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Why MagSafe is a bad thing

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DarrylMusashi

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 26, 2021
11
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All of the reviewers and early adopters gushing over MagSafe has made me wonder, who the hell goes around tripping over their charging cable every other day?

Jokes aside I guess people with kids could benefit from it, but I have never experienced nor have I heard of anyone tripping over their charging cable and having their laptop fall in the floor. Which is seemingly the only reason MagSafe exists.

USB-C is superior in that it is as close to a universal port as we are likely to get this lifetime, it is small, it carries data, there’s one on each side of the laptop so you don’t need to wrap your cable around the device.

So I hear some of you saying, since I prefer USB-C why don’t I use that and you use what you prefer, choice! Right?

Well on the surface this is a good argument, except the I believe the introduction of MagSafe will all but kill USB-C. We all know how other manufacturers like to copy apple, I expect it to be the same for power delivery, each one will invent their own MagSafe and we will end up with many different standards. I guess we will see what happens to MagSafe in the future, but if lightning is any indication apple will milk it until it’s bone dry. Meaning it might be the only charging port next time around.

In the end I’m disappointed, apple drove usb c adoption in a big way and I doubt it has the impetus to continue without apples help. I made a small trip the other weekend with my iPhone, iPad and new MacBook, I had to bring two chargers, who the hell would want to bring three?
 
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I agree - I prefer charging via any of the USB-C ports on my 2019 MBP. In fact, I would have preferred they kept 4 USB-C/TB4 ports on the new MacBooks along with the SD card reader. Do away with the HDMI and MagSafe altogether!
 
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Vegasryn said:
No one copied the MagSafe except for Microsoft on their surface line of products - what makes you think everyone will switch to it now? Like you said, USB-C is great for data - so it won't be going anywhere.
Click to expand...
USB C may or may not survive but usb c power delivery feels more uncertain. I’ve seen notebooks with usb c but without usb c power delivery so it’s not impossible as far as I’m aware?

They did not copy MagSafe last time around but were pretty quick to add usb c once apple did it, and apple is bigger now than they were back then and their advantage is also bigger so pc laptops need every edge they can get. It’s all conjecture of course.
 
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I'll take MagSafe and free up the USB ports thank you.

MagSafe isn't going to kill off USB-C. I don't know how anyone can think that.

Ultimately the consortium will come up with some kind of magnetic data and power cable but that's easier said than done.

USB-A will still be around for a few more years. USB-C might be here for another 15-20 years. Transfer speeds go up but connector standards have changed slowly for the last 20 years and it takes a long time to phase them out.
 
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metapunk2077fail said:
I'll take MagSafe and free up the USB ports thank you.

MagSafe isn't going to kill off USB-C. I don't know how anyone can think that.

Ultimately the consortium will come up with some kind of magnetic data and power cable but that's easier said than done.

USB-A will still be around for a few more years. USB-C might be here for another 15-20 years. Transfer speeds go up but connectors have progressed slowly for the last 20 years and it takes a long time to phase them out.
Click to expand...
But you just lost one usb c port for MagSafe
 
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DarrylMusashi said:
who the hell goes around tripping over their charging cable every other day?
Click to expand...
I don't. It's other people.

I'm a fan of MagSafe. Why? My machine has been saved from damage or a fall many, many times. Anybody who needs to plug in on airplanes, in airport boarding lounges during widespread delays, in office reception areas, in crowded conference rooms, at coffee shops and restaurants, and at companies that think beanbags, picnic tables, and staircases are good replacements for desks knows what I'm talking about.
 
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And here we have the next clickbait/trolling thread.
"Why Magsafe is a bad thing" ... says who? A random individual? You speak for everyone? No, you don't, so why that provoking headline? Not any reviewer would agree with you, as they all praise the return of Magsafe (and ports) for good reasons:
  • Easier / faster to connect and disconnect
  • Doesn't wear out unlike a tiny-flimsy port
  • Failsafe against tripping
  • Has a status LED integrated
  • Has a thicker, braided cable
  • The entire system is modular, you can still use the charger with a standard USB-C cable
  • It won't "kill" USB-C (what a ridiculous assumption)
  • Afaik Magsafe is still patented, it won't be copied 1:1
If you prefer USB-C, then use that.

