MagSafe is the worst thing Apple has made maybe ever

Respect your opinion. But thoroughly disagree. I got 4 MagSafe pads to have around my life. I have already forgotten what it’s like to plug in a phone.

It’s superior to Qi charging which I tried but gave up on because if you didn’t align it just right it wouldn’t charge. This fixes that issue. I think MagSafe follows the “it just works” principal and delivers convenience.
 
LongWayHome said:
I watched an interesting video on YouTube (SnazzyLabs) who theorized that Apple made MagSafe because they refuse to comply with the EU's new law that states that all manufacturers must now use the same chargers (USB-C). Apple will be forced after this year to make all of their phones with a standard USB-C charging cable. Well that would be a huge loss of income for Apple due to the fact that the lightning cable and 3rd party MFI (Made for iPhone) lightning cables is a billion dollar industry.
Click to expand...

Link to the EU resolution is below.

All I see is that they wish the charger (that plugs into the wall) to standardize on USBC. I can find no requirement about device or phone port type. Thus USBC to Lightning cable would meet the charger requirement.

Maybe I'm misreading it, or maybe there's a different resolution?

Because it seems a lot of the internet misunderstood that resolution, resulting in completely false premises such as what you outline above.

So if you could point to the source document(s) showing that phone ports must standardize, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

www.europarl.europa.eu

JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on a common charger for mobile radio equipment | RC-B9-0070/2020 | European Parliament

JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION pursuant to Rule 132(2) and (4) of the Rules of Procedure replacing the following motions: B9-0070/2020 (PPE) B9-0072/2020 (S&D) B9-0074/2020 (Verts/ALE) B9-0075/2020 (Renew) B9-0076/2020 (GUE/NGL) B9-0085/2020 (ECR) on a common charger for mobile radio equipment...
www.europarl.europa.eu www.europarl.europa.eu
 
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Currently the way it’s set up I agree. I love the MagSafe for my MacBook Pro. I see the benefits of it and I have personally been saved probably 100 times or more by MagSafe for my 2015 MacBook Pro. Ex. Tripping over cord from people and animals.
 
I use the heck out of my MagSafe charger in the car. It works extremely well with my existing Schoshe magicmount. No fumbling for cables in the car, and just set it down and clicks in place. Works great if you use apps for fast food or coffee places in drive thru. Just pay and you don’t have to fumble with finding a place for your phone when they always try and hurry you out of the drive thru. Hasn’t failed me yet.
 

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OP, I can see your argument but disagree with some of your points. Apple of course will make decisions that make good financial sense for them and allow them to continue to generate income in a changing industry from both a technological and regulatory perspective.
However, I don’t believe Qi was the best thing either. It was inefficient and the reason Apple limits the speed of regular wireless charging is because of the inefficiency that creates more heat than Lightning charging. Plus the added heat is not good for longevity of the Lithium batteries so that’s also a limiting factor. And MagSafe does a better job than Qi to make it more efficient thru the use of the magnets and heat management. That to me sounds like a step forward. I honestly believe MagSafe 2.0 will be faster and allow for data transfer thus solving the support issue.
But I haven’t read anywhere that Apple has made Qi charging any slower on the new iPhones. So that’s a moot point.
Is MagSafe perfect? Nope. Is ANY current wireless charging perfect? Nope. But I’ve been using the MagSafe charge on my nightstand and it’s perfect for overnight charging. Easy to attach and un-attach.
 
In my experience they haven't reduced the wireless charging rates in third party Qi chargers.. wife's iPhone 12 charges as well as her old XR did on the various Xiaomi, Baseus, and Choetech wireless chargers we have around our house. Not interested in Magsafe.. and not seeing any downsides to not using it.
 
LongWayHome said:
I'm sorry, I've tried to love this product, and then I even tried to just like it, but its just absolutely terrible. Apple has effectively ruined wireless charging in their new devices all in the name of keeping things proprietary for them to keep the cash rolling in. Its is such a poorly done product that makes absolutely zero sense outside of Apple screwing over both the consumer, and manufacturers of Qi charging products.

