The new 2021 MacBook Pro has the third-generation of Apple’s MagSafe charging technology, and it is more powerful than ever.
What is MagSafe 3?
MagSafe is Apple’s magnetic charging system that first debuted with the 2006 MacBook Pro, the very first portable Intel Mac. Apple did away with the connector roughly a decade later, swapping it out for USB-C. USB-C certainly has its advantages, but MacBook Pro users never fully got over the loss of MagSafe.
With MagSafe’s return, users of the new 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro can once more charge with the magnetic connector.
This allows for the cable to snap into position, align itself properly, but also come free with a quick pull, preventing your laptop from going flying.
Upgraded hardware
The new version of MagSafe has been altered once more from what we saw with MagSafe 2. MagSafe 2 was slimmer than the original MagSafe connector, and MagSafe 3 appears even slightly thinner than that, but a tiny bit wider. Because of these changes in size, the new MagSafe is not backward compatible with the previous generations.
Another hardware change is that with the first two iterations of MagSafe, it was one piece. The MagSafe cable was permanently connected to the wall transformer. The cable, which was heavily prone to fraying with use, couldn’t be removed from the power brick, which was a more costly replacement should either piece go bad.
