5 ms·

What happens if that port fails or beaks? Your laptop stops working... I'm not a fan of their single-port decision either, but in fairness: Every laptop stops

• Alupis 12y ago
  > Every laptop stops working when the charging port breaks That is true, however if you are using the same port for a multitude of things (plugging/unplugging USB sticks, monitors, etc...) it's going to get a lot more use, and therefore increases the likelihood of something breaking. I've broken USB ports before on laptops, usually by crushing the floating center plastic thing (USB cable gets ripped out weirdly or something), but I have other USB ports so life goes on. USB-C has the same center floating plastic bit -- just waiting for it to get broken off. DC ports tend to be pretty robust, but do break from time-to-time. Apple's solution to this was the Magsafe connector, which avoided the issue for the most part. Seems like a step backwards for laptops to now rely on a single, potentially fragile port for everything.
  • riquito 12y ago
    > That is true, however if you are using the same port for a multitude of things (plugging/unplugging USB sticks, monitors, etc...) it's going to get a lot more use, and therefore increases the likelihood of something breaking. By design it allows at least 10000 cycles of insertion/removal. Using it 8 times a day every single day you'd need about 3.5 years to end them. It's probably ok for most workloads.
    • jeeva 12y ago
      Speaking from a helpdesk perspective, user-caused breakages are rarely by design.
• bashinator 12y ago
  And Apple is replacing the nigh-indestructible magsafe with a traditional plug...
  • semi-extrinsic 12y ago
    Of course this is purely anecdotal, but amongst my friends and coworkers I've seen magsafe connectors fail at about the same rate as normal power adapters. Usually at the end where the wire goes into the wall plug brick part.
    • kalleboo 12y ago
      Yes the cheap to replace wire end breaks easily. But the expensive-to-repair computer side port is solid. You're going to see a lot more expensive computer repairs with the USB-C charging port.
      • semi-extrinsic 12y ago
        True. Although I think it would be much better for durability if Apple used the same wire/power brick layout as everyone else: have the power brick in the middle of the wire, accepting 120/240 V from a standard "figure-eight" cord. Then that cord would be the one that breaks, and they cost $1 to replace. Of course this conflicts with Apple's business model...
        • iSnow 12y ago
          At least over here in Europe, you can attach a bog-standard 240V cord to the Apple power brick so it sits in the middle of the cord. However, this does not help if the computer-side plug does not disengage if your lovely child barrels down your living room. Magsafe has prevented a costly fall or other here.
        • kalleboo 12y ago
          All the Apple laptop and iPad adapters I've gotten accept a standard figure-8 cord if you just slide off the national plug. For my it's the slim cord between the charger and the machine that wears out.
• phaemon 12y ago
  Not if you had 2 USB-C ports, and you could charge from either side. That would be pretty cool actually.
  • moe 12y ago
    And even cooler if it could charge twice as fast when you plug both in.
    • dijit 12y ago
      but very bad for the battery if you do that.