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Sometimes I wonder if folks use rose colored glasses when thinking about MagSafe. I don't miss MagSafe and I enjoy the interchangeability of chargers. I could

Sometimes I wonder if folks use rose colored glasses when thinking about MagSafe. I don't miss MagSafe and I enjoy the interchangeability of chargers. I could not keep my 13" MacBook plugged in while using it on my lap. The MagSafe cord repeatedly fell off when my leg, or a pillow bumped into it. My MacBook MagSafe port had black marks on it from arcing. At least three times I couldn't get it to charge because a metal fragment (once a folded paper staple) became magnetically stuck to the receiving side. On one of those occasions I couldn't fix it till I got home and grabbed some tweezers. It was a smart solution, but IMO to a tripping problem that wasn't widespread.

1123581321 5y ago
I know what you mean, although I thought the disconnection ease was calibrated correctly. The good thing is the modern battery life means an accidental disconnection is less of a problem.
antifa 5y ago
> The MagSafe cord repeatedly fell off when my leg, or a pillow bumped into it. This sounds better than having your laptop's power connector internally damaged rendering your laptop unchargable just because your charging outlet was on the wrong side or your dog wanted to step on the cable.
zemvpferreira 5y ago
No, it's universally loved because it has universally saved macbooks from nasty falls. I upgraded to a sans-MagSafe 2020 16" MBP when my 2015 MBP had a $600 screen failure. I broke the 2020's screen in the first week. Sold it, repaired my 2015 and have been happy ever since. Through all it's faults and problems, I can't shake how good my 2015 MacBook Pro has been: great keyboard, MagSafe, good enough everything, great keyboard. Did I mention how great the keyboard is? It's on my lap right now, purring and tethered to power as usual.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  Yes, I have none of the experiences that thedougd has had, but have had multiple instances of the wire being yanked on.
trevyn 5y ago
I really missed the orange/green charging/charged LED, I was a bit surprised they didn't throw that on a USB-C cable or the exterior of the machine.
- thedougd 5y ago
  That was a really nice touch and not too bright. I stumbled on a Dell USB-C charger with a white LED. It doesn't change colors and it's bright enough to light a room.
dsego 5y ago
And the cables were fraying constantly because the connector didn't have strain relief and it was using some weird rubber compound that crumbled. I had the misfortune of having the L-shaped one which was really bad (and they knew it because the next iterations returned to T-shaped). It didn't disconnect to prevent my macbook from falling from my desk and made my relatively new macbook all dented and beat up. When that fragile L-connector inevitably fractured and failed, and the cable not being detachable, I had to spend around hundred dollars to buy a whole new power brick. And that one was ruined within a year.
hamburglar 5y ago
The shape of the MagSafe 1 cord end was better for lap/lounging use because it didn’t stick directly out as far the way MagSafe 2 did. It came out into a fairly low profile cylindrical shape that made the cord turn an immediate right angle so things didn’t lever it over and make it fall off.
- thedougd 5y ago
  I agree and I suspect this was less of a problem for people with a 15/16" MBP where the edge of the laptop was likely past their leg.
- vanilla_nut 5y ago
  That’s actually the second iteration of the Magsafe 1 charger, FYI — the original was just a chunkier version of Magsafe 2/3. I liked the cylindrical version as well and I’ve always wondered why they did away with it.
josephg 5y ago
> I don't miss MagSafe and I enjoy the interchangeability of chargers. The new magsafe uses a normal usb-c power brick with a special charging cable. The cable has a usb-c plug at one end and a magsafe plug at the other end. So it should be intercompatible between chargers now, and there shouldn't be any more need to buy a new charger when the cable frays. (And apparently you can also charge with a normal usb-c cable in any of the regular usb-c ports). I'm quietly hoping they might be able to run data through that magsafe port too. Being able to have a small usb dock which connects over magsafe would be sweet.
- thedougd 5y ago
  I am appreciative they did that. I hope the USB-C ports on the laptop can handle the highest charging available today (~100 watts, not the new spec 200+ watts).

1123581321 5y ago

I know what you mean, although I thought the disconnection ease was calibrated correctly. The good thing is the modern battery life means an accidental disconnection is less of a problem.

antifa 5y ago

> The MagSafe cord repeatedly fell off when my leg, or a pillow bumped into it. This sounds better than having your laptop's power connector internally damaged rendering your laptop unchargable just because your charging outlet was on the wrong side or your dog wanted to step on the cable.

zemvpferreira 5y ago

No, it's universally loved because it has universally saved macbooks from nasty falls. I upgraded to a sans-MagSafe 2020 16" MBP when my 2015 MBP had a $600 screen failure. I broke the 2020's screen in the first week. Sold it, repaired my 2015 and have been happy ever since. Through all it's faults and problems, I can't shake how good my 2015 MacBook Pro has been: great keyboard, MagSafe, good enough everything, great keyboard. Did I mention how great the keyboard is? It's on my lap right now, purring and tethered to power as usual.

lotsofpulp 5y ago
Yes, I have none of the experiences that thedougd has had, but have had multiple instances of the wire being yanked on.

trevyn 5y ago

I really missed the orange/green charging/charged LED, I was a bit surprised they didn't throw that on a USB-C cable or the exterior of the machine.

thedougd 5y ago
That was a really nice touch and not too bright. I stumbled on a Dell USB-C charger with a white LED. It doesn't change colors and it's bright enough to light a room.

dsego 5y ago

And the cables were fraying constantly because the connector didn't have strain relief and it was using some weird rubber compound that crumbled. I had the misfortune of having the L-shaped one which was really bad (and they knew it because the next iterations returned to T-shaped). It didn't disconnect to prevent my macbook from falling from my desk and made my relatively new macbook all dented and beat up. When that fragile L-connector inevitably fractured and failed, and the cable not being detachable, I had to spend around hundred dollars to buy a whole new power brick. And that one was ruined within a year.

hamburglar 5y ago

The shape of the MagSafe 1 cord end was better for lap/lounging use because it didn’t stick directly out as far the way MagSafe 2 did. It came out into a fairly low profile cylindrical shape that made the cord turn an immediate right angle so things didn’t lever it over and make it fall off.

thedougd 5y ago
I agree and I suspect this was less of a problem for people with a 15/16" MBP where the edge of the laptop was likely past their leg.
vanilla_nut 5y ago
That’s actually the second iteration of the Magsafe 1 charger, FYI — the original was just a chunkier version of Magsafe 2/3. I liked the cylindrical version as well and I’ve always wondered why they did away with it.

josephg 5y ago

> I don't miss MagSafe and I enjoy the interchangeability of chargers. The new magsafe uses a normal usb-c power brick with a special charging cable. The cable has a usb-c plug at one end and a magsafe plug at the other end. So it should be intercompatible between chargers now, and there shouldn't be any more need to buy a new charger when the cable frays. (And apparently you can also charge with a normal usb-c cable in any of the regular usb-c ports). I'm quietly hoping they might be able to run data through that magsafe port too. Being able to have a small usb dock which connects over magsafe would be sweet.

thedougd 5y ago
I am appreciative they did that. I hope the USB-C ports on the laptop can handle the highest charging available today (~100 watts, not the new spec 200+ watts).