“When Apple unveiled the new 12-inch MacBook with just a single port (plus a headphone socket), it was doing not just one radical thing, but two,” Ben Lovejoy writes for 9to5Mac. “Reducing a machine to just one port was the first; dropping MagSafe was the second.”
“It’s one of the features that even the most die-hard opponents of Macs tend to grudgingly admit is a good idea. And yet that (very) shiny new MacBook aimed at the largest slice of the MacBook Air market doesn’t have it. Is this a one-off move for a single model, or will we see USB C power replacing MagSafe across the entire MacBook range?” Lovejoy writes. “I think the decision is made: MagSafe is dead, long live USB-C.”
“How big a deal would the loss of MagSafe be in the real world?” Lovejoy writes. “Our own Seth Weintraub made a specific point about the new MacBook:”
"The new MacBook is so light that MagSafe would just pull it off the table when a cord was tripped on – so there was no point"
— Seth Weintraub (@llsethj) March 10, 2015
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote yesterday:
We are Mac users and Mac users embrace change.
Apple leads. The rest of the world follows, as usual.
Now, we would love to see a tiny MagSafe adapter cap (or very short corded adapter) that sticks into the USB-C port for MagSafe power cords. That way we don’t have to regress in the name of progress.
Related articles:
The new one-port Apple MacBook? No problem for those living in 2015 – March 12, 2015
AnandTech hands on Apple’s new 12-inch MacBook: ‘By far the most portable Mac Apple has ever created’ – March 12, 2015
Apple’s revolutionary new 12-inch MacBook heralds world without wires and cables – March 11, 2015
PC Mag hands on Apple’s all-new 12-Inch MacBook: ‘You’ll want to carry it with you everywhere’ – March 10, 2015
Hands-on with Apple’s One-port wonder, the amazing MacBook with 12-inch Retina display – March 9, 2015
Apple unveils all-new MacBook, the thinnest and lightest Mac ever made – March 9, 2015
Apple Macintosh owns 45% of PC market profits – April 16, 2013
I wonder if MagSafe would really work that well on such a light MacBook?
My thought too. Works great on my 15″ MB Pro, but the new MacBook is so light the magsafe may not give up the grip.
A new MagSafe USB could have had a slight let weaker grip.
MagSafe USB/power would have been really nice innovation.
USB isn’t something you want on a Magsafe-like connector. Since it’s handling data at Gbps, it needs to be plugged in well to prevent minor movements from breaking contact and interrupting/corrupting the data stream. Not a big deal if you just have video connected, but if it’s a storage drive…
The new MacBook is so light that it just floats gently down to the floor.
If that was a problem, they could put a bit less iron in the computer side connector to make a weaker grip.
I just Thank Jobs they left me with an Audio Jack 🙂
Does USB3 support Target Disc Mode ? How do you do anything repair wise to the internal hard drive.? like re-format it.. or run DiscWarrior?
I was thinking about this too. Mag-Safe is nice for not having a laptop suddenly ripped off a table or breaking in the socket. Guess everybody will just have to be more careful, again.
My repair guy will hate a new port that gets ripped out. It’s not the weight of the laptop, it’s the absent minded walking away with the laptop and the cord still attached, that causes the damage. The MagSafe connector is a wonderful thing.
It would be nice, if they incorporated MagSafe into the charging adaptor, they would have the best of both. A safe quick release, and a charging dongle that fits USB-C. Really, it’s a docking port for all your devices.
Great idea Gollum for my precious Magsafe! Seriously.
Your repair guy will love this, he’ll make a fortune.
Or it may not be an issue – my current MBA battery lasts so long I only use it plugged in when I’m at my desk – where the cord isn’t stretched across a walkway etc. Out anywhere (coffee, car, friend’s house) I never use it plugged in. I charge it when I get home. This new Macbook has even longer battery life – no need to be tethered to a wall all the time.
All it takes is once. The downside of Apple’s sleek and rigid aluminum case is that when it falls, a lot of the schock is directed into the screen, particularly in a fall like being yanked off by a power cord. Presto instant cracked screen.
This is a dumb move on Apple’s part.
Maybe the USB-C cable pops out without much force. ??
No need for MagSafe due to the all-day battery life. The thing will only need to be plugged in overnight or when not in use, so the benefit of MagSafe (i.e., tripping over a cord won’t pull the computer off the desk or table) isn’t much of an issue.
But bigger notebooks like MBA and MBP — that will not go away — MagSafe still makes sense since there is a lot of room for that anyway.
If you play games you will not last all day.
Yes, Apple leads. No matter how bad the decision, it’s just all 50 shades of yay with some people here.
MDN – I’ve been using Macs longer than any of you, and this Mac and it’s lack of ports sucks. MagSafe is brilliant, and removing that sucks as well. Saying it doesn’t matter is pure Jony Ive nut-licking.
rofl
Well, no, I’ve been using macs since they came out and I applaud the switch to a single port.
There are so many devices and so many connectors for legacy uses from chargers to printers, scanners, iPhones, Ethernet, FW,TB, USB external drives & such, that carrying an adaptor for several different port options is no big deal.
The MacBook Pro still has the ports. As long as that stays true, we’re fine.
It’s interesting to watch people trash an innovative idea, without at least trying to see it from the other side. I agree, this could be risky, but Apple has had the ability to see the utility in things before the masses do. For all their faults they do think outside of the box.
I, for one, almost never use a peripheral device that needs to be connected anymore. I have a wireless printer, I haven’t needed an external disk drive in years, I don’t use an external monitor, etc etc. The only thing I connect is a backup hard drive. For most people, this one connector is all they will ever need. It is their entry level laptop, and will be just what most entry level users need. If you need more ports, you will probably need to step up to more powerful laptops anyway.
I will say, this could be a mistake if they do it to the Macbook Pro. However, it wouldn’t surprise me if they had multiple USB C ports only on furture MacBook Pros.
New regulation in the EU (for 2017 I think) will impose universal power chargers within the EU region and I was wondering whether this couldn’t also have been a reason for Apple’s change away from magsafe …
The real beauty of MagSafe is not the safety from cord tripping, but the way it plugs itself in when you just bring it close. Great in low light situations. I wish I could plug my iPhone 6 in as easily in the dark. I, for one, will miss it.
Why bother having adapters for any kind of ports and just leave the usb c for power? Just make all devices either bluetooth or “AirPlay” then the damage of having just one port wouldn’t be so significant an mind bending.
Great – instead of adapters, I get to buy new wireless external drives, a new wireless external DVD burner, a new wireless external monitor…can you tell me where I might pick those up in a couple weeks?
Apples new mantra: if its not broke, change it.
Except, here I assumed Thunderbolt was the way of the future, so bought expensive Thunderbolt displays. New revolutionary MacBook: no thunderbolt.
The change from MagSafe isn’t due to European Union demanding everybody needs the same charging cable standard is it? They were going to do something equally stupid for smartphones.
smd the magsafe sucks, i cant even plug it into kritikka