Apple's Return to Magsafe: The New MagSafe 3 Cable and its Benefits

The new Macbook Pro, with its powerful M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, impressive display, and long-lasting battery life, is shaping up to be a spectacular device. And at the heart of it all is Apple's return to Magsafe, a magnetic connection cable that has powered up many laptops for years. The Magsafe 3 cable is more powerful than ever before, with a higher wattage output than its predecessors.

The original Magsafe cable was a smaller connector, while the Magsafe 2 was slightly longer and skinnier. Now, we're on MagSafe version 3, which delivers even more power to devices. This new version is not backwards compatible with older Magsafe cables, so if you have any original or Magsafe 2 cables lying around, they won't work with the new 14-inch or 16-inch Macbook Pro.

The connector itself is slightly larger and thinner than its predecessors, while the cable is braided for added durability. Braiding helps prevent fraying and stress on the connector or charger, making it more resistant to wear and tear. Apple has also taken this opportunity to redesign the cable, splitting it into two components: a MagSafe 3 connector on one end and a USB-C cable on the other.

This design allows for greater flexibility in charging your device. You can use either an actual USB power brick or the included cable interchangeably. This means that if something happens to your power brick, you can swap it out for a new one without having to replace the entire charger. Similarly, if anything were to happen to the cable, you can swap it out for less money than buying an entirely new charger.

In fact, some third-party cables are already available on the market, such as this 100W USB-C power adapter that I picked up a while ago. It's not endorsed by Apple, but it takes an actual MagSafe MaxA cable and replaces its magnetic connector with a USB-C connector at the end. This cable has still worked for me when using my aging 2012 Macbook Air.

Apple's return to Magsafe is also notable because they're introducing their first GaN (gallium nitride) charger, which allows it to be more efficient, produce less heat, and deliver more power in a smaller body. This new technology has been used by other companies for a while, but Apple is finally joining the party.

The new MagSafe 3 cable offers several benefits when charging your Macbook Pro. You can charge via any of the three Thunderbolt 4 ports or use Magsafe, which allows you to take advantage of the newer USB-PD 3.1 standard and charge at higher wattages up to 140 watts. However, if you're using a Thunderbolt 4 port, you won't be able to reach this maximum speed.

In summary, Apple's return to Magsafe is a welcome change for Macbook Pro users. The new MagSafe 3 cable offers greater durability and flexibility in charging your device, while also allowing you to take advantage of the latest USB-PD standard. With its powerful M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, impressive display, and long-lasting battery life, the new Macbook Pro is shaping up to be an exceptional device.

