When Apple unveiled the new 12-inch MacBook with just a single port (plus a headphone socket), it was doing not just one radical thing, but two. Reducing a machine to just one port was the first; dropping MagSafe was the second.
MagSafe has been one of the key features of MacBooks since it was first introduced by Apple in 2006. It is still highlighted on Apple’s website as one of the key design features of both the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.
MacBook Air offers innovations you won’t find anywhere else — like the MagSafe 2 power connector, which breaks cleanly away from the notebook if you accidentally trip over the power cord.
The magnetic power cord attaches securely and detaches cleanly.
It’s one of the features that even the most die-hard opponents of Macs tend to grudgingly admit is a good idea. And yet that (very) shiny new MacBook aimed at the largest slice of the MacBook Air market doesn’t have it. Is this a one-off move for a single model, or will we see USB C power replacing MagSafe across the entire MacBook range … ?
I argued before that there’s no risk of Apple heading down the single-port route in the MacBook Pro–at least, not for some years yet. We’re going to have multiple ports, the question is: which ones?
Getting at least one USB C port on the next-generation MacBook Pro is a no-brainer. It’s the latest, greatest standard. It’s incredibly flexible. And Apple has already backed the standard by putting it in the new MacBook. The next question, then, is how many?
The most radical approach would be for Apple to drop Thunderbolt, USB 3 and HDMI and simply replace them all with two or three USB C ports. Update: Thunderbolt can now be integrated with the USB-C port.
Less radical would be to retain one or more legacy ports while introducing a couple of USB C ports. Either way, it’s a certainly there will be at least one or two of them. Question three and perhaps most important: will one of them be used for power, replacing MagSafe?
I think so, yes. In taking that step with the 12-inch MacBook, Apple has demonstrated a willingness to move on from MagSafe. The company has never been afraid to leave legacy technology behind: it was one of the first companies to drop optical drives, Steve Jobs famously refused to allow Flash on iPads (a technology the rest of the world is starting to drop only now) and it was one of the first to switch from spinning metal disks to SSD.
Dropping MagSafe is a bigger deal, I know. It’s been a headline feature of MacBooks for almost a decade, and it’s a much-loved one. But Apple isn’t afraid to leave behind its own technology as well as technology borrowed from others.
FireWire was developed by Apple, and was enormously popular with AV professionals, many of whom still use it today. But Apple decided that Thunderbolt was the new FireWire, and dropped it. In the new MacBook, Apple has decided that USB C is not just the new Thunderbolt (a standard that never took off in quite the way that either Apple or Intel had hoped), it’s also the new MagSafe.
I think the decision is made: MagSafe is dead, long live USB C.
I have to admit, that thought makes me sad. I’m a huge fan of MagSafe. As I wrote before:
I love MagSafe. Not just because it has saved me from an expensive MacBook nose-dive on more than one occasion, but also because it’s so damn easy to use—none of the fiddling around with the power lead you get with lesser laptops. Just hold the connector somewhere near the right spot and it snaps into place.
MacWorld did some very impressive number-crunching on just how big a deal MagSafe is compared to USB C. It’s the kind of in-depth look at the issue that really appeals to the geek in me, and I thoroughly recommend it if the physics of laptop disasters is your kind of thing.
I’d hoped that Apple might introduce a MagSafe adapter for the USB C connector in the power supply, perhaps at the power brick end, but nope. MagSafe is gone.
But MacWorld‘s physics calculations aside, how big a deal would the loss of MagSafe be in the real world? Our own Seth Weintraub made a specific point about the new MacBook:
[tweet https://twitter.com/llsethj/status/575311204727582721]
And perhaps the MacBook Air is not long for this world, set to be replaced by the new MacBook once Apple can produce a model at a price that caters for entry-level buyers. But a MacBook Pro without MagSafe could potentially get expensive if a single incident of tripping over a power cable sees it come crashing to the floor.
There is, though, a counterargument to this: battery-life. Back in the days when a MacBook was good for 2-3 hours’ real-world battery-life, they spent a lot of their time plugged in while we were using them. These days, not so much. With 8-12 hours’ claimed life, and 5-6 hours of real-life use, I don’t even bother carrying my power brick when I’m out & about with my MacBook Air, and the same would be true if I were using the latest MacBook Pro instead of my 17-incher.