I watched an interesting video on YouTube (SnazzyLabs) who theorized that Apple made MagSafe because they refuse to comply with the EU's new law that states that all manufacturers must now use the same chargers (USB-C). Apple will be forced after this year to make all of their phones with a standard USB-C charging cable. Well that would be a huge loss of income for Apple due to the fact that the lightning cable and 3rd party MFI (Made for iPhone) lightning cables is a billion dollar industry. Apple makes $4 for every single lightning cable sold in the world with the MFI logo on them. That is a massive amount of money lost if they had to comply to this new law in Europe. So to get around this law, they are going to make a portless phone that only charges with Magsafe next year. 3rd party Manufacturers will have to comply to Apple's standards and have the MFI logo put on any MagSafe alternatives to wirelessly charging, which keeps the cash in Apple's hands. I realize this is a business but they are forcing manufacturers to comply to a new standard of wireless charging while also making us as the consumer buy new wireless chargers if we want to get the full benefit out of them.

The other reason I hate Magsafe is that its crippled all of my other wireless chargers. Apple purposely made its new iPhones only capable of charging at a VERY low wattage on standard Qi charging pads. This is obviously done to push people to use MagSafe, or to buy the new wireless chargers that will have the (MFI) logo on them that comply to Apple's new wireless charging standards. My wireless chargers charge my iPhone 12 max so slowly now that its not really worth using them if I need to get a quick charge in.

Outside of those reasons above, I don't like it becuase its the same as using a cable, it heats up your phone way to much, the cord is too short, the cord gets in the way if not pointed directly down, it damages Apple's expensive leather case, and to me its a completely pointless accessory that Apple is shoving on us because they refuse to make a standard USB-C charging cable for their phones.

I'm sorry for the rant but I had to get that out.
Click to expand...

If you have a MagSafe phone can you no longer use other charging pads or, if you do, they perform worse than they used to?

Do the MagSafe phones / cases damage credit cards, watches or attract paper clips etc ?
 
MagSafe is not just a standard that Apple is going to make a few bucks for. Picture this, Apple removes the lightning port, next year, MagSafe for iPhone was not a thing and Qi is the only way to charge. People will be upset because there is no way to fast charge and it is hard to charge with Qi while using iPhone. MagSafe is a compromise that Apple has to take to achieve a portless iPhone.
To counter your point about Apple screwing over the consumer and manufacturers of Qi chargers. Haven't they already done that with the lightning port instead of adopting (at the time Micro USB) and now USB-C?
 
I like the idea of MagSafe. For my iPhone 11 (also my work phone, iPhone 8) I purchased Anker wireless charging pads (I forget which ones). I would place my phone on them and it would show the blue light saying it was charging. I would wake up the next day and see it didnt charge. I even exchanged the charging pad with Anker and had the same issue. I had to switch to a stand version to get it to charge properly.

So for people who would rather use the "pad" version of wireless charging this is great, guaranteed charge every time since there is no change it will be misaligned.

Price and Apple forcing you to get their charger for 15w charging is another story....
 
My use of the iPhone has never necessitated using wireless charging. I'm happy to just use the adapter & cord. But the idea that Apple would cut down on carbon footprint for the phone that uses USBC, which is new to many who are buying the iPhone 12 ProMax.

I had an 11 ProMax, but I gave that to my wife, so that charger went bye bye. I did have a 20 watt USBC that came with my iPad 8, but I wanted an extra. So, I had to order a USBC adapter, & have it delivered. It was an extra $19.00, which isn't a big deal given the price of the phone, but why? It doubled the delivery carbon footprint, & packaging footprint.

