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Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

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Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#31

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #26
TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The OP shows why replica chargers are not a good idea. You're lucky if it doesn't destroy your machine.

So far I've used about 7 cheapo MacBook chargers off eBay - I have two right now, and have, over the years, given the other 5 away. While a couple of them have died, so have my original three MacBook chargers. None of them has killed or damaged mine, or anyone else's MacBooks.

Yes, some people have good experiences, but it's still incredibly reckless. Chargers without proper safety features and which don't conform to electrical isolation standards could render your $1000+ machine worthless in a puff of smoke, or, worse, kill you.

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#32

Post by DarkTree »

throwaway420 wrote: post #30

Despite the visual appeal of their products, Apple normally does a very good job with prioritizing function over form except in this case with the charger wire being so fragile and thin. I know I'm not the most careful and delicate person in the world, but the failure rate here is ridiculous compared to other similar products I own. The end of the cable gets frayed every single time. Otherwise, Apple makes ridiculous…

Honestly, I've never had the frayed problem with my macbook chargers, even with 2 years of use. However, I have had to buy 2 chargers since my original one because they will stop working after a couple of years. That's quite frustrating.

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#33

Post by shade23 »

mikepurvis wrote: post #12
Analemma_ wrote: post #2

My takeaway from this is that the $80 Apple charger is definitely safer and has higher-quality components than the $12 cheapo Chinese charger, but not nearly so much better that it solely explains the price difference, and that Apple is making a healthy margin on these things. So my question is, is anyone selling a quality charger without the Apple tax? Is there anyone making, say, $40 chargers that have the componen…

I doubt it, since the magnetic connector itself is patented, and they apparently don't license it— which is why the BatteryBox connector is such an awkward hack: https://www.getbatterybox.com/shop

Wow.I never gave much thought to Apple's magnetic connector till.The battery box does look like an ugly hack.But what I dont get is.Its magnets attracting.What and exactly what have they patented?

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#34

Post by justinsaccount »

_sword wrote: post #29

Has anyone else ever had the cord of their magsafe charger start sparking or catch on fire (as it burns through the insulation and rubber) right behind the adapter? I've had it happen with I believe three chargers across two different computers.

From the article:

Problems with Apple's chargers

The ironic thing about the Apple Macbook charger is that despite its complexity and attention to detail, it's not a reliable charger. When I told people I was doing a charger teardown, I rapidly collected a pile of broken chargers from people who had failed chargers. The charger cable is rather flimsy, leading to a class action lawsuit stating that the power adapter dangerously frays, sparks and prematurely fails to work. Apple provides detailed instructions on how to avoid damaging the wire, but a stronger cable would be a better solution. The result is reviews on the Apple website give the charger a dismal 1.5 out of 5 stars.

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#35

Post by thrownaway2424 »

weland wrote: post #18

This is a pretty interesting article! I raised more than my fair share of eyebrows by telling people I'm not really surprised with this kind of complexity (note: I'm an EE by formation, I took a frickin' two-semester course on power supplies) but that it doesn't fully justify the price difference. Also, Jobs was a blatant liar :-). The SMPS in any modern computer is based on a standard topology that Rod Holt -- thoug…

The same site has a long article about Jobs' claim about the power supply. http://www.righto.com/2012/02/apple-didnt-revolutionize-powe...

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#37

Post by jonknee »

shade23 wrote: post #33
mikepurvis wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt it, since the magnetic connector itself is patented, and they apparently don't license it— which is why the BatteryBox connector is such an awkward hack: https://www.getbatterybox.com/shop

Wow.I never gave much thought to Apple's magnetic connector till.The battery box does look like an ugly hack.But what I dont get is.Its magnets attracting.What and exactly what have they patented?

Well it's their own connector too, not a standard like USB. Everything about it is likely patented.

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#38

Post by gohrt »

TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #15
hydrogen18 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not really doing Jobs any favors. Instead of saying Jobs was a liar, you're saying he was an ignorant liar.

"Liar" is too strong a word here. It's a misconception at best. Jobs would not have known the history of switching power supplies.

When you make statements that you don't know are true, but smart enough know that you profit in some way from people believing them, and you make no effort to find out the truth, you are a bullshitter. Jobs made a career of this sort of behavior.

On the scale of respectability:

1. True statements.

2. Keeping your mouth shut.

3. Speculating.

...

N-1. Making self-serving wishful statements as though they are facts.

N. Outright Lies.

Re: Macbook charger teardown: surprising complexity inside Apple's power adapter

#39

Post by enjo »

shade23 wrote: post #33
mikepurvis wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt it, since the magnetic connector itself is patented, and they apparently don't license it— which is why the BatteryBox connector is such an awkward hack: https://www.getbatterybox.com/shop

Wow.I never gave much thought to Apple's magnetic connector till.The battery box does look like an ugly hack.But what I dont get is.Its magnets attracting.What and exactly what have they patented?

Using a magnet to connect to the device.

You can't just reduce something to its simplest component when discussing patents. It's the specific application that matters.

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