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I'm just going to try to get by with a single USB-C to standard USB (A?) cable initially. I think the battery life will be long enough that I won't need to charge the computer at the same time I'm using a USB port. I certainly won't buy anything else until I'm certain I will keep the computer (although, already, I'm quite certain I will not return it)
 
Curious, where do you think Apple gets their cables from?

I do love this argument. You'll never win it.

Apple hires a third party Chinese manufacturer. They contract with them to make a cable to the exact quality, performance, and every aspect, with strict quality control oversight. The product that comes out is of the utmost quality because Apple binds them by contract to do so. They're told what materials to use, how to fabricate, how to test, etc. There's no cutting corners.

On the other hand, you buy from a brand that's not reputable, their sold purpose is to get the product out and undercut in cost to produce, and cost to sell. The attention to quality is not like Apple, because they have no contract with a brand that's putting their name on it, and therefor corners are cut.

I am shocked that someone would be dense enough to actually have posed the question you did. It's like saying that beer from a reputable corporate brewer and moonshine made in someone's bathtub are the same.

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Touche, but very likely not from the same factory, or at least not from the same production line. ;)

One comes from a factory overseen in quality standards by a company who expects nothing less than perfection from its manufacturers. One is put out by some no-name people who are just trying to cut corners and get out a product as quick and cheap as they can, with no regard to the safety, reliability, or any overall quality.

I don't understand this argument. Anyone who doesn't get the difference between Apple branded stuff made in China and the cheap knockoffs, why are you even buying apple? There's plenty of tablets sold in china for $40, and laptops for $100, and smartphones for $50 ... You may want to go study up on supply chain and see why you get a high quality laptop from Apple made in China, yet brand Xi Xi gets you a hair and an upside down key out of the box.
 
I do love this argument. You'll never win it.

Apple hires a third party Chinese manufacturer. They contract with them to make a cable to the exact quality, performance, and every aspect, with strict quality control oversight. The product that comes out is of the utmost quality because Apple binds them by contract to do so. They're told what materials to use, how to fabricate, how to test, etc. There's no cutting corners.

On the other hand, you buy from a brand that's not reputable, their sold purpose is to get the product out and undercut in cost to produce, and cost to sell. The attention to quality is not like Apple, because they have no contract with a brand that's putting their name on it, and therefor corners are cut.

I am shocked that someone would be dense enough to actually have posed the question you did. It's like saying that beer from a reputable corporate brewer and moonshine made in someone's bathtub are the same.

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One comes from a factory overseen in quality standards by a company who expects nothing less than perfection from its manufacturers. One is put out by some no-name people who are just trying to cut corners and get out a product as quick and cheap as they can, with no regard to the safety, reliability, or any overall quality.

I don't understand this argument. Anyone who doesn't get the difference between Apple branded stuff made in China and the cheap knockoffs, why are you even buying apple? There's plenty of tablets sold in china for $40, and laptops for $100, and smartphones for $50 ... You may want to go study up on supply chain and see why you get a high quality laptop from Apple made in China, yet brand Xi Xi gets you a hair and an upside down key out of the box.

Indeed. My favorite example is the outwardly identical but electronically horrible power adapters.
 
The Hydra Dock claims to have Thunderbolt.. Then mentions it as if it's only a display method. I need USB-C to Thunderbolt for my G-RAID 8TB Thunderbolt drive.. Don't care if it's not full thunderbolt speed, just the connectivity at USB 3.1 speed is fine..

Yeah, I noticed this too and became skeptical right away as well. They should be saying it is mDP, I don't think you can do true TB support through USB 3.1. Strange thing is that if it is mDP, it should be able to do the same resolution as the HDMI port, as natove DP 1.2 is supported from the USB-C port on the machine. Odd. Anyone able to clue me in as to why they say it is a TB port? Or why it only would support 2560x1440?

Also, I love the idea, but like I have mentioned before, I think they need to skip the whole riser dock thing, slim it down to the size of a Snicker bar, and have two USB-A, two USB-C, and SDXC out one long side, and out the other long side, one of either HDMI or mDP, Gb Ethernet, and one USB-C for charging. One of the short sides has the dongle out to the laptop (male USB-C).
 
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Chargers, yeah...I have three: one at home, one at work (so I don't have to carry one to work every day), and one at our second home (on an island off the coast of Maine, purchased because I forgot to pack the home charger a couple of times :( ). The one thing in favor of the rMB charger is that at least it's a whole lot smaller and more portable than the regular Macbook chargers. I haven't decided whether I am going to be buying extra chargers.