At home, the pattern seen with many users is to leave it plugged in out of the way (where the power lead can be safely routed so no-one trips over it), then unplug it in order to use it.
So really, the main time today’s MacBooks are actually being used while they are connected to power is while sat at our desk. And that’s another situation where we can route the power lead safely away from becoming a trip hazard.
In which case, perhaps MagSafe is yesterday’s solution to yesterday’s problem? And dropping it from future MacBooks is not, despite the physics, that big a deal?
As ever, take our poll and let us know your views in the comments.
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I think you nailed it at the very end there. Apple’s intended primary use for the MacBook is completely unplugged, just like with the iPad or iPhone. Plug it in when you need to charge it back up, then go wireless again.
If it were otherwise we’d be asking why iOS devices don’t use MagSafe.
This is probably true for the new Macbook, but I can’t see this the case of the MacBook Pros. You usually plug them in when you want to do some cpu intense work.
The removal of the MagSafe would be a step backward here.
Yes, like an iPad or iPhone, strolling away from MagSafe type connectors for chargers.
That’s why they have this convenient, magnetic charger for the Apple Watch…
iOS Devices actually do use MagSafe with the Lightning connector – it’s held in magnetically (at least I believe they stated this when they originally unveiled the Lightning connector)
No. They are held in with force from the gold pins inside the iPhone much like USB.
I believe magsafe was dropped from the new macbook because of limitation, the limitation of the device’s thinness and weight, the macbook is too light to even break the magsafe magnet.
I don’t think the magsafe is going to be discontinued in the macbook pro anytime soon.
Yes, I had the same thought. If my iPad had a MagSafe connector plugged into it and I tripped over the cable, the iPad would end up on the floor and the cable would probably still be plugged in. As MacBook* get lighter and lighter, the value of MagSafe diminishes considerably.
That does not make any sense. MagSafe break-off weight is in the magnitude of tens of grams.
You know there’s more than one kind of magnet..
Heres where I patent USB-C to magnet/magnet to charging cable for those who want my third party charging solution.
MagSafe is safer for both connectors, charger and the laptop than USB-C. If you trip in the cable while charging it will most likely broke one of the 3 things while MagSafe will just detach.
Great thoughts. I think MagSafe is an awesome feature but I agree maybe not needed anymore because of the batteries….although it is still nice even when unplugging from desk to just pull and go rather than fidgeting with unplugging.
Yep, there is a convenience to that, it’s true
That’s what I love about it personally. When in a rush I can just rip my MBP away from the magsafe and it comes off cleanly, no fidgeting with aligning force vector tangent to the face of the port. Plus, I’ve gotten so used to just being able to hold the magsafe connector near the port and it snap into place, which is especially useful when the lights are off or it’s dark in the room.
Maybe if the new USB-C power port was illuminated I’d be more okay with the transition, but I just love my magsafe connector too much to be fine with dropping it now. Won’t keep me from purchasing the new MBP (mine is an early 2011 with upgraded SSD and 16GB RAM, getting slower) but I’ll miss the magsafe.
Question in a headline? WEAK sauce. Yes, it matters.
New Macbook is pretty, but an entirely useless and overpriced POS. I hope they sell millions of them ever quarter. Go go AAPL.
I don’t get it. Why can’t Apple incorporate a MagSafe type connection 3″ after the USB-C connection? So that the cable splits apart if tripped on?
I think the biggest things here are the removal of MagSafe, which has saved me on countless occasions and Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt has also been a big selling feature for Apple and on top of that, what about all those Thunderbolt Apple Displays. USB Type C Macbooks can’t or at least for now be used with those displays since those have Magsafe power adapters, usb, networking etc. So will Apple sell another adapter.
I really don’t think Thunderbolt has been a “big selling feature.” I’m surprised it got so much advertising in the first place, since most people simply don’t need that much throughput. It *is* surprising that there’s no option for a Thunderbolt display; the smart bet is that Apple will release a USB-C Retina display sometime soon, maybe alongside a USB-C MacBook Pro. (I don’t think MacBook Pro will lose MagSafe in the process, though.)
