This is why I buy my phone accessories from third-party companies. $129 for this crap? No thanks. I’ll keep buying my chargers and stations from Anker.
You don't need to trust their findings. You could duplicate 212 openings/closings by hand without any special equipment and in a very short period of time. That's the reason I find the result hard to believe. Apple isn't going to randomly choose a material without having any idea of how it would hold up to opening/closing.
I imagine they were expecting they'd have a lot more than 212 cycles before it broke. If I was in the game of throwing money away by getting this, the durability would still concern me a lot. Yet again form over function prevails at Apple.
You don't need to trust their findings. You could duplicate 212 openings/closings by hand without any special equipment and in a very short period of time. That's the reason I find the result hard to believe. Apple isn't going to randomly choose a material without having any idea of how it would hold up to opening/closing.
I imagine they were expecting they'd have a lot more than 212 cycles before it broke. If I was in the game of throwing money away by getting this, the durability would still concern me a lot. Yet again form over function prevails at Apple.
Another factor that can Potentially lead to early failures is any torque put on the two halves while it’s in your bag. If one half is being twisted relative to the other it will tend to tear the hinge.
I just looked on Amazon - you can find multiple wireless charger combos for significantly less than this, and they even include a power supply. Can’t see how this makes sense.
The execs at Anker (et al other high-quality third-party accessory makers) must be having a party after reading this.
That said, if it included the proper charger for fastest speed I think a lot of people would go for it despite the price. This is clearly designed as a travel charger -- not your everyday-charger -- so the need to fold it 200+ times (even believing the lab's results are reproducible in the real world) wouldn't be happening for many years. Not really an issue in my mind.
Is it overpriced even if it included a 27-watt charger? Yes!
Is it self-sabotaging because it doesn't? Yes!
Will the not-so-invisible hand of the gigantic third-party accessory market "fix" this "issue" for less money? Count on it.
The execs at Anker (et al other high-quality third-party accessory makers) must be having a party after reading this.
That said, if it included the proper charger for fastest speed I think a lot of people would go for it despite the price. This is clearly designed as a travel charger -- not your everyday-charger -- so the need to fold it 200+ times (even believing the lab's results are reproducible in the real world) wouldn't be happening for many years. Not really an issue in my mind.
Is it overpriced even if it included a 27-watt charger? Yes!
Is it self-sabotaging because it doesn't? Yes!
Will the not-so-invisible hand of the gigantic third-party accessory market "fix" this "issue" for less money? Count on it.
The first thing I thought when the first videos and pricing were released last month was that this thing is nothing more than a fanboy prop. I’ve seen nothing since to change my mind. This charger might be marketed as being for travelers, but its really made for people who want other people to know they have it.
“Apple users will probably flock to MagSafe Duo -- we still bought one -- but you have to work harder to justify it. Fortunately, "it's cool" can be plenty enough justification”.
An iPhone that employs USB PD can draw 22W, and up to 25W, from an adapter that can supply it, so 18W is certainly not the maximum.
That's just Apple being conservative with the adapters it bundled with the 11, though not to the extent of the ubiquitous 5W adapters for the XS models and older.
Of course, if there's no practical need to fast charge, battery life can benefit by charging at lower power levels.
chasm said: This is clearly designed as a travel charger -- not your everyday-charger -- so the need to fold it 200+ times (even believing the lab's results are reproducible in the real world) wouldn't be happening for many years.
The lab's results aren't believable at all. Look at the hinge itself: when it's closed it has a very soft curve, and when it's open it lays flat. Where is the stress for failure going to come from when used normally? The soft curve? A piece of paper could hold a curve like that 212 times without failing.
elijahg said: I imagine they were expecting they'd have a lot more than 212 cycles before it broke.
It's a nonsense number. A hinge made out of cardboard could open/close 212 times without failing.
Well since you don't believe an Apple-centric site that is likely to give Apple the benefit of the doubt, why don't you get one and fold it 212 times and see if yours breaks.
If the dock itself isn't pricey enough at $129, you also have to factor in the USB-C power brick.
But wait - I thought the reason Apple quit supplying chargers with their phones was because everyone already had one and it was just electronic waste. The USB-C power brick should be a non-issue then, right? /s
Seriously, $130 for a folding charger that doesn't even include a power supply, has low power output and that breaks after 175-200 folds? How about just bringing with a lightning cable. Faster, cheaper and you probably have one already.
It was the biggest load of hypocritical bullocks from Apple this year: hiding they want higher profit by saying they removed those chargers “for the environment”.