The current iPad wall chargers will charge up the Macbook as well, you just need to get a USB-A to USB-C cable instead of buying another charger. I'm in the same boat as you but our San Diego summer home is 9000km+ away give or take - so it really sucks to forget a charger :eek: :p
 
I've never had an issue with fraying charge cables, LOL. But then again I don't spin in circles with my mac, LOL

Yup, the fraying cables issue actually comes from repeatedly (as in at least twice daily for several years) wrapping and unwrapping the cable around the charger brick for packing it up into a laptop bag for transport. If you don't do that you probably aren't going to get that one. :D
 
The current iPad wall chargers will charge up the Macbook as well, you just need to get a USB-A to USB-C cable instead of buying another charger. I'm in the same boat as you but our San Diego summer home is 9000km+ away give or take - so it really sucks to forget a charger :eek: :p

12w vs. 29w, but I often charge my iPads on the 5w iPhone chargers. :)
 
Yup, the fraying cables issue actually comes from repeatedly (as in at least twice daily for several years) wrapping and unwrapping the cable around the charger brick for packing it up into a laptop bag for transport. If you don't do that you probably aren't going to get that one. :D

I use my fingers to wrap the cord around the loop it through itself. Those handles on the brick for cable wrapping were a good idea back in the day, but utterly stupid now. It literally doubles the thickness of the charger. Pointless.
 
12w vs. 29w, but I often charge my iPads on the 5w iPhone chargers. :)

Exactly my point :D Will charge, just more slowly.

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I use my fingers to wrap the cord around the loop it through itself. Those handles on the brick for cable wrapping were a good idea back in the day, but utterly stupid now. It literally doubles the thickness of the charger. Pointless.

Agree completely, why I am looking forward to the USB-C charger with detachable cable.
 
I use my fingers to wrap the cord around the loop it through itself. Those handles on the brick for cable wrapping were a good idea back in the day, but utterly stupid now. It literally doubles the thickness of the charger. Pointless.

It's pointless if the cable is detachable from the charger. That's why MacBook 29W charger doesn't have the handles.. just like 10W iPad charger.
 
The current iPad wall chargers will charge up the Macbook as well, you just need to get a USB-A to USB-C cable instead of buying another charger.
I don't think that's the case. The USB-C power delivery mode has the capability of negotiating voltages up to 20V, while the current iPhone/iPad chargers provide only the standard 5V. I'm pretty sure that Apple uses a higher voltage to charge the Macbook (since the current is limited to 3A max in USB 3.1, no more than 15W can be delivered using 5V, while the Macbook charger can deliver about twice the wattage).
 
I do love this argument. You'll never win it.

Apple hires a third party Chinese manufacturer. They contract with them to make a cable to the exact quality, performance, and every aspect, with strict quality control oversight. The product that comes out is of the utmost quality because Apple binds them by contract to do so. They're told what materials to use, how to fabricate, how to test, etc. There's no cutting corners.

On the other hand, you buy from a brand that's not reputable, their sold purpose is to get the product out and undercut in cost to produce, and cost to sell. The attention to quality is not like Apple, because they have no contract with a brand that's putting their name on it, and therefor corners are cut.

I am shocked that someone would be dense enough to actually have posed the question you did. It's like saying that beer from a reputable corporate brewer and moonshine made in someone's bathtub are the same.

----------



One comes from a factory overseen in quality standards by a company who expects nothing less than perfection from its manufacturers. One is put out by some no-name people who are just trying to cut corners and get out a product as quick and cheap as they can, with no regard to the safety, reliability, or any overall quality.

I don't understand this argument. Anyone who doesn't get the difference between Apple branded stuff made in China and the cheap knockoffs, why are you even buying apple? There's plenty of tablets sold in china for $40, and laptops for $100, and smartphones for $50 ... You may want to go study up on supply chain and see why you get a high quality laptop from Apple made in China, yet brand Xi Xi gets you a hair and an upside down key out of the box.

You can get legitimate MFi licensed cables from Alibaba just fine. Regarding quality i'd wager that it's better than the flimsy rubber stuff that Apple is using for their shielding. A MFi licensed Lightning cable from Amazon's basic brand is probably of more quality than a Lightning cable from Apple.
 
I don't think that's the case. The USB-C power delivery mode has the capability of negotiating voltages up to 20V, while the current iPhone/iPad chargers provide only the standard 5V. I'm pretty sure that Apple uses a higher voltage to charge the Macbook (since the current is limited to 3A max in USB 3.1, no more than 15W can be delivered using 5V, while the Macbook charger can deliver about twice the wattage).

No, I agree with you, I'm thinking the MB charger in the box is 9.5-10V. The assumption is you get 10-12W out of the iPad charger and you are still going to get a net charge, albeit much slower, out of it, as its delivering 2x the wattage in as the CPU is outputting at full load (i.e. its 5-6W TDP). The charger that comes with it outputs at 5x the wattage as the machine's TDP. Obviously you're not just powering the CPU, but then again, the CPU isn't going to be at 6W all the time either.

In the same way, I am pretty sure you should be able to charge your iPhone/iPad with the MB charger as well once a USB-C/Lightning cable is released by Apple, which is must be at some point, right?
 