Thunderbolt may not be a huge selling feature on the Macbook line, but they sure make a bigger deal on the displays page and mac pro. I do have to give Apple credit for trying new things like Firewire and Thunderbolt, but just wish those had caught on more / less preparatory. I’ve got a few generations of Apple displays which ranged from DVI, mini display port to thunderbolt all in which only work with certain generations of Mac’s.
I agree with Will. I think Apple has learned from the past when it comes to pushing minority tech for too long (e.g., FireWire). I suspect that they saw that adoption for Thunderbolt was not meeting their needs, and so they’ll probably switch horses.
USB-C in the new MacBook supports Displayport. Just buy the adapter that incorporates power and mini-displayport (same size and shape as thunderbolt connection), and you’re in business to connect to a thunderbolt display. If you’re not happy buying an adapter, don’t buy the new MacBook. It’s as simple as that. However, most people would just leave the adapter with the Thunderbolt display anyways, which sits at their desk at work or home and would just plug in to the MacBook when “docked” at the desk. It’s not really an issue.
Nope. DisplayPort doesn’t work with a Thunderbolt display. While Thunderbolt carries a DisplayPort signal, it is not sufficient for the monitor.
You really need a USB-C to Thunderbolt adapter.
Heres an idea: What if the MagSafe mechanism was placed on the adapter?
The problem is that MagSafe is patented, proprietary Apple technology.
They would have to donate it to the world if they attach it to USB C.
They could always license it… but either way if they are ditching the tech why not “donate it to the world”?
They don’t have to donate it if it’s not part of the standard. Maybe they will do something like that for the Pro models, but I think even for those tethered use in ad-hoc places is too rare to justify the complication/expense.
What if the MagSafe was two inches down the USB C cable, basically a split point in the cable?
I’m sure I’m not the first person to come up with the question, but…
How feasible is it (interference-wise) to combine USB-C with magnetic alignment/attachment?
I’d certainly love it if the newer USB connectors did not have to be physically inserted in a slot to function (i.e. they were kinda flush). That’d allow all kinds of portables to be even slimmer and more elegant.
At least, allow the newly-introduced connector to have a magnetically-attached breakage point somewhere along the way, so as to retain the benefits of MagSafe…
I would be shocked if Apple didnt create a magnet breakaway point but time will tell.
I agree that the macbook’s approach is disconnected mode, but personally, I see that magsafe as a very cool iconic feature of Apple. I’m sad to see it go… and hope the macbook pro doesn’t lose it.
I don’t understand why nobody is talking about the removal of the apple logo on the new macbook. Normally the logo used to be lit and it would make the macbook recognisable from a great distance. I know it is just a design issue but i believe a lot of people liked how the logo looked before. The new macbook just doesn’t stand out like the Air or the Pro. Maybe it’s just me but i felt the need to point out this issue.
Well, it would be impossible with this machine, so I think people aren’t talking about it because it simply can’ the done with this laptop.
I’m thinking it might be time for the glowing Apple logo to be retired. When it was first used, it was considered a very “subtle” thing as opposed to the over-the-top branding, logos, and stickers on a Windows laptop. Today, on the other hand, it stands out as one of the more brash, “in your face” brandings there are.
Maybe it’s time to get with the times and tone it down a bit anyway. One glowy logo in a classroom full of laptops looked cool. An entire classroom of laptops with the same glowy logo on the other hand, just looks gauche and crude.
I bet the MagSafe wasn’t exactly cheap to manufacture compared to a usb type-c cable (Gotta pay for that new office campus)
magsafe was a good idea in 2006, when the battery used to last only half a day, now you plug your mac before sleep and it’s all right for the next day, glad it was removed for a more versatile port on such a small machine!
My iPhone fell off a table so many times because of the lack of a magsafe connector. Reversible is great but then again mafsafe IS reversible. I hope Apple works with the universal standards to achive a magsafe like USB-C connector as the next standard, both for Macs and iOS devices.
So Apple chose to have your laptop flying off the table and onto the tile floor to save space.
