15 ms·

Personally, I am rather sad to see the Magsafe connector go, and having to sacrifice IO for charging while mobile seems like quite the headscratcher. It's some

• stormbrew 10y ago
  Eventually there should be type-c charge cables that also act as usb hubs (if there aren't already). This is part of the promise of unifying charging and data into one port.
  • mfisher87 10y ago
    I have a Dell XPS13 Developer Edition that came with such a hub (they call it a dock, but you don't dock to it, you plug it in to the charge port with a USB-C cable). It has DVI, USB, Ethernet, and charges the laptop. It's a nice concept but it does not work well under linux. Most times I plug in the dock, a random port will not work.
    • compuguy 10y ago
      That wouldn't be the TB15 dock? I have one and it has issues even on windows sometimes.
  • petemill 10y ago
    The new 5k monitor sold by Apple[1] has display, charge power (back to the Macbook) and a hub for 3 extra ports all off a single cable. [1] http://www.apple.com/shop/product/HKN62LL/A/lg-ultrafine-5k-display http://www.apple.com/shop/product/HKN62LL/A/lg-ultrafine-5k-...
    • stormbrew 10y ago
      Right, we are definitely seeing this happening already, but I meant specifically chargers for on the go. There's no really good reason they can't also be hubs. There just aren't a lot of them yet.
  • UnoriginalGuy 10y ago
    Apple already sells something like that: http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter?fnode=8b http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av... You can pass power through it and it adds USB-A and HDMI.
• ryanmonroe 10y ago
  >having to sacrifice IO for charging while mobile You're not sacrificing anything. The old MBP had two usb ports and the new one has 3 available while charging. The only thing that has changed is now you can use the charging port for IO when not charging. Framing this as a "sacrifice" doesn't make any sense. >make sure you carry the right USB-C cables, as your friend's might not work With the old Magsafe chargers, and for laptop chargers in general, it's the same deal. If you want to charge your laptop, you have to bring your charger. The fact that the charger is USB-C doesn't make the situation worse.
  • nkristoffersen 10y ago
    He said "sacrifice IO". The old MBP (which I am typing on) has two USB and two Thunderbolt ports. So a total of 4 IO while charging with the old MBP.
    • deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
    • quarterto 10y ago
      But the charging cable can still be used for IO, as demonstrated by that new LG display
      • nkristoffersen 10y ago
        Great catch! Seems obvious since Thunderbolt can be daisy-chained.
    • AlphaSite 10y ago
      This one has 4 USB/thunderbolt/Charing ports. They are all identical.
  • tnones 10y ago
    But the old MBP had two thunderbolts and an HDMI connector, on top of the two USB. You could plug in 3 displays, charge it and still have room for a mouse and a keyboard. Now it's always a trade-off, so on top of DVI/HDMI/DP dongles, you'll have to carry a USB hub.
• hackerboos 10y ago
  Bit of an eyesore but... https://griffintechnology.com/us/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-power-cable https://griffintechnology.com/us/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-po...
  • chx 10y ago
    Except... BreakSafe is rated up to 60 watts (20 volts @ 3 amps) but the new Apple MacBook Pro is 87W http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MNF82LL/A/87w-usb-c-power-adapter http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MNF82LL/A/87w-usb-c-power-....
    • hackerboos 10y ago
      Yes it is designed for the MacBook not the Pro.
      • josephg 10y ago
        This is a problem, but only for users of the 15" model. The 13" pro (both versions) will only draw 60 watts. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207256 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207256
    • r00fus 10y ago
      60W is fine unless you're pegging your CPU/GPU constantly.
      • vilhelm_s 10y ago
        But the charger will output 87W, the concern is whether it is safe to put that through this cable.
      • DSteinmann 10y ago
        For anyone reading this thread, using a 60W cabled for a >60W load is NOT FINE. Quote: "60W is fine unless you're pegging your CPU/GPU constantly." Translation: Your house will only burn down if your laptop goes into a busy loop.
• cstross 10y ago
  If you miss the safety aspect of MagSafe, Griffin Technology sell a USB-C charge cable for the 12" Macbook with a magsafe-like magnetic breakaway connector: https://griffintechnology.com/us/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-power-cable https://griffintechnology.com/us/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-po... It's not Thunderbolt 3 compatible yet but making a version that is would appear to be a no-brainer.
  • phamilton 10y ago
    Well... Anything that requires more than 3 pins (which is apparently all that power requires) is going to much harder to build. A 24 pin, magnetically aligned connector seems pretty difficult to me.
  • chx 10y ago
    As I noted in another comment, it's 60W rated while the new charger is 87W http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MNF82LL/A/87w-usb-c-power-adapter http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MNF82LL/A/87w-usb-c-power-.... Confusion indeed.