This was not primarily a climate decision by Apple. It was also a ploy to sell USBC adapters & MagSafe chargers. It's just something that pisses me off the more I think about it. I love Apple products, and am willing to pay up. But dear lord, stop nickel and dimeing me when I'm paying $1200+ for your phone.
 
I’m not sure if it’s the worst product but I’d say it’s not interesting or needed. I have exactly zero desire to have this thing. But who am I to judge. Honestly, I think Apple is trying to prepare us for the portless phones. I’m giving Lightning max 2 years.
 
dasjati said:
That whole Lightning argument brakes down though with the iPad Pros for example. Apple is obviously willing to ditch Lightning if it makes sense.
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I think Apple has USB-C on the iPad because they consider it a "computer" as opposed the iPhone which is closer to an "accessory" (or some other way of differentiating the iPhone and iPad using Apple's RDF).
 
Ok, listen, you may not like what I am going to say right now, but please keep with me:

The line about the "EU deciding that all ports should be USB-C and Apple is trying to resist YADA YADA" is complete MISINFORMATION by all these so called YouTubers. They don't even have the nerve to check or read about the topic they are talking about, which then leads to even MORE misinformation.

The EU has a decided on a joint resolution about a standardized CHARGING BRICK(!), the thing you plug into the wall, not the port on the phone. The charging brick should preferably be USB-C, like the currently sold charging bricks by Apple, in an attempt for people to not have to buy a new charging brick whenever they change devices, so they can also use their existing ones with their existing cables.

Ok? Thank you. Please stop spreading that the EU wants to force Apple to put USB-C on the phone...
 
LongWayHome said:
I'm sorry, I've tried to love this product, and then I even tried to just like it, but its just absolutely terrible. Apple has effectively ruined wireless charging in their new devices all in the name of keeping things proprietary for them to keep the cash rolling in. Its is such a poorly done product that makes absolutely zero sense outside of Apple screwing over both the consumer, and manufacturers of Qi charging products.

I watched an interesting video on YouTube (SnazzyLabs) who theorized that Apple made MagSafe because they refuse to comply with the EU's new law that states that all manufacturers must now use the same chargers (USB-C). Apple will be forced after this year to make all of their phones with a standard USB-C charging cable. Well that would be a huge loss of income for Apple due to the fact that the lightning cable and 3rd party MFI (Made for iPhone) lightning cables is a billion dollar industry. Apple makes $4 for every single lightning cable sold in the world with the MFI logo on them. That is a massive amount of money lost if they had to comply to this new law in Europe. So to get around this law, they are going to make a portless phone that only charges with Magsafe next year. 3rd party Manufacturers will have to comply to Apple's standards and have the MFI logo put on any MagSafe alternatives to wirelessly charging, which keeps the cash in Apple's hands. I realize this is a business but they are forcing manufacturers to comply to a new standard of wireless charging while also making us as the consumer buy new wireless chargers if we want to get the full benefit out of them.

The other reason I hate Magsafe is that its crippled all of my other wireless chargers. Apple purposely made its new iPhones only capable of charging at a VERY low wattage on standard Qi charging pads. This is obviously done to push people to use MagSafe, or to buy the new wireless chargers that will have the (MFI) logo on them that comply to Apple's new wireless charging standards. My wireless chargers charge my iPhone 12 max so slowly now that its not really worth using them if I need to get a quick charge in.

Outside of those reasons above, I don't like it becuase its the same as using a cable, it heats up your phone way to much, the cord is too short, the cord gets in the way if not pointed directly down, it damages Apple's expensive leather case, and to me its a completely pointless accessory that Apple is shoving on us because they refuse to make a standard USB-C charging cable for their phones.

I'm sorry for the rant but I had to get that out.
Click to expand...
So, the EU passes a stupid law that stifles innovation and manufacturers adapt and that’s the manufacturer‘s fault? 🙄

That said, criticize MagSafe itself all you want. I still haven’t tried it yet and you’re probably right about those issues.
 
lordhamster said:
I get that you don't like Magsafe, it ain't for everybody, but I think you have made some factual errors here.