Losing MagSafe was a bad decision. It will result in many tears! The “longer battery life” argument is absurd as this laptop has a shorter battery life than their other models. Plus, people forget to charge routinely so they will lose MagSafe protection. In my own case I keep laptops about 5 years (though a couple were destroyed by cable trips), and it ages the battery life falls off significantly. Apple should immediately fix this by putting MagSafe onto an accessory connector!.
1) The new MacBook Air is definitely thick enough to have a Magsafe, but they chose to leave it out.
2) Magsafe is patented, proprietary Apple technology
3) USB C could easily handle PCI as well someday soon
4) Apple often contributes to standards.
An obvious route therefore is for Apple to give up it’s exclusivity somewhere down the road and *donate* the Magsafe idea to a future USB C plug standard that also supports PCI. THAT plug would easily “rule them all” and bring back Magsafe at the same time.
Think about it. Apple could care less if you trip over your charging cord. They want you to drop your $1000 plus device. More money in Apple’s pockets.
Imagine a yanked cord damaging the sole socket on the new MacBook. From the looks of it it’ll require a motherboard replacement.
Between lobotomizing the Mac Minis, the prevalence of soldered RAM, the lack of a single expansion slot anywhere in the product line and now a model that will generate more hub and dongle sales than any other computer in history, Apple is showing very clearly that it cares nothing for its customers and is in desperate need of new management.
This obsession with minimalism is going to extend to users switching platforms.
Yah, they’ll switch platforms, and switch back in a heartbeat once they come to the realisation that, once again, Apple is way ahead of the curve in anticipating future trends and user needs that have not quite become apparent to them… yet.
Wired is on its way out, for both connectivity and power transmission: the advances in inductive charging, Bluetooth LE, Wi-Fi, 5G Cellular, AirPlay, AirDrop, FaceTime Video etc are slowly ushering new connectivity methods for peripherals like monitors, storage and input devices.
It’s early days yet, but the signs are there: the times, they are a-changing, as Robert Zimmerman would croon in that timeless country brogue of his…
Apple has problems getting wireless syncing to work. I want ports and cables.
NO, The motherboard is in the middle rear of the laptop and it does not contact either the right or the left side. There must be a cable connect. You could damage the socket or the connection to the cable but not the motherboard itself.
Well that’s good, but you’re still stuck without any power or I/O (other than wireless) until it’s fixed.
I have never owned a laptop from any maker that didn’t have the power point on the laptop break until I bought a Mac with a MagSafe. For Apple to abandon its MagSafe, which IMO is a top 5 feature of its laptops would make me rethink buying another from Apple in the future.
With that said I think the new MacBook is an iPad with an attached keyboard. The people using this machine are likely going to need any thing other than it to be charged with the USB-C port.
Did we really need this new Macbook? I can’t say I ever heard even one person say “wow, the MacbookAir is just too thick and heavy, we need something even thinner and lighter, with fewer ports.”
Of course, before the iPhone no one would ever have said “I’ll give up my physical keyboard on the smartphone for more display”.
Use one for a week and tell me you’ll go back to your MBPr 13″ or MB Air.
I think the port issue is overblown – I use my MBPr 15″ all the time without anything physically attached to it – it lasts for 5+ hours on a battery even with memory/battery hogs like Eclipse running.
Note: don’t use Chrome on OSX if you want battery life – for some reason it just spins the processor.
I haven’t wanted fewer ports, but shaving off a pound is awesome. When I switched from a MBP to my 13″ MBA (in 2010), I really appreciated the difference in my shoulder (about 1 1/2 lbs at the time, I believe), but my purse still could use some lightening.
I love magsafe because I plug and unplug it frequently and it’s quick, easy and reliable. Even with reversible usb-c it’s harder to get things plugged in and more prone to wear and tear.
Usb-c is what USB 3 should have been from the start, but it still don’t feel it’s a replacement for thunderbolt. Put simply, how many 4k monitors can I connect to a MB12? Zero, maximum output is one 3840×2160. Even full USB 3.1 isn’t going to have the bandwidth for multiple monitors, let alone multiple monitors + other peripherals. Not to mention I have yet to find a reliable USB 3 hub, they all cause issues with HDDs, wireless keyboard dongles, etc…
Amen on reliable USB 3 hubs!! I’ve been looking for a reliable one for almost 3 years!
