Q: Apple cable design failure
Today I returned my defective Magsafe adapter to Apple & received a replacement free of charge. The adapter cable fractured at the location where the cable to the computer exits the cable sleeve attaching it to the transformer. I had originally paid for the replacement unit but at my local Apple Store the staff indicated that there might be some relief available to me, so I pursued it and got the replacement unit at no charge. A+ for the store staff. F for the cable design. The store staff indicated that they deal with many instances of these kinds of failures.
It seems to me the larger question is why Apple choose to pursue cable designs in all their products that have inherently poor strain accommodation characteristics. The rest of the world's electronic cables (everything from USB cables to transformer cables) all seem to have a truncated conical (rather like a frustum) connection with the conical portion split and segmented like this:
while Apple products have the main cable inserted into a solid cylindrical sleeve which attaches to the item in question, thus:
The former has strain relief capabilities because of the flexible nature of the connection, while the latter does not.
If Apple is concerned with sustainability, would it not be better to provide cables which are inherently more failure-resistant and therefore not in need of more frequent replacement than to do otherwise? Or is the cable design merely a matter of appearance above all else? If so, is that commendable or condemnable?
Posted on Jul 24, 2016 10:51 PM