    • rangibaby 10y ago
      I don't think it matters. I charge my MBP using a smaller MBA charger and vice versa with no ill effects.
      • lowboy 10y ago
        It does matter that you're putting more current over the cable than it's designed for. Overloading conductors can be a melty, flamey time.
        • seanmcdirmid 10y ago
          I think it just charges slower, it doesn't magically pump 87 watts over the cable, just 60.
          • 10y ago
• DominikR 10y ago
  There's pretty interesting options that we didn't have before with Magsafe. You can connect a single USB-C port to a monitor that has a USB-C video in. This monitor will then charge your Macbook and on top of that if the monitor has a built in USB hub it will also do that. Or if your monitor doesn't support this then you can buy a dock/hub to which you connect your charger, monitors etc and the Mac with one cable. For me personally that's what I've been missing most since I switched from Lenovo to Macs a few years ago - a docking station. For me plugging in only a single cable is as good as that.
• userbinator 10y ago
  and having to sacrifice IO for charging while mobile seems like quite the headscratcher. I have an odd hypothesis about this --- the less time people spend charging/running from AC, which is inevitably going to happen when there is no separate power input that can be used easily, the more they'll be cycling the batteries, and the faster they'll wear out.
• Bluestrike2 10y ago
  It seems more likely that we're in the midst of the early days of a transition away from USB-A cables to USB-C for most uses. There are a lot of advantages, namely connector size, reversibility, full power delivery, the unification of ports with Thunderbolt 3 and DisplayPort, etc. Plus, it's designed to be future proof for some time. Maybe I've missed something, but is there a specific benefit to USB-A beyond the current ecosystem and common use? Not that I'm discounting that. I'm not a dongle fan by any stretch of the imagination, though small USB-C hubs can alleviate the use of multiple dongles somewhat. But I think that, as peripherals and other devices begin to switch over to USB-C, we'll eventually see dongle use become less and less common except for older peripherals and devices. And that's nothing new. Eventually, it'll go the way of the PS/2 port: included on motherboards, but not really used much (relatively speaking; the analogy breaks down a bit when you think of gamers and the mechanical keyboard community, where it still gets some use for n-key rollover). Transitions between interfaces, as a matter of principle, suck. But we wind up going along with them because there's benefit to do so. I'm curious how this will play out in five, or even ten, years. Not that I want those years to speed by to find out :).
  • agumonkey 10y ago
    Maybe there could be some kind of switch program. Exchange old cables for USB-C + adapters at amortized costs... Just wondering.
  • eru 10y ago
    n-key rollover is a bit sad: there's nothing preventing USB from offering more than 6-key rollover---it's just not in the basic standard.
    • tmzt 10y ago
      Razor or somebody could introduce a protocol using iso or interrupt or something and others could adopt it, the device would still support HID/bootp so it would retain compatibility. This would also offer better support for analog inputs or higher resolution mice.
  • CamperBob2 10y ago
• rhinoceraptor 10y ago
  The removable cable is a huge win, though. The magsafe cables are horrendously prone to fraying and cable jacket tears. My own Magsafe 2 cable's jacket inexplicably tore after a month of using it.
• jccalhoun 10y ago
  It has been like that for years. Look at this partial list https://dcs.rutgers.edu/dcs-faculty-resources/classroom-technology-blog/apple-adapter-cheat-sheet https://dcs.rutgers.edu/dcs-faculty-resources/classroom-tech... For every button apple removes they add at least one dongle.
• willtim 10y ago
  Magsafe was fundamentally flawed. It required a delicate thin and light power cable to work, which was subject to mechanical failure.
  • deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
• willtim 10y ago
  To the downvoters regarding my post about Magsafe being flawed. Here's a reference, the Magsafe adapter scores 1.5 stars and has mostly negative feedback : http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/reviews/MC556B/C/apple-85w-magsafe-power-adapter-for-15-and-17-inch-macbook-pro?page=3 http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/reviews/MC556B/C/apple-85w-mags...
• leonroy 10y ago
  Whilst the Magsafe port has saved my bacon when tripping on a power cord its second variant Magsafe 2 has proved to be a tremendous headache. On my 2015 Macbook Pro the port seems pretty finicky and requires fiddling with to get it to light up. The Magsafe connector on my Thunderbolt Display is even worse and a real lesson in patience. It's a Magsafe 1 port which requires a Magsafe 2 adapter - this thing is quite possibly the flakiest Apple hardware I've ever used - needing constant cleaning, fiddling with and blowing on. An absolute and utter piece of garbage - so yeah, I'm not going to miss Magsafe (version 2 at least). Although I suspect I might regret this statement the day I trip over my shiny Thunderbolt 3 cable...