Well actually you’ll only be able to connect the Retina MacBook to a HDMI display with a max resolution of 1920p.
After you buy a 70$ USB3.1 to HDMI adapter. It’s utter BS and the reason is the meager 5GB throughout in the USB C port.
(They recently renamed USB 3.0 and 3.1… The former USB 3.0 is now USB 3.1 gen.1 and the old 3.1 is now USB 3.1 gen 2. Guess which one the Retina MacBook comes with…)
You lose a lot of processing power/ or battery time when not plugged in…
As much as I love MagSafe, I think it’s gone too. Maybe the USB-C cable will pop out of a heavier laptop without much difficulty, hard to say right now.
As for the MacBook Pro, I think it’s safe to safe the MagSafe is axed in the next revision and replaced with a USB-C port. My guesses would be, 2x USB-C, 2x Thunderbolt, 1x USB 3, 1x Headphone and 1x HDMI.
How would you know which USB-C port to plug into? Wouldn’t it be needlessly complex (internally) to have 2 such ports handling power management from either?
If it only accepts power from one, it needs to be obvious to the user.
I wonder how the Chromebook Pixel handles this as it has 2 USB-C ports ?
Cleverly, the Pixel has a USB-C port on either side, useful for those situations when your power outlet is in an awkward place.
There’s zero reason to believe what we see in one Apple device means it’ll become common to all. In fact, Apple has always maintained the position that each thing should have what it needs to work best for what it is – in other words, the new ultra portable MacBook is meant to be used unplugged because it’s, well, ultraportable. The MacBook Pro is a different machine for different use cases and maybe different people and will be used often plugged in. So MacBook doesn’t need Magsafe, MacBook Pro benefits from it.
In agreement with some of the other comments here, I also believe that Apple did not include MagSafe on the new MacBook due to the following reasons:
1) Space conservation – A MagSafe port would not be cross compatible with a USB-C/{Other connector} port.
2) All-day battery life – The MacBook is designed with portability in mind and doesn’t require constant charging either throughout the day or for more CPU-intensive tasks. You’re not going to be playing Crisis on this thing.
3) Cannot infer a corollary for the MacBook Pro – The MacBook Pro line has space for more ports and has the potential to burn power quicker as its use-case falls more so under intensity. And the MagSafe safety action wouldn’t pull the laptop off the table. I think it’s safe to assume that MagSafe will survive on the MacBook Pro lineup.
It’s been a while since my EE days, but I wonder if the magsafe “contact” is good enough for the kind of high-frequency signaling that goes on in USB 3.x? For DC power, there is little issue, but maybe there were technological considerations (signal reflection and the like?) that made a “soft contact” approach impractical at this time?
Would think battery would serve as adequate buffer. Believe Apple made decision on no MagSafe and only a 480 res camera to improve profit margin. The former is big mistake IMO.
Ben, I love your posts. Well thought out, all things considered. Here’s my wish: let’s push forward rather than pull forward. Drop all ports on all MacBooks, and leave only one USB C, BUT create a power brick or three with various ports on it. Since you now sell the power brick separately to the cable, this makes a lot of sense. And so you move people away fro legacy into the cloud without too much fuss.
Now, if their mobile devices also used USB C, that could mean one cable and two power bricks – that would be awesome. Goodbye Lightning, hello industry standard?
Thanks, Unis, I appreciate it. I was surprised to see no USB port on the power brick, seemed to me that was all the typical buyer of this machine would need and it would have been an easy and neat way to do it.
Well now that I think about it. I remembered how many times MagSafe has saved my MBP from flying across space and time. So no MagSafe, means no sale for now.
Don’t get Seth’s “The new MacBook is so light that MagSafe would just pull it off the table when a cord was tripped on – so there was no point”.
If the MB is too light, just reduce the strength of the magnets. Voilà.
MagSafe will be replaced by inductive charging.
Inductive charging is less efficient and would require a nonmetallic window in the case. It will also add weight, thickness, complexity and cost to the computer.
I think the weight/thickness argument is probably a nonproblem (the Apple Watch is thinner than the new MacBook). But yes, it’s quite inefficient and there is a _lot_ more power needed.
