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Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

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Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#81

Post by zyb09 »

dmix wrote: post #10

Design isn't just about aesthetics, its about balancing aesthetics AND functionality. Apple's designers certainly knows this. This was a poor design choice on their part, not just the design department taking precedent over engineering and customer service. The designers are personally responsible, not just the structure

Exactly, I've broken two of the cables so far and they are just bad. Period. Then, someone gave me a different, much more robust, cable, and I thought: "oh ok they realized their flaw, finally they improved their power coords". - Now I look at the image on the reddit post (http://i.imgur.com/yAywo.jpg) and realize the cables I've broke are the new ones, and the good robust ones are from 2007. Funny. Well Apple is usually top notch with these kind of things, and I don't believe the industrial design department didn't know about strain relief rings (that's their job FYI). So I'd go with the theory of planned obsolesce on these ones. Apple certainly is capable of pulling shit like this.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#82

Post by zyb09 »

Planned Obsolence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence). Yes Apple is doing it, does it surprise anybody?

edit: well thanks for the downvotes, I know RDF is strong here but consider how they removed the strain rings, how they charge $30 for a cable and why they use a proprietary port. Making cable is no rocket-science, this is definitely planned.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#83

Post by raquo »

sil3ntmac wrote: post #43
adamesque wrote: post #26

Except, there are strain relief features built in to Apple power adapters. Power Adapter: http://cl.ly/0r2n2S2z1b3K0L1E0R3t LED Cinema Display Power Adapter: http://www.cl.ly/3i1B3R142q0S25223q2U These may not be adequate, but clearly Apple industrial design has taken a pass at the problem. Anybody have photos of older power adapters to see if that sheathing has always been there?

The OP is referring to Apple's iPhone power/usb connector cable, as seen in this picture: http://i.imgur.com/yAywo.jpg . The dock connector strain relief is decidedly weaker (I have had two or three break on me personally) than other Apple products. One thing that is interesting is how Apple's Industrial Design team, mentioned in the post, affected the design of the new Macbook power adaptors (like the one you linked…

Early Macbook Airs are to blame for that weird power connector. Look: http://www.slashgear.com/gallery/data_files/3/macbook-air-ha... The industrial design division probably wanted a thin bevel on all sides, and there is no way a classic connector would fit between the macbook and the table and retain the magsafe feature.

Latest macbook airs no longer need this hack and I think Apple will shift back to normal power connectors sometime soon because these metal ones are no good for anything except possibly for those monitor-to-laptop power cords.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#84

Post by xxpor »

sil3ntmac wrote: post #43
adamesque wrote: post #26

Except, there are strain relief features built in to Apple power adapters. Power Adapter: http://cl.ly/0r2n2S2z1b3K0L1E0R3t LED Cinema Display Power Adapter: http://www.cl.ly/3i1B3R142q0S25223q2U These may not be adequate, but clearly Apple industrial design has taken a pass at the problem. Anybody have photos of older power adapters to see if that sheathing has always been there?

The OP is referring to Apple's iPhone power/usb connector cable, as seen in this picture: http://i.imgur.com/yAywo.jpg . The dock connector strain relief is decidedly weaker (I have had two or three break on me personally) than other Apple products. One thing that is interesting is how Apple's Industrial Design team, mentioned in the post, affected the design of the new Macbook power adaptors (like the one you linked…

This is the same issue as the old straight vs 90 deg headphone plugs.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#85

Post by tlrobinson »

adamesque wrote: post #26

Except, there are strain relief features built in to Apple power adapters. Power Adapter: http://cl.ly/0r2n2S2z1b3K0L1E0R3t LED Cinema Display Power Adapter: http://www.cl.ly/3i1B3R142q0S25223q2U These may not be adequate, but clearly Apple industrial design has taken a pass at the problem. Anybody have photos of older power adapters to see if that sheathing has always been there?

