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I don't understand why the geniuses at Apple haven't seen the obvious flaws in our American/European/Asian/etc wall plugs and sockets and created Apple branded

I don't understand why the geniuses at Apple haven't seen the obvious flaws in our American/European/Asian/etc wall plugs and sockets and created Apple branded proprietary wall plugs and sockets that are totally incompatible with all current American/European/Asian/etc. plugs and sockets. Apple products would all use the proprietary plugs, while 'obsolete' devices with standard plugs would require a $40-100 Apple adapter. The Apple home isn't truly going to be an Apple Home until you can't plug a non-Apple device into a wall socket without forking over money to Apple for an unnecessary adapter.

Scooty 9y ago
It's easier to just change the plug on the other end of the power cables every release.
- stouset 9y ago
  This criticism rings extremely hollow. The 30-pin connector lasted from the third-gen iPod (2003) through the iPhone 5 (2012), or around nine years. Lightning has remained the connector of choice since then for the past six years. MagSafe debuted in 2006, was improved to MagSafe 2 in 2012, and is being phased out for USB-C (which is terrible, but I digress) in 2018. One change in fifteen years for their handheld product lineup and two changes in twelve years for their laptop lineup seems pretty reasonable.
wichert 9y ago
Asian outlets are amazingly versatile: they happily take both European and US plugs. It's a real pleasure not having to bring converter plugs with you. I am still wondering why airports all over the world have not adopted them.
- danielbarla 9y ago
  That sounds great. Though, how is the voltage difference handled?
  - _s 9y ago
    Most power adapters for electronic devices will take any AC input from 100-240v and transform accordingly to the device (which cares more about DC), but definitely check before plugging it in. The Americas and Japan are 100-127v, and the rest of the world is 220-240v with a few discrepancies here and there. They also range from 50hz-60hz AC, so some devices that rely on the frequency for time may slow or speed up depending on what region they were made and where they are used.

Scooty 9y ago

It's easier to just change the plug on the other end of the power cables every release.

stouset 9y ago
This criticism rings extremely hollow. The 30-pin connector lasted from the third-gen iPod (2003) through the iPhone 5 (2012), or around nine years. Lightning has remained the connector of choice since then for the past six years. MagSafe debuted in 2006, was improved to MagSafe 2 in 2012, and is being phased out for USB-C (which is terrible, but I digress) in 2018. One change in fifteen years for their handheld product lineup and two changes in twelve years for their laptop lineup seems pretty reasonable.

wichert 9y ago

Asian outlets are amazingly versatile: they happily take both European and US plugs. It's a real pleasure not having to bring converter plugs with you. I am still wondering why airports all over the world have not adopted them.

danielbarla 9y ago
That sounds great. Though, how is the voltage difference handled?
- _s 9y ago
  Most power adapters for electronic devices will take any AC input from 100-240v and transform accordingly to the device (which cares more about DC), but definitely check before plugging it in. The Americas and Japan are 100-127v, and the rest of the world is 220-240v with a few discrepancies here and there. They also range from 50hz-60hz AC, so some devices that rely on the frequency for time may slow or speed up depending on what region they were made and where they are used.