What is MagSafe?

MagSafe has connector pins that are designed so the rectangular connector can be inserted in either orientation (however, the L-shaped version of the connector can only be fitted in one orientation without blocking neighboring ports, such as USB). LEDs on both the top and bottom of the connector show green if the computer battery is fully charged and amber or red if the battery is charging. MagSafe can be found on the MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air notebook computers, as well as the Apple LED Cinema Display.

The MacBook and the 13-inch MacBook Pro use a 60 W MagSafe charger, whereas the 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro use an 85 W MagSafe charger. The MacBook Air has a lower-powered 45 W version of the MagSafe adapter. The power brick is smaller, but the MagSafe connector is the same as on the 60 W and 85 W chargers. According to Apple, an adapter with the same or higher wattage than originally provided may be used without problems.

Apple formerly offered a [MagSafe Airline Adapter" for use on certain compatible airplanes. It had a DC input (instead of AC like the original MagSafe chargers) and would power the computer, but would not charge the battery.

Some Apple desktop displays included a MagSafe connector cable which allowed charging of Apple laptops.

MagSafe 2

MagSafe 2 was introduced on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina Display at the 2012 Worldwide Developers Conference on July 11, 2012. It is incompatible with the older MagSafe connectors without an adapter, and returns to the T-shaped design that points straight out, rather than the L-shape that runs along the side of the machine. The connector was made thinner and wider to fit the thinner laptops.

Paige Wu

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