I believe the MagSafe was dropped because they only wanted one connector and USB-C transports data so it needs a constant firm connection for data integrity. If you are just charging a battery a connection held in place by mere magnets is fine, even if vibration or movement makes the connection slightly intermittent. For fast data transfer a noise free joining is required.
The real beauty of MagSafe is not the safety from cord tripping, but the way it plugs itself in when you just bring it close. Great in low light situations. I wish I could plug my iPhone 6 in as easily in the dark. I, for one, will miss it.
Think I saw a campaign on Kickstarter for a small accessory to add MagSafe-like capabilities to a lightning port. I don’t know what ever became of it.
My rMBP sits on the coffee table in the middle of my living room when not in use! the power cable trails across the floor to the wall socket when it’s charging! I’ve tripped over the cable in the dark on at least two occasions in the last 6 months, So losing MagSafe IS a big deal for me and those like me. Here’s hoping it’s because the ultra-portables are now so compact there’s an issue with space if fitting extra ports, and the heavy duty Macs with plenty of room for a few more connectors, will retain MagSafe! I mean… I don’t think you could even fit 1 extra USB-C port on the new MacBooks with the headphone socket located where it is.
And I honestly think Thunderbolt will remain on future Pro’s for the same reason and also because I don’t think Apple has the temerity to abandon its core “Professional” user base so soon after selling Thunderbolt as the way to connect high-end monitors, servers, etc.
You have no idea how many times my MacBook Air would have fallen if it wasn’t for magsafe.
Now this choice sucks!
The problem will be solved when Apple will implement the inducting charging in MacBooks too. Same goes for iPhone.
Inductive charging doesn’t work through metal cases, so if Apple goes in that direction say hello to plastic cases.
Well they could make a little part of the case in plastic. It doesn’t need to be all plastic, right?
>
The smaller the “window” the smaller the current available and the longer the charging time. Apple could always switch to a nonconductive material, glass, ceramic G10, or even a high tech plastic. Remember not all plastics are created equal – Glass filled nylon, (I have an 8 year old pocket knife wit that as a handle material and it is scratch-free, stiff as hell and still looks new), Kevlar and Glock pistols are made of plastic and there is always carbon fiber.
Also realize that inductive coupling has some big disadvantages: If you pick up the phone for any reason it stops charging, external power sources like batteries, car chargers and solar cells become more complex, less efficient and more difficult to use and the inductive coupling circuitry used in the phone will add cost, complexity, thickness and weight.
I don’t know why so many people are acting like Thunderbolt is dead. Thunderbolt 3.0 is ready for launch alongside Skylake chips from Intel later this year. It’ll be a smaller connector, 40gbps throughput and charge at 100W.
It’s dead, Jim. Unless Intel/Apple drastically reduce the costs of the cabling, the throughput will put it into the professional range, and outside even the prosumer pricing.
A bit disappointed, really – I was hoping to see more interesting solutions, but now I’m banking on USB-C as a way to get a unified docking port for my future Macs.
Not just the cabling but all the associated circuitry.
Well I certainly don’t hope you’re planning to get this model MacBook, because with USB-C as a unified docking port, you’ll be stuck with 5GB throughput and max out the display out at 1920p.
Even the old Thunderbolt is twice as fast as the USB C they put in the MacBook, because Apple chose to use the slow version of USB 3.1.
(The one that used to be called 3.0. The real 3.1 got renamed to 3.1 Gen 2.)
Magsafe is very very alive. If anything, the Macbook has to prove itself, and its one true port, Magsafe already has.
A very nice point in the end. Yes, with that long-hours baterry life, using magsafe or not, is not really a problem for us. But still, for me magsafe is like a signature of apple.
What’s next after USB-C? We’ve already seen near field communication and wireless charging. I think that this is a transition phase to truly cordless operation. I’m not very concerned about the death of this good technology because a future laptop will unlikely have any ports whatsoever. We will be able to charge, play media, connect data, listen and speak with our computers from the swimming pool. No ports means they could even be waterproof. I’m not talking 2030, likely before 2020, maybe 2017.
Magsafe, specially MagSafe 2 is AWFUL – constantly popping out – specially on my lap or in bed. The faster they kill it the better.
