People complain that Apple uses proprietary ports. They ditched MagSafe for USB-C and people still complained.

I think the magsafe was at the bottom of the list of "bad choice of proprietary ports by Apple"

I can now charge my Macbook with the same cable I use to charge my phone. I can now charge my laptop from both sides. I can trickle charge my laptop in my car now. It's making my cable life so much simpler. Yes, I have other devices that have yet to catch up to the C spec, but with the leading laptop manufacturer pushing so hard for the C port; I don't think it'll be that long.

MagSafe is the only proprietary port on my pre-touchbar MBP.

Good point, and it's because of the status quo bias. When an alternative is proposed, people look at what they lose, and since we don't like loss, we say, "No, I don't want that".

Thought experiment: say Macs had USB-C for 10 years, and the latest Macbooks switched to MagSafe. There'd be a lot of complaints about Apple locking us in to their walled garden, and how we have to buy a proprietary overpriced charger now, which can't charge other devices, moreover.

One technique I try to follow is an anti-knee-jerk reaction: if everyone has a knee-jerk reaction about something, I remind myself of the advantages of the alternative.

Ultimately, the only true test is time. Wait 2 years and let the emotions cool, and you'll know if the outcry was justified.

> Thought experiment: say Macs had USB-C for 10 years, and the latest Macbooks switched to MagSafe.

Then you would presumably still be able to use the remaining USB-C ports to charge it, with the MagSafe merely an option. That would not get many complaints. If they violated that they would deserve the complaints.

No, in this thought experiment, when they have MagSafe, they charge only via MagSafe.

The thought experiment is intended to be the same as reality, just in the opposite direction.

That's what my last sentence is for. If they go pure-magsafe and get rid of all USB-C charging ability then they deserve the complaints.

But if they add magsafe while also having USB-C charging then it's much better than either option on its own.

And keeping USB-C charging does not require extra ports, because you need the USB-C ports anyway to do USB stuff.

The question isn't whether they deserve the complaints, or about the minutae of charging, but whether people think that going from X -> Y is bad and going from Y -> X is also bad. If so, they're just being change-averse: ignore them.

In general it's a good thing to think about.

But you were using it to make an argument that the complaints were invalid.

So I'm going to reply to that specific argument, by pointing out that when Apple changes the IO ports to USB-C and enables USB charging, it does not require them to remove the magsafe port.

In other words, apple went X -> Y. But adding Y reused IO ports and could have coexisted with X. Even though Y might be better than X, it was a false dichotomy in the first place.

There's no need for MagSafe if you have USB charging. It's redundant.

It also entrenches the old standard rather than making way for the new one. If you have a laptop with both USB-C and MagSafe, and you need a second charger, you might buy a MagSafe charger if it's cheaper or to use with an older Macbook. Whereas without MagSafe, you'll buy a USB-C charger — the new technology.

If you want to do a transition, you have to go all in. Having both the old and the new port merely delays the transition, causing more pain in the long-term. Get it over with.

That would be a valid argument except that it implied one port less since you have to use one of the already scarce ports to charge. People like me were waiting for an extra port and got one less

Apple could keep usb-c and MagSafe, but they didn't.

Microsoft's own Surface Book uses something very like MagSafe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bnIIuS0New

http://www.cultofmac.com/174993/microsoft-steals-apples-mags...

I've also been using MacBooks since 2006, and I love MagSafe - or at least, MagSafe 1 (haven't tried the more recent MagSafe 2).

Try to keep MagSafe 2 connected in any circumstances other than flat and stable. Sitting on the couch or laying in bed no way, it constantly disconnects.

Good riddance.

I never had a magsafe2 laptop. I love magsafe1. I have no idea why they went through with changing it.

Probably something to do with shaving a billion of a millimetre off the thickness of the MacBooks

Probably, but they could have changed the adapter so the cable left the connector sideways like in Magsafe1.

So that you have to buy new chargers.

Apple owns the patent on magsafe. That was the one feature I actually liked on my MacBook pro. I have seen to many chargers wear out, or wear out their ports. Magsafe also made it easier to connect the charger.

Think how nice it would be to have the same functionality with USB ports....

Currently at work we use (mostly T 4xx/5xx series) Lenovo laptops with rectangular power connectors [1]. I have mine for ~2 years, was used ~year prior. I connect/disconnect charger multiple times a day and both ports are sturdy as new. Others state similar feelings.

[1]: http://shop.lenovo.com/ISS_Static/options/US/images/17912239...

FWIW, some appliance connectors have used magnets for well over a decade in Japan and elsewhere in Asia (it usually looks like https://www.liandung.com.tw/Japan-m/LT-515.html). I owned an electric kettle with one of those.

I don't understand how Apple could patent this and prevent anyone else from implementing it. In any event, there do seem to be 3rd party implementations for USB-C if you're keen on the feature: https://www.macrumors.com/2016/01/04/griffin-breaksafe-magne....

Apple patented MagSafe and how it works, specifically. This doesn't preclude other magnetic breakaway cables if they don't work exactly the same way as MagSafe.

Can you recommend magsafe-like USB cable that works with 2016 MBPs? When I looked for something like this I found only a cable made for the 12" macbook that could not charge my machine.

I pledged on Kickstarter to receive a pair of these (still in manufacturing), but maybe they'd help?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/branchusb/magneo-first-...

I don't mind the lack of MagSafe connector on the new MBP. What I do miss however is the green/orange light to know when it's fully charged.

That's something they could have kept (somehow) in the shipped USB-C charging cable.

The Surface Pro 4 line has a mag safe equivalent (while avoiding the Apple patents) which also allows for distributing ports ala USB-C.

I was worried about the loss of MagSafe too. Now, with almost three months with the new MacBook Pro, I have become very happy with USB-C, and I hope that iPhones and iPads will make the switch too. A USB-C-only world would make so many things easier!

Switching the Iphone to USB-C would definitely be the best choice for the consumer.

It is, however, not the best choice for Apple.

I think it should be pretty obvious what I believe will happen.

If they included a breakable USB cable, most people would have been happy. For some reason they didn't.

If they actually enforced their cords so they didn't fray and fall apart within 6 months, I would be happy. Their stubbornness to correct the cord situation is exasperating.

Proper strain relief goes against the 'make everything thin' ethos.

>Also, what PC alternative has a MagSafe equivalent?

The Surface Pro uses a MagSafe style charger.

My Surface Pro 4 has a MagSafe equivalent power supply. Works quite well, albeit not as well as the mac version.