Question What’da ya call it charging cables?

[Ydhtbiotsao]

Years ago before I retired and had time for hardware issues, my son had a charging cable with a magnetic connector to hold the charging cable securely to his laptop. Do they still make those cables and devices for such cables?

I ask because it seems to me a smart way to connect cables. Also, I remember the cable would lie parallel to the edge of the device. That seemed smarter than having it stick out perpendicular. Right now I have this really heavy duty cable that AT&T sold me. I think it was all they had. It sticks out perpendicular from my iPad so I can imagine just its weight would apply a lot of leverage to the receptor inside the iPad.

I did ask about this on another forum, but I think the first and only response was anger and ridicule toward me. i did not reply and no longer visit that forum. Anyway, sometimes this iPad doesn’t charge. I bought it used (second-hand) for my wife seven years ago. When it does charge, it holds the charge a long time. So I suspect there is damage to the charging receptacle. I asked around about it and was told that if that female receptacle goes bad, it would cost more to fix it than to buy a new iPad.

So that is why I’m looking for one of those magnetic connecting cables that lie parallel to the device. Of course we are also looking for a compatible device. Many times where we charge it now, there’s always some kind of leverage applied on both sides of the fulcrum entrance into the device. if the cable doesn’t lie perfectly flat, just the thickness of the cable contributes to stress at the connection. Smarter still might be just a small male insert that would fit inside the female receptacle. The rather permanent insert would attract a magnet.

If you could invent that, then all we would need to buy is a cable with a magnetic connector.

 

[COLGeek]

That connector is called MagSafe. For background info, read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagSafe

What model is your iPad? Need to verify the type of connector it uses to find possible sources to meet your needs.

However, I think you are referencing one of these:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-...white/9954445.p?skuId=9954445&utm_source=feed

 

[hotaru.hino]

There are cables that plug into the device end using a magnetic adapter type thing like in https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Charging-480Mbps-Transfer-MacBook/dp/B0BVMB9V9R/ref=sr_1_4 I can't vouch for how good these actually work though.

While it would be nice to have something like this more common place is if this were on say USB, then every USB device needs to be "Mag Safe", whether it's really valuable to it or not. Because the connection is shallow, there's not a lot of support for something say a USB thumb drive, which doesn't need a Mag Safe connector.

 

[BFG-9000]

Magnetic is safer (if you trip over the cable it doesn't rip out the port) and more convenient if self-aligning so you only need to get it close and it snaps into place.

The three incompatible MagSafe cable generations do seem kind of old fashioned--even iPhone went to 7.5w wireless charging with iPhone 8. But of course a real cable with electrical contacts can deliver far more power for a laptop.

Always on the cutting edge, Apple will finally put wireless charging onto iPad for 2024 OLED models with the glass back only 16 years late. All they have to do is claim they invented it (or waited until it was "perfected") and people will buy it up. To be fair this is actually Qi2 standard which is based on the MagSafe alignment system, but transmits 15w wirelessly. One of the real annoyances of wireless charging is how critical alignment is to charging speed, so you have to try different positions until you see a good charging rate. That means it could be way slower than plugging in a cable as well as less efficient, but at least it didn't wear out your charging port. Qi2 should improve that.

For an older iPad there are many cases with wireless charger receivers, but those all require a reliable charging port because they plug into it