Let’s see… A discharged battery or a broken laptop? Tough choice. ;-)
I just wanted to let you know that I started a petition to let Apple know that we love the MagSafe adapter, and would like it to be on our next MacBook.
The petition can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/apple-don-t-give-up-on-magsafe-we-love-it-on-our-macbooks
Thank you!
MagSafe has been saving my MBA & MB for years…
A simple USB-C to Magsafe device can help. If you agree make it happen by voting https://www.quirky.com/invent/1642952/action/vote/query/view=trending
Personally I love the MagSafe I have a 3 year old and he has tripped over my charger a time or two. That could have been bad news for anything else.
MagSafe is still relevant, despite 12 hour batterylife Ben… Sure, your MacBook may not need to be plugged into an outlet while you’re out (or at home) but it’s a good idea to keep it plugged in anyways. Why? Performance.
Only when it is plugged in to a socket, does a MacBook ignore all the powersaving throttling-gimmickry, and let the CPU and GPU run as fast as they can.
The Retina MacBook is going to take forever to charge though, I wish they put in a MagSafe port, just so it wouldn’t have to sip power through a USB port that maxes out at 5W…
I think Jason Tweed and Das Dad said it all. But I still feel like writing more useless text for nobody to read! :P
I sure hope magsafe isn’t dropped. All you say makes sense, and maybe it is a need from the past, not so much more nowadays. But we still have RJ-45 on macbook pro and that’s something even the majority of pro users don’t need. And how hard would it really be to improve on magsafe to make it work for lighter bodies than just kill it? How hard is it to keep it there even in this macbook?
Apple is moved by 3 things: profits, being bold and profit. If this new macbook sales don’t go as well as expected and they can narrow it down to magsafe issues, it will not be dead. And if they can make the technology work for light body, they sure will keeping doing it just for being bold, different and “ahead of time”.
There’s also the possibility they’re developing some wireless charging behind the curtains, which would make all points in favor of magsafe completely null.
As Jason said, we are moving away from ports needs indeed, but battery and energy technology is still a bit far from being full wireless. At least for longer than a few hours, as they need to be. I do agree USB E will probably be some kind of bluetooth.
the MAgSafe connector on my MacBook Pro has saved and continues to save it from being yanked to the floor AND SEVERELY DAMAGED on a DAILHY BASIS! HUGE mistake to get rid of it!!!!!!
If apple wanted they could have reduced the size of the mag safe or find a way to make it lighter. Magsafe is one of the reasons i have a macbook. Magsafe has saved my laptop from dropping so many times. Looks like apple just wants to move on now so will i.
I have a macbook pro retina and it’s never given me more than 2 or 3 hours max of battery life unplugged and I don’t do very cpu heavy tasks (though I do have multiple tabs open at any given time). I’m also disabled so mostly use my LAP top which is obviously essentially what a ‘macbook’ is, on my lap, or small table by an armchair/wheelchair, therefor my cable trails all over the place. I also have a dog, 4 cats and children, if I didn’t have a MagSafe my days of using macbooks would be over, as I could never afford the repairs/replacements that would have occurred during my time of use if it were not for the the quick disconnect the horribly fragile, easily fraying crappy cabled but wonderfully practical MagSafe has provided me with over the years.
Is there any possibility that Apple are making steps towards inductive charging for their laptop range?
I’m glad magsafe is going away. I hated missing the opportunity to buy new power cord accessories and replacing computers each time they *would* have dropped. I think shareholder value should also be more respected. After all, you socialists wouldn’t have your “look at me, i’m better than you” apple computers if it wasn’t for shareholders. Hippies can’t make their own products happen.
Apple changes their adapter connections every three to four years to gauge their customers. $79.00 for an adapter is ridiculous. Now you will have to have an adapter for every type of device that you want to connect to. That will mean at least 5 adapters or a usb c hub. Isn’t this defeating the point of a compact system. Now you will have to carry these unsightly bulky adapters every where you go. The Apple dongles are already the punchline of every corporate joke. We invested a lot of money in the the Thunderbolt drives, monitors and adapters. We are not happy that our 10 GB transfers are now instantly limited to 5 GB because of USB C transfer speeds. Mac users already pay premium prices. Now they are going to force Mac users to spend about $400 more on adapters, that we have to lug around. The only winner here is Mac, until people switch to windows 10. Mac doesn’t learn! Stunts like this make people switch platforms. 1998 Deja Vu.