No, I agree with you, I'm thinking the MB charger in the box is 9.5-10V. The assumption is you get 10-12W out of the iPad charger and you are still going to get a net charge, albeit much slower, out of it, as its delivering 2x the wattage in as the CPU is outputting at full load (i.e. its 5-6W TDP).
It's not just a question of the wattage. The question is whether the inbuilt charging circuitry works at 5V at all.
In the same way, I am pretty sure you should be able to charge your iPhone/iPad with the MB charger as well once a USB-C/Lightning cable is released by Apple, which is must be at some point, right?
That should work, since USB 3.1 chargers are required to default to 5V unless a higher voltage is negotiated.
 
It's not just a question of the wattage. The question is whether the inbuilt charging circuitry works at 5V at all.

I see what you're saying. But isn't the charging circuitry part of the standard bus that USB is operating on on the logic board? Or am I wrong there?
 
I see what you're saying. But isn't the charging circuitry part of the standard bus that USB is operating on on the logic board? Or am I wrong there?
I'm talking about the charging circuitry in the Mac (controlled by the SMC). Since the battery pack needs a certain voltage to charge, it would require a more complex voltage regulator/converter. I'd be surprised if it could charge at both 5V and the higher input voltage.

BTW, this also highlights an issue with USB-C: Not all USB-C chargers need to support all possible voltages (the only one that is mandatory is 5V). So it might very well happen that a USB-C charger from one vendor cannot charge another vendor's device.
 
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You can get legitimate MFi licensed cables from Alibaba just fine. Regarding quality i'd wager that it's better than the flimsy rubber stuff that Apple is using for their shielding. A MFi licensed Lightning cable from Amazon's basic brand is probably of more quality than a Lightning cable from Apple.

Do you know WHY they have the MFi certification program? So they can set quality standards and collect licensing dollars.
 
Yeah, I noticed this too and became skeptical right away as well. They should be saying it is mDP, I don't think you can do true TB support through USB 3.1. Strange thing is that if it is mDP, it should be able to do the same resolution as the HDMI port, as natove DP 1.2 is supported from the USB-C port on the machine. Odd. Anyone able to clue me in as to why they say it is a TB port? Or why it only would support 2560x1440?

Right, you can't natively extend Thunderbolt over USB 3.1. And I also don't understand why they claim higher resolution over HDMI 1.3 port. This sort of discredits the whole thing in my eyes. I think it's just a piece of vaporware sloppily thrown together by a bunch of marketing guys.

If you look at the company behind this - they are some sort of startup incubator rather than a maker of this product. The whole thing sound sort of shady to me, but will see what their "official" Kickstarter will look like.
 
Macbook 12 has a smaller battery than iPad 3 or 4 (39 vs 43 watt/hours).
So iPad charger will do well on new Macbook.

But for the fact that you'd have to buy a USB A to USB C cable to charge off it.
 
I do love this argument. You'll never win it.

Apple hires a third party Chinese manufacturer. They contract with them to make a cable to the exact quality, performance, and every aspect, with strict quality control oversight. The product that comes out is of the utmost quality because Apple binds them by contract to do so. They're told what materials to use, how to fabricate, how to test, etc. There's no cutting corners.

On the other hand, you buy from a brand that's not reputable, their sold purpose is to get the product out and undercut in cost to produce, and cost to sell. The attention to quality is not like Apple, because they have no contract with a brand that's putting their name on it, and therefor corners are cut.

I am shocked that someone would be dense enough to actually have posed the question you did. It's like saying that beer from a reputable corporate brewer and moonshine made in someone's bathtub are the same.

----------



One comes from a factory overseen in quality standards by a company who expects nothing less than perfection from its manufacturers. One is put out by some no-name people who are just trying to cut corners and get out a product as quick and cheap as they can, with no regard to the safety, reliability, or any overall quality.

I don't understand this argument. Anyone who doesn't get the difference between Apple branded stuff made in China and the cheap knockoffs, why are you even buying apple? There's plenty of tablets sold in china for $40, and laptops for $100, and smartphones for $50 ... You may want to go study up on supply chain and see why you get a high quality laptop from Apple made in China, yet brand Xi Xi gets you a hair and an upside down key out of the box.

You are correct , apple cables are produced to a certain quality standards, which are of course high.

Though, colour and plastic trimmings aside, you will find that the cable itself is identical as used by other companies, and often come from the same factories.

It's the dodgey ones you have to worry about, as they can cause damage to your devices.

Though what I don't get with apple notebooks, is that so much effort is put into them looking pristine and everything fitting so well together, and yet when you open up the internals the pasting of the GPU and CPU is awful, if they put the same effort into that , the laptops would run cooler. I could never understand why this has not been addressed. Other manafactures also have this issue, assume it might be automated.

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Macbook 12 has a smaller battery than iPad 3 or 4 (39 vs 43 watt/hours).
So iPad charger will do well on new Macbook.

Wow , I never thought to compare the two
 
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