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Neat plug adapter turns Mac and iPad chargers into slimline units that fit behind your sofa

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As Gizmodo observed, Apple puts a lot of thought into product design, but seems to forget everything it knows when it comes to power adapters (with one exception). The standard Mac adapter sticks out about half a mile from the wall, which can be a pain when the socket is behind a sofa. Ten One Design has a solution in the form of Blockhead.

Blockhead is a side-facing plug adapter that works with all of Apple’s MacBook and iPad chargers, reducing the distance the plug sticks out of the wall from 3.8 inches to just 1.2 inches, as shown in the GIF below.

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It’s a shame they used blue instead of white. For a product that’s all about neatness, this should just blend in – but I can understand why they didn’t. They want people to notice it and ask about it.

Blockhead costs $19.95 for one or $34.95 for a pair, which isn’t cheap but hey, your living room just increased in size. You can pre-order now for delivery in late April.

Incidentally, if you need a spare power adapter or two for an older MacBook, Apple currently has MagSafe 1 models on sale for less than half-price in its official Amazon store.

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Comments

  1. Monty™© MCMLXXII - 8 years ago

    Utterly pointless, just use the supplied extension cable

    • Monty™© MCMLXXII - 8 years ago

      Plus if it is behind the sofa is it going to be long enough without the extension cable?

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      It’s even flatter than the plug on the supplied cable – 1.2″ versus 2.6″.

      • Monty™© MCMLXXII - 8 years ago

        Not if you’re in the UK it’s not, and to be frank if you can’t find 1.4 inches of space behind your sofa you’ve got other problems. Also if you think about it without the extension lead the the socket would have to be just by chance exactly behind the sofa where you sit. Sorry Ben but this is an ill-conceived daft product at best. It will sell in the millions!

      • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

        Well, yeah, but if the socket’s not behind your sofa, you don’t need the product …

      • iSRS - 8 years ago

        I think Monty is referring to the three prong cable that connects to the brick. that adds about 3 feet, I would say.

        Honestly, I like this thing. It also solves another minor annoyance about the iPad and MacBook bricks. Gravity. They have this great pin to line up the prongs. But the weight is always below this part, and gravity will cause stress on the plug and weaken the connection. This solves that by reorienting the brick.

      • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

        Yeah, but the plug sticks out more from the wall than this system.

      • Monty™© MCMLXXII - 8 years ago

        Facepalm!

  2. There goes the power adapters ability to fully cool itself.

    • Ya, I’ve heard the weeping and nashing of teeth all these years from people using the bundled extension cable whose power adapter now lays on the floor. “If only the other side could cool itself! Oh, the humanities!”

  3. Nathaniel Gori - 8 years ago

    Or you could buy a flat headed 3 prong extension cord and run it under the couch for half the price and use it for other things besides just your Macbook adapter. Most will likely be flatter than this and you can use the extension cable or the 2 prong plug

  4. PhilBoogie - 8 years ago

    I wish Apple would design the iPhone power adapter like this one, with ’rounded corners’. The current design has quite sharp edges.

  5. Alex Boster (@tilthouse) - 8 years ago

    Wonder if this fits the older Airport Express units. I have one that gives me AirPlay speakers in the kitchen that would benefit from this.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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