MagSafe2 and Thunderbolt are not going anywhere soon, they are both just too big to fit on the ultra-slim profile of the new MacBook.
USB-C isn’t enough bandwidth to run a high-resolution display at 60hz. The apple USB-C A/V adaptor can only drive a UHD display at 30hz, yuck. (Thunderbolt is 10Gb/s, and TB2 is 20Gb/s. USB-C is 5Gb/s, hopefully moving to 10Gb/s in the future.)
MagSafe2 is less certain. USB-C can deliver 100w of power, and today’s MagSafe2 adaptors are 85w, so they could be replaced. However, MagSafe2 is just much nicer. In a world where space isn’t such a premium, I find it hard to believe Apple will drop MagSafe2 for USB-C on something like the MacBook Pro.
I hope not. This MagSafe has saved my $3000+ Late-2013 MacBook Pro Retina so many times it’s crazy.
Problem is, batteries have a limited number of charging cycles. As most of the time I am on a desk, I prefer to work always plugged, as I am already plugged to a larger display, so I can also make my battery last longer.
Let’s not forget that there’s a definite environmental impact from battery replacement, and thus we should try to minimize battery replacement.
Magsafe has been one of the primary features why I consider getting an apple laptop. I use it everyday and it amazes me every time I snap that thing together. It’s effortless! You don’t need to put extra effort to ensure the port fits into the right spot, it just does it all by itself.
It is a feature that works great and should be kept; I always go by “don’t break what’s not broken”. I would be very sad to see this feature go if they decide to remove it in future iterations of macbook pro/air line.
In fact, for those who are concerned about the new Macbook being too thin to have much effect, I think Apple can consider using a weaker magnet to achieve the same effect. Perhaps, modifying USB-C connector to have the magnet capability would make it much more attractive.
As I’ve fallen deeper in love with my 2014 Macbook Air each day, I think I will most likely get a new Macbook Air for its replacement when the time comes. And if it’s the only laptop that still has a magsafe connector, it’ll definitely be the reason I’d choose that over the new Macbook.
On a side note, the macbook air right now is perfect for what it does. I could care less about it getting thinner or that it has butterfly switches. All it really needs is a retina display and a more compelling battery to support that 12 hour battery life on the retina display and you’ve got me lining up for the next Air.
Just today I tripped over the power cable to my Macbook and it safely detached from where it was perched. Might have ended up on the floor if not for MagSafe.
The two technologies are apples and oranges in my eyes. Afaik USB-3 is designed to deliver data and power, MagSafe is a technology that is used to deliver power while also providing an intelligent solution for connection ports wearing out.
Plugging something in and out wears it out. Apple has shown by way of its IPad, IPhone connectors that it is not immune to this…. though I have not personally seen USB3 in action or measured its durability and would be interested in the reports.
I’ve said goodbye to a few laptops ( and one iPod ) because of worn out a/c power connectors. Its one of the reasons I would put so much cash into a device, I don’t want that device to have weak points.
I’ll be looking for the current lineup of Macbook Pro and I will never buy a new one if it doesn’t have Magsafe.
It seems to me that a good solution to this problem has to do with the power cable, not the power connector. If the device is being charged through a USB-C connector, then that connector is probably not going to be used for anything else. So, there’s no reason I can see why USB-C cable that integrates a magsafe-style safety release such as the Griffin BreakSafe wouldn’t retain the safety attributes of the current magsafe connector, while also allowing the same connector to be used for other purposes when the device is not plugged into power. Hopefully, Apple will move in this direction. In a sense, putting the safety release in the cable rather than the connector is a better idea anyway.
No value in magsafe. I use macbook and thinkpad everyday. Magsafe is just pure annoyance, falling off at slightest disturbance. It’s sheer pain to keep putting it back on the macbook, where as thinkpad with old fashioned round plug is just insert and forget. In the 20+ years I have used laptop for work, I have never tripped over a power cord that made laptop go crashing to the floor, and it’s good riddance to the magsafe, a useless feature!