This is purely speculation, but maybe they're more careful with the higher power ones that can catch on fire... I've had older PowerBook power adapters short out to the point of sparks and smoke...

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#86

Post by hollerith »

warp wrote: post #69
axxl wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To provide a counterpoint, I've had my MacbookPro for over 3 years now and still have the same power cable and adapter as when I bought it. I never wrap it, toss it around in my bag with all my other junk, carry it in all weather, and I use it every day. My connection works fine and my brick hasn't overheated. Not to say you're not having those issues, just that there are good experiences and bad experiences with eve…

My experience is similar, I still use the power brick which came with my first gen macbook (2006?). I do wrap the thin cable around the little hinges when I take it with me.

I hope you wrap it in a figure-8 pattern rather than a circular pattern (to prevent twisting the cable).

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#87

Post by asadotzler »

dmix wrote: post #10

Design isn't just about aesthetics, its about balancing aesthetics AND functionality. Apple's designers certainly knows this. This was a poor design choice on their part, not just the design department taking precedent over engineering and customer service. The designers are personally responsible, not just the structure

And it's not just about balancing aesthetics and functionality for every component of the system, but about the experience of and interaction with the entire system. So trade-offs aren't always obvious within the specific component that might seem to lean too far in one direction.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#88

Post by sbierwagen »

mirkules wrote: post #41
dmix wrote: post #10

Design isn't just about aesthetics, its about balancing aesthetics AND functionality. Apple's designers certainly knows this. This was a poor design choice on their part, not just the design department taking precedent over engineering and customer service. The designers are personally responsible, not just the structure

There is no reason they couldn't take a flimsy piece of a plastic tube and cover the ugly-but-functional rings on the old style adapters. That way the rings retain functionality, and they are covered, everyone is happy. When the tube breaks, it just exposes the "ugly" rings, but the cable won't actually break. Why they couldn't do this - I don't know. But there must be a good technical reason for it - if I -a softwar…

  But there must be a good technical reason for it - if I -a software person- can 
  think of something like that, I'm sure they already thought of it too.
The rings have to be exposed, that's how they work.

Consider a hypothetical cable that's flexible, but fragile. Fold it in half, and it explodes violently, killing your customers and inspiring such a mighty class-action lawsuit that it leaves your company a smoking grease stain on the surface of the Earth; and leaves a five year stretch on your resume really hard to explain at future job interviews.

So you add reinforcing ribs to the cable. Now when your suicidal users try to bend the cable in half, the ribs mash into each other, preventing the minimum bend radius from being violated, and thus preserving shareholder value.

But your designers spit out their macchiatos in shock on seeing your brilliant solution, and start waving their smooth, untouched by actual work, hands around; demanding that you cover up the cable strain relief with a thin plastic tube.

Well, that's kinda tricky. You can use thick plastic, and prevent the cable from bending entirely, or you can use thin plastic, which will buckle over the unsupported areas when bent, since of course a concentric circle has a smaller circumference, and look really obvious and terrible. There's no way to cover it and still have it work.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#89

Post by asadotzler »

zyb09 wrote: post #81
dmix wrote: post #10

Design isn't just about aesthetics, its about balancing aesthetics AND functionality. Apple's designers certainly knows this. This was a poor design choice on their part, not just the design department taking precedent over engineering and customer service. The designers are personally responsible, not just the structure

Exactly, I've broken two of the cables so far and they are just bad. Period. Then, someone gave me a different, much more robust, cable, and I thought: "oh ok they realized their flaw, finally they improved their power coords". - Now I look at the image on the reddit post ( http://i.imgur.com/yAywo.jpg ) and realize the cables I've broke are the new ones, and the good robust ones are from 2007. Funny. Well Apple is u…

It doesn't have to be "planned obsolescence" which suggests an intent to get users to buy replacements. It could be that the trade-off just came out that way. I mean, I don't think they designed failure into the component so much as they deemed a higher than you'd want failure rate OK given the user experience they were chasing.
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