Apple may be bringing MagSafe back to MacBooks. Here’s why it’s a bad idea

Digging into rumors on the Mac can be a thankless task. They tend to be filled with as much vain speculation and the fulfillment of projected wishes as genuine information. But there are some Mac leaks and rumors that are worth considering. Last week just like CES 2021 was ending, said Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo new MacBook Pro laptops arriving in 2021.

The idea of ​​new 14 and 16 inch models with Chips based on Apple’s M1 arm It shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, or that Apple’s Touch Bar secondary display is about to disappear.

But much more significant, at least for longtime Mac enthusiasts, is the alleged return of the MagSafe connector – a proprietary detachable magnetic power plug that was part of the MacBook lineup. since its launch in 2006.

The phase-out of MagSafe began with Late 12-inch MacBook, deplored in 2015, where it was replaced by a USB-C power connection, but a handful of older models remained until recently. We complained about his loss and tried to go up with workarounds
at replace.

Then Apple started using the name MagSafe again in 2020 for a series of magnetic phone charging accessories, but there are few similarities beyond the name.

The classic MagSafe was brilliant in design, releasing safely every time you tripped over it. He’s probably protected every MacBook from at least a few table scraps. But there were also problems. Because they were so proprietary, losing an old MacBook power brick (or almost any pre-USB-C laptop power supply) meant looking for a replacement, and your options were usually an expensive official model. or an often unreliable imitation.

Modern MacBooks all use USB-C ports for charging, which don’t allow the cable to detach safely (at least not by design). But they have one definite advantage over MagSafe: whatever modern, consumer-grade laptop I own – a Dell XPS 13, HP Specter, Acer Swift, Lenovo ThinkPad, Asus ZenBook, etc. – there is a good chance that his USB-C power cable will work with the MacBook and vice versa.

Apple laptop chargers are 30W, 61W and 96W. Most 45W or 60W laptop chargers, and I have mixed and matched with abandon over the past few years. Try hard enough and you may possibly find an extreme case where charger A does not work with laptop B, but other than devices like gaming laptops (which only recently started to support USB-C charging), it is rare that you have a problem.

For me, that means I’m getting closer to a year working mostly from home and not having to worry about powering the laptop in which room. It is frankly liberating.

The iPad Pro and the Air are now charged by USB-C, just like the Nintendo Switch up to the Oculus Quest. Having it in MacBooks has always been a surprisingly non-proprietary decision, and perhaps too good to last.

If Apple can find a way to bring MagSafe back without losing the standard USB-C connection from the power port, then I totally agree. If that means going back to the proprietary power bricks, then MagSafe should probably stay dead.