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Apple may choose form over function, but the power adaptors are a good example of how they still spent more time thinking of function than any competitor. For
by IAmEveryone 7y ago
Apple may choose form over function, but the power adaptors are a good example of how they still spent more time thinking of function than any competitor.
For the typical "elongated black box" notebook charger, a cumulative sum of exactly zero effort was spent on improving it in either form or function. Meanwhile, Apple had MagSafe (which is nothing but function), the extendable prongs to wrap the cable, or the little clip to fix the cable into place. Both Apple and non-Apple adaptors usually have detachable cables, but for the non-Apple variety it's only purpose was to streamline internal processes to provide country-specific plugs, whereas Apple used the opportunity to allow the adaptor to be used with a long cable or a cable-less plug.
Their adaptors are also smaller and lighter, both Watt-for-Watt and even more so considering competitors often choose overpowered adaptors because they happen to be cheap to procure or they already use it and want to keep their inventory simple. And if you search, you'll find that semi-famous deep dive examine the inside of one of their adaptors, and how they are spending at least twice as much on components to safely isolate the high- and low-voltage sides and provide constant quality at any level of power draw.
But yeah, the cable fraying sucks.
- riffraff 7y agoThe first generations of magsafe adapters did not have stress relief at all, because form over function was still in full swing. Every charger had the cable completely break apart at the connection to the brick, because stress relief ruined the pretty minimalist design. To say it's nothing but function means denying the evidence.
- al2o3cr 7y agoEvery charger had the cable completely break apart at the connection to the brick, because stress relief ruined the pretty minimalist design. I had one of these. Mine didn't break. A lot of them broke, to be sure - but that's because the users don't understand that a multiwire cable isn't a shoelace and shouldn't have knots and zero-radius bends inflicted on it.
- rectang 7y agoI've always been careful with my magsafe chargers, and I'm a former recording studio engineer so I'm not a newbie about cables and strain relief. However, using my laptop on my lap provided too much exercise. The insulation on every magsafe I've ever owned has failed eventually. These things were spec'd to go on table tops and then never move. It's a crying shame because otherwise magsafe was a really elegant design.
- catalogia 7y agoYou don't have to be careful with laptop charging cables from any other manufacturer. This is not a problem intrinsic to multiwire cables. It's a problem limited to cables from this particular manufacturer. You could strangle an elephant with a charging cable from Dell or Lenovo and the cable would be none the worse for wear.
- riffraff 7y agothe problem is not just when you wrap it, is that if you move the cable in any way (say, move your laptop around, trip on the cable, etc), it will bend in that spot. If you tie up your cable in the loop-up-then-down-then-sidewise it will improve things, but then you will put it in your bag and it will bend at that spot anyway as soon as some pressure is applied on the up-loop. This is why every manufacturer uses strain relief, including apple now. Saying "users are using the product the wrong way!" is the epitome of form over function.
- asdff 7y agoI'm convinced the heating of the brick is a contributing factor to the cable 'sliding out' near the brick. I treat my charging cables like they are made of spiderwebs and I'm on my third magsafe.
- catalogia 7y agoI try to keep the brick laying flat on my tile floor for this reason. The tile surface is a reasonably effective and convenient heat sink; moreso than a carpet floor or wood table anyway. I wish they'd just make these things properly.
- carlob 7y agoAll you say was kinda true for the magsafe ones, I recently saw the adapter that comes with a new macbook air: - no little clip anymore - no long cable anymore - not the smallest Watt-for-Watt anymore (the new GaN ones are smaller) - and of course: no magsafe anymore... But I'm sure that three years from now they will have the "courage" to go back to their older superior design.
- MultusSalus 7y agoThey’ve managed that courage for their keyboards now.
- mopsi 7y agoAll Magsafe chargers I've seen fell apart in a few years time. Even chargers that were used only on a desk and saw no stress had their cable expand a little near the connector (enough for the small clip got stuck), then turned yellow, then yellow-green and sticky, finally becoming brittle and just eroding away. I have never experienced anything like this with other brands nor with no-name brick chargers. Even Chinese knock-off replacement cables for Magsafe chargers didn't fail like that.
- abtinf 7y agoCables turning yellow and sticky is a uniquely Apple experience. I have boxes of cables accumulated over decades. Every other brand of cable is basically in the same condition it was when it went into storage. But Apple cables are fucking disgusting (there is simply no other way to say it). Why are they so sticky? Why are they so yellow? Every Apple cable seems to be affected--headphones, power supplies,and dongles. My guess is it has something to do with the "soft" touch finish and the white coloring.
- derefr 7y agoIIRC the thing that makes BPA plastic yellow over time is the gradual oxidation of a fire-retardant chemical added to it. You can reverse this process with bleach+UV light, reducing the chemical back to its non-oxidized form (sort of like how you can use activated charcoal to absorb moisture from the air, and then bake it to re-activate it.) If your 30yo white plastic isn't yellow, that's because the manufacturer skimped on the fire-retardant and it's likely highly flammable. No idea about why some plastics get sticky, though. I'd imagine it's the plastic's polymer literally breaking down, but it might also be some additive "sweating" out. Maybe it's the very same fire-retardant chemical. (Old yellowing hard plastics don't get sticky, but they don't tend to have plasticizers in them, so they need far less flame-retardant.)
- catalogia 7y agoSomebody told me a while back that Apple cables self-destruct when other cables don't because a while back Green Peace talked Apple into no longer using PVC for their cables. The replacement plastic is presumably better for the environment but is less durable (possibly negating any environmental benefits by increasing the amount of e-waste produced?) I don't know how much truth there is to this theory though. It doesn't seem to explain the poor strain relief.
- cronix 7y agoThey might be lighter, but I consider not having a cord in between the heavy transformer and the wall plug to be a design flaw. Unless you have receptacles with vicegrip like prongs, like they are when they brand new, the transformers tend to unplug themselves over time due to their weight and gravity. Edit: Oh, and whatever they put in that white rubber seems to really attract cats. Not sure what it is, but it's the only cables in my house that the cats like to chew on. Friends/family have experienced the same.
- applecrazy 7y agoI’m pretty sure MacBooks come with a cable that extend its range. The official name for is a “power adapter extension cable.”
- saagarjha 7y agoNew ones do not include this cable in the box anymore.