MagSafe vs USB-C Charging M1 Max?

I suppose I should know this but I don’t. Are there advantages (e.g., charging time) or other advantages in charging the MBP 14" using USB-C vs MagSafe? I don’t see a need to use MagSafe unless I’m traveling and/or out and about. But, using MagSafe keeps a USB-C slot open. Is charging faster with USB-C? Other thoughts?

I know that with MagSafe you have fast charging. However, I have the MBP M1 Max fully loaded GPU 32 ram and I use usb c since I use one cable for almost all my stuff. MagSafe cable is on a ziplock stored and I haven’t touch it and I find that it charges fine. The charger that I use is from my 2016 mbp.

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Both charging methods have fast charging, it all depends on the actual charger you use. For me, I am connecting it to a dock that has all the peripherals connected, and can charge as well.

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With a 14" you seem to have more options for fastcharging than with the 16":

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For the 14" (mine just shipped, yay!) I see four advantages to MagSafe:

  1. It frees up a Thunderbolt port
  2. If the charging cord is unexpectedly yanked, the chance of damage is greatly reduced.
  3. I have USB-C cables attached to chargers everywhere I commonly use my “portable” notebook.
  4. Less wear and tear on a Thunderbolt port (I’ve never had an issue with it, but some people have expressed concern)

If those things aren’t advantages for you then I don’t see any benefit to MagSafe over USB-C for the 14" MBP.

(I was worried about the return of MagSafe: I’ve really enjoyed being freed from having to use Apple’s (kind of poor) power bricks, and I was absolutely not looking forward to having a cable permanently attached to a brick again, but Apple’s implementation this time around is perfect and addressed all of my fears. Well done Apple!)

ETA: I just realized #3 is a point in favour of USB-C :laughing:

Excellent points, that settles it for me. Thanks! :slightly_smiling_face:

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Thanks. I’m considering ordering the 140W USB-C Power Adapter + USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable

It thought this was interesting:

The new MagSafe 3 charging standard
There’s been plenty of discussions online about the 2021 MacBook Pro’s fast charging abilities in the past few days. The mystery might have been finally solved, per 9to5Mac.

All USB-C chargers support a charging standard called USB-C Power Delivery (PD). This allows USB-C cables to deliver power at up to 100W. That’s why it makes sense to spend $20 extra and purchase the 96W power brick with the cheapest 14-inch MacBook.

But Apple helped develop a new standard called USB PD 3.1 Extended Power Range (EPR), which supports charging speeds of up to 240W.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro charger uses the USB PD 3.1 EPR standard but only goes up to 140W. But you need the MagSafe 3 cable to take advantage of 140W charging speeds. That’s because the USB-C cables that you can buy today do not support EPR. Furthermore, it looks like the USB-C ports on the MacBook Pros won’t support fast-charging over USB-C in the future when those USB-C EPR cables do appear.

That said, it’s unclear what happens if you use a 140W charger with MagSafe 3 with a 14-inch MacBook Pro.

What to know about MacBook Pro's fast charging speeds before you buy

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My first thought was “why did you revive a dead thread?” But after reading this, I am so grateful you did. Fascinating! I didn’t know this wasn’t all part of the spec. Wonder where we’ll be by the time Gen2 comes around.

I prefer the 16” for its large display but this has me re-thinking it.

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Well I was going to start a new one but was notified that this thread existed and, after going through it, realised my post was incremental to the info here and potentially useful.

Separately, I find it daunting to keep out with all the specs and exceptions for various configurations of Macs, cables/connecters and power supplies. This forum is probably the best place out there (in addition to the Mac Buyers Guide .

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It never used to be this confusing, but also, we never used to have this many options. I think I prefer it, and I’m also very glad MagSafe is back.

Agreed I’m happy we have Magsafe though now its an additional connector. The relief, though, is that USB-C still works to charge so I won’t be stuck without the Magsafe connector :+1:t3:

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