If they really care about the environment, they would announce ceasing producing all-in-one machines you can’t repair or replace components of. Think soldering an SSD for no good reason, or providing a 5K screen glued to a computer, and not offering a way to use the monitor when the computer died.
They could have removed it and shaving a few bucks off the total price; that I would get. But cost remained the same, and they aren’t donating that extra profit “for the environment” either. Such a jackass move.
elijahg said: Well since you don't believe an Apple-centric site that is likely to give Apple the benefit of the doubt, why don't you get one and fold it 212 times and see if yours breaks.
Because I already own an Apple product that has multiple polyurethane hinges that bend in the same manner and have never failed in 5 years of daily use: the polyurethane iPad Pro cover. The hinge on the side that connects to the magnetic strip bends into a U shape and has never failed. The two hinges on the front cover that bend into U shapes for the cover to be used as a stand have never failed. Bending polyurethane into a U shape hinge doesn't really put much stress on the material at all.
There's certainly an argument to be made that it's more expensive than one would like. But on the question of not including a wall a charger, I imagine if this is intended for use as a travel charging device that the expectation is you bring the wall charger you normally use with you? That's what I would end up doing with it, anyway.
Except how many people have a spare 30w brick laying around? Since Apple has never included anything more than the paltry 5w cube with iPhones and even the iPad chargers were only 20w I'd bet not many.
Wondering if this silly whining and complaining is going to last as long as when Apple gave floppy discs, Flash, and the microphone jack the boot.
Time to get over it. Whining on forums is not going to bring back chargers.
Love that the cheap material holding the two sides together fails after about 200 'folds'. This has to be the biggest joke of a product Apple has ever made, and talk about overpriced! You can charge faster with the $19 USB-C charger and your included cable, and carry less with you while traveling to charge your devices!
I would take the alleged "testing" with a grain of salt. Even if it happens to fail, Apple has always been more than generous with exchanges outside of the warranty period.
flydog said: I would take the alleged "testing" with a grain of salt. Even if it happens to fail, Apple has always been more than generous with exchanges outside of the warranty period.
Seems like the kind of thing that would flood YouTube with hinge breaking videos if it were accurate.
I"m normally not a complainer about Apple prices. They are what they are, and you get what you get, and you either think the products are worth it or not. But sometimes Apple just goes too far and this dock crosses the line for me. $130 for a 2-product dock and they don't include the 27-watt power brick you'll need for best recharging speeds?! Or ANY power brick at all? WTH, Apple? The results of your hinge testing are also very disconcerting--you'd think that with a hinged product intended for travel, the long term durability of that hinge would be assured. Great review and very fair criticisms.
Guess they figured out a way to recoup all that R&D they spent on AirPower.
The first thing I thought when the first videos and pricing were released last month was that this thing is nothing more than a fanboy prop. I’ve seen nothing since to change my mind. This charger might be marketed as being for travelers, but its really made for people who want other people to know they have it.
“Apple users will probably flock to MagSafe Duo -- we still bought one -- but you have to work harder to justify it. Fortunately, "it's cool" can be plenty enough justification”.
Fanboy prop, you mean like having a PS5 controller sitting along side it in the product shots?
There's certainly an argument to be made that it's more expensive than one would like. But on the question of not including a wall a charger, I imagine if this is intended for use as a travel charging device that the expectation is you bring the wall charger you normally use with you? That's what I would end up doing with it, anyway.
Except how many people have a spare 30w brick laying around? Since Apple has never included anything more than the paltry 5w cube with iPhones and even the iPad chargers were only 20w I'd bet not many.
You don't need a 30W. As it becomes ubiquitous most people will use 20W chargers, and the 11W rate will certainly be good enough for the typical charging at bedtime. Faster than we've expected of standard Xi charing mats. If one truly needed to quick-charge the phone, you can simply unplug the Duo and plug into the iPhone -- crisis averted!
This is a non-issue for most people most of the time.
I would like it if you guys could test again the durability. I just folded my MagSafe Duo Charger 1000 times in both directions at 20°C and it still works perfectly. No sign of wear to the hinge.
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The lab's results aren't believable at all. Look at the hinge itself: when it's closed it has a very soft curve, and when it's open it lays flat. Where is the stress for failure going to come from when used normally? The soft curve? A piece of paper could hold a curve like that 212 times without failing.
Time to get over it. Whining on forums is not going to bring back chargers.
I would take the alleged "testing" with a grain of salt. Even if it happens to fail, Apple has always been more than generous with exchanges outside of the warranty period.
This is a non-issue for most people most of the time.