighter and lighter MagSafe becomes less reliable.
At least that what I have noticed on the last 13" where someone in the office tripped over the cord and MagSafe failed to detach.

 

[macintoshmac]

At least that what I have noticed on the last 13" where someone in the office tripped over the cord and MagSafe failed to detach.

From a simple user standpoint, I think they should then have tweaked the magnet strength, not remove the added safety.

 

[Cryates]

The move to USB-C is undoubtedly about flexibility. Being able to charge from any of the four ports, hook displays to any four ports, etc is going to be extremely beneficial for users moving forward.

 

[Mrbobb]

Well we will rationalize in order to deal with the inevitable. Once perfected, somethings should not be "improve."

 

[Dead0k]

There will be up to 5 options for sure in the next few months of those USB-C magsafes on Kickstarter or presented by Belkin and other companies.\

BTW Apple has a patent for magsafe USB-C but did not use it in current versions.
SO hopefully DDR4 and Magsafe 3 in the next macbooks revision.

 

[cambookpro]

I did used to love MagSafe, and initially was sceptical of it being removed. However, after thinking about it, even if it is a bit disappointing, it is understandable. MagSafe was introduced at a time when the first MacBook Pros had advertised battery life of 5.5 hours, and even then many reviews pegged it as 3-4 during normal use. Obviously, the laptop was to spend a lot of the time tethered to a wall socket, inevitably increasing the chances of accidents.

Now, MBPs have advertised battery life of 10 hours, enough for most full working days. Most people I know don't even take a charger with them if they're going out for the day any more. The iPhone, iPod, iPad etc. have never had MagSafe because charging overnight in a safe location sort of negates the need, and that is now what's possible with modern laptops.

Adding the benefits of switching to USB-C charging to this (charge from either left or right side, charging cables can be used with many other devices, less expensive to replace a broken cable), and you can see at least understand why Apple decided that charging through USB-C only was an acceptable proposition.

(I realise that there are a few flaws with this argument, namely the laptop with one of the best battery lives on the market - the MacBook Air - still ships with MagSafe. Maybe that was just to maintain compatibility with chargers on the other Apple laptops, as I'm sure if the MBA was introduced now, it would only have USB-C for charging. Who knows. Answers on a postcard...)

 

[savvysearch]

I don’t get the magsafe love. In fact, I absolutely hate it and am so glad they killed it off. And I’ve hated it for the last ~decade. Maybe because I tend to move around with my laptop, but that thing is so sensitive. I’m always finding myself reattaching it. The way I use it, I tend to use it in bed and on my lap, so my pro is never in a static position, it’s always shifting around. It’s an annoyance to me. I’ve never tripped over a cord, so that’s “protection” is no use to me. I’d rather something that just stays in so I don’t look up and realize my battery is draining because my cord fell off.

 

[b_scott]

I don’t get the magsafe love. In fact, I absolutely hate it and am so glad they killed it off. And I’ve hated it for the last ~decade. Maybe because I tend to move around with my laptop, but that thing is so sensitive. I’m always finding myself reattaching it. The way I use it, I tend to use it in bed and on my lap, so my pro is never in a static position, it’s always shifting around. It’s an annoyance to me. I’ve never tripped over a cord, so that’s “protection” is no use to me. I’d rather something that just stays in so I don’t look up and realize my battery is draining because my cord fell off.

Really? I don't think my magsafe has ever fallen out. It's very stable.

 

[shareef777]

There are solutions out there, buy them, and move on.

 

[Floris]

Really? I don't think my magsafe has ever fallen out. It's very stable.

We never had issues with it either. I am all for usb-c replacing it, but I will am scared the purpose of the magsafe will be regretted, now that it's usb-c

 

[nomoresecrets]

Wish they would have kept the magsafe but it wasn't enough to prevent me from ordering. The real shame is even with the jacked up price, Apple isn't including the power adapter extension cable anymore.

 

[Floris]

Wish they would have kept the magsafe but it wasn't enough to prevent me from ordering. The real shame is even with the jacked up price, Apple isn't including the power adapter extension cable anymore.

That's what really gets me. That they want to simplify things, sure, I can go with that. But it is as if they are saying now
By the way, we really want to make the best product ever for you - it's about the experience, but you will have a shotty one when you buy it. Please realise we took away convenience and require you to pay 20$ and up for it from now on. It's a premium product, premium value, sold as a Pro model. But we just don't actually care about you enough to include the extension cord, even though we know mobile devices aren't always close to wall sockets and they sit on raised tables and there's just not enough length to connect things up. And in case that causes problems, the magsafe that we invested and has proven to be a life saver for some devices, that's a usb-c port, so we can guarantee you to buy apple care, which doesn't actually cover it. But hey, we value you as a customer. Because we need to guarantee year over year profits.