4 ms·

This is a bit of a PR issue as well. I think most people don't know that when they pay more for a genuine charger, they are getting value for their money. I th

This is a bit of a PR issue as well. I think most people don't know that when they pay more for a genuine charger, they are getting value for their money. I think most people feel like Apple is ripping them off on replacement chargers. That's why many people will still buy chargers with an obvious flaw like a plastic ground pin. They just think it's not quite as nice as the metal version but still works fine (they probably don't know the pin is for grounding at all... or what grounding something even means). An irony is that people do trust they are getting value Apple's expensive primary product (iPhone, Laptop, iPad...)

heeen2 11y ago
The ground pin is not even used with the common two-prong adapter piece, though.
- robin_reala 11y ago
  You can attach any plug to any MacBook power supply though, which includes a bunch of earthed ones.
  - copperx 11y ago
    What do you mean? Isn't that plug proprietary? (It has a weird shape)
    - robin_reala 11y ago
      http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD837AM/A/apple-world-travel-adapter-kit http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD837AM/A/apple-world-trav... UK plug is earthed for one.
    - sokoloff 11y ago
      Adapters on the line side are readily available on Aliexpress around/under $1USD. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/EU-US-Plug-Converter-Power-Adapter-Charger-White-For-Apple-notebook-For-iPhone-Free-Shipping/32608556697.html http://www.aliexpress.com/item/EU-US-Plug-Converter-Power-Ad...
    - gambiting 11y ago
      Nope, if you've got a cable like this it will fit without any problem: http://image.ceneo.pl/data/products/13603422/i-hama-29167-00029167.jpg http://image.ceneo.pl/data/products/13603422/i-hama-29167-00...
joshvm 11y ago
The problem is that every time my Macbook charger (I'm on my third in seven years, soon to get number 4 as this one is dying) has failed, it's not been the charger itself, it's crappy strain relief and thin cables. I'm happy to pay $65 for a new charger block, but when it's just the cable that's failed, I'm not getting value for money. I bought a counterfeit charger once (on purpose) and gave up using it after it sparked while I was in bed. Having that protection circuitry is really useful when your whole laptop case is grounded. I mentioned in another post, but this is why I'm excited for USB-C power delivery. Finally companies can deliver the AC mains cable, the power brick and the charging cable as separate replaceable components.
- ChrisDutrow 11y ago
  I've seen the USB-C cables for sale and heard they are great, but don't know of any devices that use them yet. Do you know any devices that are using them yet?
  - f_allwein 11y ago
    The MacBook is: http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs/ http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs/
  - joshvm 11y ago
    Alongside the 12" Macbook, there are a few ultrabooks that use it, notably the Google Chromebook Pixel and the Dell XPS 13.
  - soylentcola 11y ago
    Nexus 5X and 6P for starters.
- krrrh 11y ago
  It helps a lot to make a practice of wrapping the cable in a way that reduces stress. Apologies if you already do this, but maybe it will help someone else. Image here[1]. [1] http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/de/95/72/de9572cfef6ea5a62b7586ef972f2e8b.jpg http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/de/95/72/de9572cfef6e...
gambiting 11y ago
Is it really for grounding? In most EU countries the apple charger ships with the Europlug[1], which doesn't even have a ground and the charger works absolutely fine. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europlug https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europlug
rasz_pl 11y ago
The thing is Apple IS ripping them off! "additional parts provide better power quality and improved safety in the real charger; this is part of the reason genuine chargers are significantly more expensive" is not really true, those additional parts add maybe $10 to the BOM. $80 for $20 worth of charger, $30 for $2 cable, you are being screwed on every single Apple branded accessory.
- ChrisDutrow 11y ago
  I was thinking they were like $40. $80 sounds a little steep. I see some non-Apple branded chargers on Amazon Prime for around $40. I wonder if those chargers have the high quality electronics in them since they are from companies that are trying to develop a good name for producing accessories? The Apple accessory that I feel is worth the money is their $30 ear buds. I use ear buds a lot. You can get decent ones for $15-$20, but I think the apple ones are worth $30.
PhasmaFelis 11y ago
> This is a bit of a PR issue as well. I think most people don't know that when they pay more for a genuine charger, they are getting value for their money. I think most people feel like Apple is ripping them off on replacement chargers. Apple is ripping us off. There's no way that a quality charger actually costs any significant fraction of $65. (Putting aside the lack of proper strain relief and generally shitty, failure-prone cable; MacBook chargers are practically guaranteed to need replacement at least once in the device's lifetime, in my experience.) Unfortunately, Apple's dodgy chargers are still better than anything else by leaps and bounds, so they remain the most economical choice despite being wildly overpriced. I feel like there's potentially a big market for decent quality third-party MacBook chargers at a decent price. It's a shame that nobody makes anything like that. > That's why many people will still buy chargers with an obvious flaw like a plastic ground pin. Somewhat unrelated, but what confuses me is: the US MacBook charger comes with a long three-prong cable and a short two-prong cable. Either the ground pin isn't necessary, and I'm being needlessly inconvenienced by not being able to use the long cable with two-prong outlets, or it is necessary and I'm being endangered by the two-prong. Either way I'm not sure why they'd do that.

