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by wlesieutre 3510 days ago
For all the complaints about Apple dropping magsafe, I'm happy to finally have industry standard charging. Brick is easily replacable. Cable is easily replacable. Should work with any new computer, or even to cell phones and tablets (with a C to Lightning cable if you're an iPhone person).

Apple made a similar switch from one proprietary charging connector (magsafe 1) to another proprietary connector (magsafe 2) and it's a compatibility hassle between computers. For Surfaces it's an even bigger mess, because like you said, MS doesn't make them anymore. A coworker of mine had the same situation with a Surface Pro 1. Computer still works fine, but the power cord died, and good luck getting a replacement quickly. If you do find a 3rd party version, good luck with not burning your house down.
3 comments
slantyyz 3510 days ago
>> I'm happy to finally have industry standard charging.

Real question to people in the know - is this truly the case?

I get that the port is industry standard, but are there electrical protections put in place?

If I use a 100W non-Apple charger on a MacBook Pro that uses a 63W charger will it damage the battery? Will a USB-C phone charger (with presumably very low wattage) work as well (albeit slower)?

While I really like that TB/USB3 ports are standard, it is incredibly confusing to laypeople with respect to understanding all the nuances.

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wlesieutre 3510 days ago
Apple's official note says "You should not connect any power supply that exceeds 100W, as it might damage your Mac." [1]

This is the maximum wattage allowed under the USB Power Delivery spec [2], so any USB-C power supply should work. Maximum voltage/current is negotiated between the supply, cable, and computer, which should select the highest amount supported by all parts of the system.

If you're using a cheap 3rd-party charger that doesn't follow the spec and decides it's going to tell the computer "I support 100W, let's do that!" and then jacks up the voltage beyond the USB power delivery limits, then yeah, expect to have problems.

The problem that I actually imagine happening is people getting a 20W rated cable with their cell phone, trying to power their computer through it, and wondering why the battery continues to drain.

[1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207256

[2] http://www.usb.org/developers/powerdelivery/

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bitL 3510 days ago
Unfortunately, form factor (USB-C) is standardizing but internal wire connections/characteristic aren't, so we are going to an irrecognizable mess of cables looking the same way but some working, some not working and some bonus ones frying our machines.
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mindcrash 3509 days ago
Magsafe is also easily replaced with a BreakSafe power cable from Griffin: https://griffintechnology.com/us/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-po...
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