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0 pointsOJFord6y ago0 comments

I tripped over my USB-C cord recently - having never done so with 'magsafe' - and you know what? it pulled cleanly out, I didn't fall, neither did the laptop. And it wasn't some perfect angle that enabled that either.

In my experience, magsafe just meant that it disconnects on cord tugs so slight that they wouldn't even have moved the laptop if the connection weren't magnetic. Anything with the force to harm you or your laptop disengages connectors other than magsafe too.

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babypuncher6y ago· 1 in thread

The big issue with barrel connectors is how long they are. When the cord is yanked at a wide angle, the outer edge of the barrel connector acts as a fulcrum, turning the inner barrel into a first class lever. With such long barrels, the transfer of force to the tip on the inside can be enough to rip the connector off its solder joints.

USB-C largely mitigates this simply by being a shorter connector than most barrels.

cesarb6y ago

As a counterpoint, at least on the laptop models I'm most familiar with, the power barrel connector is not on any board (it's connected to the motherboard by a wire), so even if it breaks, it won't damage the board (and it's easy to replace). On the other hand, the USB-C socket is soldered directly to the motherboard (though with an extra mechanical support screwed on top).

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