MagSafe Connector: A Sweet Pain in the Ass?

If you are a MacBook user, the MagSafe connector is probably one of the blessings that Apple has showered you with for the past few years of owning the MacBook. It is practically a magnetic laptop power cord that attaches itself to the metallic port of the gadget. Its selling proposition is that even when a klutz trips on the power cord, it won’t send the laptop crashing to the ground. Because it is not a puzzle-fit to the port, it detaches itself and falls harmlessly to the floor- saving you a few dollars for the power cord and another hundred dollars for a MacBook repair.

Because of the new look and feel of the MacBook Air, Apple also felt compelled to overhaul the design of its power cords. It was made skinnier and more compact. If a MacBook user still has the old Apple power adapters he bought, he can buy the new adapter for $10 each to make the cords fit the new breed of Apple laptops.

But aside from the cost of the power cord, you haven’t heard the worse.

I believe the function of MagSafe relies on the customers’ concept of what should be strongly attachable to easily detachable. The MagSafe should be strong enough to keep its place connected to the port and weak enough to be detached in case it gets jerked by a clumsy foot.

Simply put: The MagSafe is a failure in this balance test. In our road testing, we found out that the magnet of MagSafe isn’t strong enough to stay in the port. In fact, it is so weak that it keeps falling out at the slightest movement: It falls when you tip the laptop; it falls when you gently brush against it. Forgive me for the harsh judgment but for me, it is a sweet pain in the ass (not literally, of course!).

Yahoo News explains it really, really well:

“That weakness is compounded by a second problem: a return to the "T" design of older MagSafe connectors. In other words, this thing comes straight into the side of the laptop - the cable shoots out at 90 degrees - instead of hugging the side with the cord parallel, like the old "L" connectors. As a result, it protrudes a half inch beyond the left edge. You can't rest the left side of the laptop on your thigh. It's constantly getting bumped. And since the magnet has all the grip strength of an elderly gnat, guess what happens?”

The initial reaction is that the MagSafe isn’t making things any easier. It is probably one of the worst design fiascos Apple has committed since the beginning. Of course, Apple still has my praises when it comes to sterling product design. But this one thing really pisses me off.

I hope Apple will immediately resolve this problem. I bet the tech giant wouldn’t want to have problems when it comes to POWER cords.

Till next time!