heeen2 11y ago

The ground pin is not even used with the common two-prong adapter piece, though.

robin_reala 11y ago
You can attach any plug to any MacBook power supply though, which includes a bunch of earthed ones.
- copperx 11y ago
  What do you mean? Isn't that plug proprietary? (It has a weird shape)
  - robin_reala 11y ago
    http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD837AM/A/apple-world-travel-adapter-kit http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD837AM/A/apple-world-trav... UK plug is earthed for one.
  - sokoloff 11y ago
    Adapters on the line side are readily available on Aliexpress around/under $1USD. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/EU-US-Plug-Converter-Power-Adapter-Charger-White-For-Apple-notebook-For-iPhone-Free-Shipping/32608556697.html http://www.aliexpress.com/item/EU-US-Plug-Converter-Power-Ad...
  - gambiting 11y ago
    Nope, if you've got a cable like this it will fit without any problem: http://image.ceneo.pl/data/products/13603422/i-hama-29167-00029167.jpg http://image.ceneo.pl/data/products/13603422/i-hama-29167-00...

joshvm 11y ago

The problem is that every time my Macbook charger (I'm on my third in seven years, soon to get number 4 as this one is dying) has failed, it's not been the charger itself, it's crappy strain relief and thin cables. I'm happy to pay $65 for a new charger block, but when it's just the cable that's failed, I'm not getting value for money. I bought a counterfeit charger once (on purpose) and gave up using it after it sparked while I was in bed. Having that protection circuitry is really useful when your whole laptop case is grounded. I mentioned in another post, but this is why I'm excited for USB-C power delivery. Finally companies can deliver the AC mains cable, the power brick and the charging cable as separate replaceable components.

ChrisDutrow 11y ago
I've seen the USB-C cables for sale and heard they are great, but don't know of any devices that use them yet. Do you know any devices that are using them yet?
- f_allwein 11y ago
  The MacBook is: http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs/ http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs/
- joshvm 11y ago
  Alongside the 12" Macbook, there are a few ultrabooks that use it, notably the Google Chromebook Pixel and the Dell XPS 13.
- soylentcola 11y ago
  Nexus 5X and 6P for starters.
krrrh 11y ago
It helps a lot to make a practice of wrapping the cable in a way that reduces stress. Apologies if you already do this, but maybe it will help someone else. Image here[1]. [1] http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/de/95/72/de9572cfef6ea5a62b7586ef972f2e8b.jpg http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/de/95/72/de9572cfef6e...

gambiting 11y ago

Is it really for grounding? In most EU countries the apple charger ships with the Europlug[1], which doesn't even have a ground and the charger works absolutely fine. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europlug https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europlug

rasz_pl 11y ago

The thing is Apple IS ripping them off! "additional parts provide better power quality and improved safety in the real charger; this is part of the reason genuine chargers are significantly more expensive" is not really true, those additional parts add maybe $10 to the BOM. $80 for $20 worth of charger, $30 for $2 cable, you are being screwed on every single Apple branded accessory.

ChrisDutrow 11y ago
I was thinking they were like $40. $80 sounds a little steep. I see some non-Apple branded chargers on Amazon Prime for around $40. I wonder if those chargers have the high quality electronics in them since they are from companies that are trying to develop a good name for producing accessories? The Apple accessory that I feel is worth the money is their $30 ear buds. I use ear buds a lot. You can get decent ones for $15-$20, but I think the apple ones are worth $30.

PhasmaFelis 11y ago

> This is a bit of a PR issue as well. I think most people don't know that when they pay more for a genuine charger, they are getting value for their money. I think most people feel like Apple is ripping them off on replacement chargers. Apple is ripping us off. There's no way that a quality charger actually costs any significant fraction of $65. (Putting aside the lack of proper strain relief and generally shitty, failure-prone cable; MacBook chargers are practically guaranteed to need replacement at least once in the device's lifetime, in my experience.) Unfortunately, Apple's dodgy chargers are still better than anything else by leaps and bounds, so they remain the most economical choice despite being wildly overpriced. I feel like there's potentially a big market for decent quality third-party MacBook chargers at a decent price. It's a shame that nobody makes anything like that. > That's why many people will still buy chargers with an obvious flaw like a plastic ground pin. Somewhat unrelated, but what confuses me is: the US MacBook charger comes with a long three-prong cable and a short two-prong cable. Either the ground pin isn't necessary, and I'm being needlessly inconvenienced by not being able to use the long cable with two-prong outlets, or it is necessary and I'm being endangered by the two-prong. Either way I'm not sure why they'd do that.