Apple has made some controversial moves with their latest product releases. Some of these moves include removing the headphone jack from the iPhone 7, removing the SD card reader from the MacBook line-up, and switching to USB-C on the MacBook and MacBook Pro models. Call it progress if you will, but some users aren’t too thrilled having to give up features that they fell in love with. This post doesn’t have all the answers but it does offer a solution to the MacBook (and MacBook Pro) loosing the popular MagSafe connector. The magSafe connector is the magnetic charge cable provided with the last generation of MacBooks. If you ever happened to get tangled up in your power cord the magnetic connector would release so you didn’t end up flinging your laptop across the room. Well the new MacBook doesn’t have the MagSafe connector, it has a normal USB-C port. So what do you do?
You get in line at Kickstarter for the Branch MagNeo magnetic USB-C connector ($19). The MagNeo is tiny at just 0.36 x 0.94 x 0.68 in (9.1 x 23.9 x 17.3 mm), and it does more than just power (like the Griffin BreakSafe) , it also supports video (at up to 5k) and data (at up to 10Gb/s). While Branch is marketing this towards the Apple crowd, it will work with any laptop or phone that has USB-C. Expect early orders to start shipping in February.