If you're interested in getting your hands on a new Macbook Pro, we've already started gathering the best deals and discounts. You can check them out below for more information.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enit's apple insider and we're talking about magsafe welcome everybody to apple insider it is andrew here and now that the new macbook pros both 14 and 16 inch are official we get to see some of the new features and specs coming to the new models one of those is a bit of a blast from the past apple has brought back its popular magsafe connection cable that's right the magnetic cable that powered up your max for years disappeared with usbc but now apple has brought it back and it's more powerful than ever we now have mag magsafe version 3. we originally had magsafe version 1 which is a smaller connector then we had mag save 2 which is a little bit longer and skinnier and now we are on mag save 3 and it can deliver more power than ever before on the new macbook pros apple has given users many options for charging your computer you can charge via any of the three thunderbolt 4 ports or you can charge via magsafe so what do you need to know about the new magsafe 3 well it is not backwards compatible with your existing magsafe cables so if you have any original magsafe or magsafe2 cables around your house they will not work with the new 14 or 16 inch macbook pro the connector itself is a little bit larger but a little bit thinner at the same time and the cable is braided for anyone who's had apple's magsafe cables you know they can easily fray around that stress point by the connector or even towards the charger the new cable has that braided nylon body which should make it more durable and last longer above that apple has actually split the cable into two components similar to what i have here you can use an actual usbc power brick as well as the cable interchangeably so something would ever happen to your power brick you can swap that out for a new one without having to replace the cable or more likely if something should happen to your cable you can swap this out for less money than buying an entirely new charger the cable has a magsafe 3 connector on one end and a usbc cable on the other this is actually one that i picked up a while ago on amazon this is 100 not endorsed by apple but it is a third-party one that basically took an actual apple max a cable and displaced on a usb-c connector to the end for me using an aging 2012 macbook air it has still worked but this is essentially what apple has done with its new magsafe cable attaching mac wave to one end and a usbc connector to the other and that will connect to apple's new power adapters for the 60 inch macbook pro apple's including a 140 watt power adapter its highest output charger ever and it also happens to be apple's first gan charger all apple's existing chargers were based around silicon which is the normal popular way but recently everyone has been switching to gallium nitride which allows it to be more efficient put off less heat and allows more power to go through in a smaller body so that's why we're seeing these new 140 watt chargers from apple that are a bit smaller than you may have expected especially when you've seen the size of some of apple's other chargers the good news is other companies have been doing these for a while so apple's a little slow to the game but we're excited that apple is finally introducing its first gan charger so aside from charging via magsafe on the new macbook pros you can also charge using those three thunderbolt 4 ports but there is a distinction you cannot charge at full speed on those thunderbolt 4 ports magsafe is actually using the newer usbc pd 3.1 standard the first time for apple here which means it can charge at those higher wattages up to 140 watts but if you're using any of those thunderbolt 4 ports you cannot get up to that maximum speed so if you want to charge your mac as efficiently and as fast as possible you do need to use the new magsafe 3 but i am glad that apple still gives users that option use your magsafe cable on your new macbook pros if you have it but if you're out and about you can still charge using any usb cable that you may have with you the new macbook pros are shaping up to be spectacular we've been wowed by the new display the powerful new m1 pro and m1 max chips that are in there as well as all the new ports and the best battery life to date part of that is going towards this new magsafe 3 cable i'm very excited apple has brought back magsafe and given pros and other users just a lot of options on these new machines let me know what you think of the new max a3 cable as well as just the new macbook pros in general on twitter at andrew underscore osu and if you want to grab one of the new macbook pros we've already started gathering the best deals we've got discounts already there's a link below in the description go ahead and check them out youit's apple insider and we're talking about magsafe welcome everybody to apple insider it is andrew here and now that the new macbook pros both 14 and 16 inch are official we get to see some of the new features and specs coming to the new models one of those is a bit of a blast from the past apple has brought back its popular magsafe connection cable that's right the magnetic cable that powered up your max for years disappeared with usbc but now apple has brought it back and it's more powerful than ever we now have mag magsafe version 3. we originally had magsafe version 1 which is a smaller connector then we had mag save 2 which is a little bit longer and skinnier and now we are on mag save 3 and it can deliver more power than ever before on the new macbook pros apple has given users many options for charging your computer you can charge via any of the three thunderbolt 4 ports or you can charge via magsafe so what do you need to know about the new magsafe 3 well it is not backwards compatible with your existing magsafe cables so if you have any original magsafe or magsafe2 cables around your house they will not work with the new 14 or 16 inch macbook pro the connector itself is a little bit larger but a little bit thinner at the same time and the cable is braided for anyone who's had apple's magsafe cables you know they can easily fray around that stress point by the connector or even towards the charger the new cable has that braided nylon body which should make it more durable and last longer above that apple has actually split the cable into two components similar to what i have here you can use an actual usbc power brick as well as the cable interchangeably so something would ever happen to your power brick you can swap that out for a new one without having to replace the cable or more likely if something should happen to your cable you can swap this out for less money than buying an entirely new charger the cable has a magsafe 3 connector on one end and a usbc cable on the other this is actually one that i picked up a while ago on amazon this is 100 not endorsed by apple but it is a third-party one that basically took an actual apple max a cable and displaced on a usb-c connector to the end for me using an aging 2012 macbook air it has still worked but this is essentially what apple has done with its new magsafe cable attaching mac wave to one end and a usbc connector to the other and that will connect to apple's new power adapters for the 60 inch macbook pro apple's including a 140 watt power adapter its highest output charger ever and it also happens to be apple's first gan charger all apple's existing chargers were based around silicon which is the normal popular way but recently everyone has been switching to gallium nitride which allows it to be more efficient put off less heat and allows more power to go through in a smaller body so that's why we're seeing these new 140 watt chargers from apple that are a bit smaller than you may have expected especially when you've seen the size of some of apple's other chargers the good news is other companies have been doing these for a while so apple's a little slow to the game but we're excited that apple is finally introducing its first gan charger so aside from charging via magsafe on the new macbook pros you can also charge using those three thunderbolt 4 ports but there is a distinction you cannot charge at full speed on those thunderbolt 4 ports magsafe is actually using the newer usbc pd 3.1 standard the first time for apple here which means it can charge at those higher wattages up to 140 watts but if you're using any of those thunderbolt 4 ports you cannot get up to that maximum speed so if you want to charge your mac as efficiently and as fast as possible you do need to use the new magsafe 3 but i am glad that apple still gives users that option use your magsafe cable on your new macbook pros if you have it but if you're out and about you can still charge using any usb cable that you may have with you the new macbook pros are shaping up to be spectacular we've been wowed by the new display the powerful new m1 pro and m1 max chips that are in there as well as all the new ports and the best battery life to date part of that is going towards this new magsafe 3 cable i'm very excited apple has brought back magsafe and given pros and other users just a lot of options on these new machines let me know what you think of the new max a3 cable as well as just the new macbook pros in general on twitter at andrew underscore osu and if you want to grab one of the new macbook pros we've already started gathering the best deals we've got discounts already there's a link below in the description go ahead and check them out you\n"