Why the new Macbook charger is a serious downgrade (opens in new tab)

(vine.co)

14 pointsandrewmcgrath13y ago11 comments

11 comments

11 comments · 7 top-level

verelo13y ago· 4 in thread

IMHO charger on my late 2011 Macbook pro is a better design and i'm not sure why they moved away from it. Without getting into the discussion of the plug face changing, this one does come undone way too easily.

drcube13y ago

Wasn't that the problem? I've never owned a Mac so I don't know, but I thought they changed it because the other plug was too secure, and people tended to pull their laptops off of tables when they tripped on the cord. I'd rather have to plug the charger in more often than have a broken laptop any day.

greggman13y ago

I thought they changed the plug because the old plug was too thick for the design of the Retina MPBs. If you have an old power adapter can compare it to the thickness of the Retina MBP you can see they'd have had to make the Retina MBP thicker or else have it not taper where the power supply meets the body.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greggman/8760819957/

saintdev13y ago

That's the same thing I thought, until I got my Air (2012 model with the new charger).

Within my first half hour I had accidentally unplugged it 5 or 6 times, just by moving it around in my lap. Pick up the cord and plug it back in each time, it starts to get a little annoying.

I've gotten better with it now, but I will still do what this video shows, where it doesn't completely unplug. You don't always notice until you get a low battery warning when you thought it was plugged in the whole time :(

tcdowney13y ago

It does get to be an issue if your battery no longer holds a charge.

dmix13y ago

I thought the old charger connector was very prone to being twisted and breaking?

I had two of my old chargers that broke. I've also never had an issue with the new charger disconnecting during that last month with my new Macbook Air.

meepmorp13y ago

The new design is clearly just to accommodate the thinner profile of the rMBP. I guess Apple figured that the space savings was worth having a noticeably shittier connector latch; I think they're wrong.

JDGM13y ago

I never use my laptop on my legs while plugged in. That's what the battery is for, and if it runs out of juice then I know I've been sat in the same position for way too long.

kubatyszko13y ago

And soon you will go to apple and complain about your battery life... It's going to be pretty clear what caused it...

I do agree it's annoying, my solution is to use large kitchen tray so that the whole computer and it's surrounding is protected from my knees. There are also easy to buy lap-desks (ikea has something), beanie bag underneath and flat plastic top.

taproot13y ago

Same issue with 3.5mm jacks :(

DrinkWater13y ago

first world problems. in all seriousness

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