  • You say "Apple purposely made new iPhones only capable of charging at a VERY low wattage standard QI charging pads.":
    This is not true in my experience. I've measured my cheap YooTech chargers with a USB-C wattage tester, and I'm getting the exact same results with my wife's old iPhone XS (7.5w) as I am with her new phone (7.5w). You could argue that 7.5w max is a slow charging rate for sure, but it isn't anything new. As has been reported here, some QI chargers don't like the new Magsafe ring my guess is there are two things going on:
    • I think different dimensions could be a contributing factor to some problems. Different coil alignment. Your Pro Max for example may be too high, or the mini too short to align properly with the coils on an easel style charger?
    • I suspect foreign object detection may be causing issues as well. Some pads have more aggressive foreign object detection than others. On my old iPhone XS Max, I had problems with a Pitaka mag-case for the same reason. My Pixel 4XL with a metal plate mounted under the coils also cause issues on some chargers, but not all. Every single QI charger I have in my house from years of playing with android work just fine with my iPhone 12. Hell, even the crappy "gift" one United Airlines sent me that refused to charge my Pixel 4XL works fine!
  • You say "My wireless chargers charge my iPhone 12 max so slowly now that its not really worth using them if I need to get a quick charge in.":
    I'd agree. Quick-charging simply isn't a strength of standard QI chargers. Arguably if Apple would support the standard 15w QI charging protocol it would be a bit better. Fundamentally though, wireless charging is lossy and generates heat. Yes, some phone manufacturers now use proprietary methods for attaining higher wireless charging, but these also come with lots of heat and often the need for a cooling fan in the charger. If you need a quick top-off, a cable will always be better.
  • You say "to me its a completely pointless accessory that apple is shoving on us.":
    Accessories are by definition optional. If you don't like it, don't buy it. It isn't "shoved" on anyone. Furthermore, I happen to think the simple addition of a ring of magnets improves wireless charging. Most notably, it is the first phone I've had since the Nexus 5, where magnets help to align to the optimal charging location every single time. Alignment has always been the most annoying thing about wireless charging. Furthermore, I love the fact that now magnetic car mounts will be standardized... we can finally do away with sticking metal plates on our cases, or figuring out exactly where to mount a magnetic metal ring on the back of the phone etc.
Click to expand...
This is a much more well-reasoned post than that of the OP. OP cites to a YouTube video (that I also watched) in which the creator of the video speculated as to why Apple retained the Lightning port on the iPhone -but the OP presents that opinion as though it was fact. Also,
the motive for why Apple may have released this product has no bearing whatsoever on the utility of the product itself. As another commenter also pointed out, OP’s complaint about how the new phones hobbled wireless charging using Qi chargers is incorrect. So the bottom line for the OP is quite simple: if you don’t like the MagSafe charger then don’t buy one. Problem solved. And if enough consumers feel the same was as the OP, well, then Apple won’t sell many of these and they’ll go away.
 
mjschabow said:
I just got the MagSafe charger yesterday and I actually like it a lot. Wish they made a 6ft one though.
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Or at least don't hardwire the cord to the MagSafe so you can swap in a different length. I purchased one but returned it because the cord was too short to allow me to use it on my nightstand. I don't mind the standard 1m length and would have kept it if i could have substituted a longer cord. Functionally it's fine IF you want wireless charging. If you don't, then don't buy it.
 
SRQrws said:
Or at least don't hardwire the cord to the MagSafe so you can swap in a different length. I purchased one but returned it because the cord was too short to allow me to use it on my nightstand. I don't mind the standard 1m length and would have kept it if i could have substituted a longer cord. Functionally it's fine IF you want wireless charging. If you don't, then don't buy it.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I do like how it actually in a way functions as a pop socket and then I can keep my pinky finger on the bottom of the phone. Overall well done but I like your idea of not having it hardwired to the cord.
 
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