But you just lost one usb c port for MagSafe
Click to expand...
Nonsense again. You had to use one of those ports for charging anyway, so nothing changes here for like 99% of all users. In addition, barely anybody needed four USB-C ports on a laptop at once, unless in their perfect USB-C-only homestudio bubble (again, a minority). And finally, even those four ports only had two controllers, so bandwidth was cut. Now you have three. So with daisy-chaining/splitters, you basically get six full USB-C ports.
 
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DarrylMusashi said:
Well on the surface this is a good argument, except the I believe the introduction of MagSafe will all but kill USB-C. We all know how other manufacturers like to copy apple, I expect it to be the same for power delivery, each one will invent their own MagSafe and we will end up with many different standards.
Click to expand...
For power delivery? That would be fantastic, more computer manufacturers should do that. But like you said, USB-C is a universal port, and Magsafe does not transfer data. So no, USB-C is not in any danger.
 
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Rashy said:
And here we have the next clickbait/trolling thread.
"Why Magsafe is a bad thing" ... says who? A random individual? You speak for everyone? No, you don't, so why that title? Not any reviewer would agree with you, as they all praise the return of Magsafe (and ports) for good reasons:
  • Easier / faster to connect and disconnect
  • Doesn't wear out unlike a tiny-flimsy port
  • Has a status LED integrated
  • Has a thicker, braided cable
  • The entire system is modular, you can still use the charger with a standard USB-C cable
  • It won't "kill" USB-C (what a ridiculous assumption)
  • Afaik Magsafe is still patented, it won't be copied 1:1
If you prefer USB-C, then use that.


Nonsense again. You had to use one of those ports for charging anyway, so nothing changes here for like 99% of all users. In addition, barely anybody needed four USB-C ports at once. And finally, even those four ports only had two controllers. Now you have three. So with daisy-chaining/splitters, you basically get six full USB-C ports.
Click to expand...
Of course I don’t speak for anyone, does anybody? I thought that was obvious and which is why I didn’t prefix my title with “in my opinion”, it should be pretty clear from the context. Besides isn’t that the point of a forum, for individuals to discuss topics?

Regarding the other point that one usb c was lost, it was in response to the fact that they wrote they would rather take MagSafe and free up a usb c port.
 
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Pakaku said:
For power delivery? That would be fantastic, more computer manufacturers should do that. But like you said, USB-C is a universal port, and Magsafe does not transfer data. So no, USB-C is not in any danger.
Click to expand...
It doesn’t transfer data yet, is it impossible that it in the near future?
 
I missed it and it's a great option. If it had to be one or the other, I'd take USB C, but thankfully we have both. At work and home, I dock my laptop with Thunderbolt/USB Cand use it as a desktop, but for a mobile charger, I love having magsafe.
 
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It makes more sense when you consider that PD implementations have been half baked at best and every manufacturer ends up with different wattage and charging profiles such that the universal standard is anything but.

The standard was seriously limiting for power needed on more serious desktop replacement machines ( like the new MacBooks with 140W charging that USB C doesn’t support )

Plus. You can still use USB C so who cares.
 
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I really wished that the return of MagSafe could have come with power + data. Kind of like Microsoft's surface connector. Folks would have balked at the proprietary nature of it, but imagine full charging power and all that connectively with just a single cable.

For the record, I really like one-cable docking. In fact, with my 14" machine, I have yet to use the MagSafe because I'm hooked up to a CalDigit dock via USB-C/TB. The MagSafe is now in my travel bag.
 
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Y’all geniuses, how are you gonna pass 140 watt through usb? That standard doesn’t exist yet.


DarrylMusashi said:
Well on the surface this is a good argument, except the I believe the introduction of MagSafe will all but kill USB-C. We all know how other manufacturers like to copy apple, I expect it to be the same for power delivery, each one will invent their own MagSafe and we will end up with many different standards.
Click to expand...

You do know that each manufacturer already has his own power port, right?
 
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