AIBU to think mac charger cords are rubbish and overly prone to fraying

[Pangurban]

I have had to buy my second charger for a macbook air today. I do not do anything to the cords, but they have frayed where the lead attaches to the computer. The rubber is really soft and could be reinforced more. Do apple not make them stronger for a reason?

Git Assistant in apple store today kept saying to me 'oh mine has never frayed'. Well, bully for him.

Any ideas on how to reinforce it? Tape or a biro sleeve? At 65 blasted quid, it should already be reinforced by apple.

There are only to possibilities but, for fun, there is the added randomness of whether you get it lined up correctly as well as the right way up. I don't even have to look at a lightening connector (or MagSafe) in order to connect it properly.

TWO possibilities FFS. if Apple could just make autocorrect more intelligent, all would be good.

I agree that a lightning USB is way better than a mini usb. Can go in either way, has no voids for gunk to get stuck in.

2 iPhones, 3 iPod, 1 iPad, 1 MacBook in this house. No genuine Apple chargers have ever packed up on me.

Personally -after using laptops without magsafe for 20+ years all over everywhere - someone tripping over the cable has never been a problem for me - suspect the jack pulls out quite easily...although I guess on superlight laptops it could be a problem - then having said that I've never had anyone trip over my cable... cos laptops have batteries so I don't NEED it plugged in where it might be a trip hazard for someone (who could get hurt!)
Maybe an issue of creating and exaggerating a need and marketing a remedy?
Actually read the end of this article ...9to5mac.com/2015/03/12/magsafe-future-apple/
Also they are getting rid of it now for the industry standard USB-C...so it was that essential - also round jacks are 'non-directional' -so the charging plug type used caused a problem (multiple pins) and they solved it
Honestly I don't care what the industry standard is -but there should be one...
So a USB will charge an Ipad ...the way to look at it if Apple do a special charger that can speed that up - fine you buy it...but you shouldn't have to buy one /replace it...
(And I have a couple of 'standard' mains plug chargers (non Apple) that use a USB to mini USB charging cable and put out 2A (5V) - which I'm pretty sure is 10w - thought they were pretty common...maybe another Apple marketing ploy?)

Unlucky, one of the reasons I went mac is because several laptops had been pulled off surfaces by either one of the kids or one of the dogs and later died. The dogs in particular are good at sitting on cables or catching their tail or paw in one. It needs to be plugged in if I am watching a movie or the battery is getting low.

I sparkly heart love magsafe adaptors. I will be sad when I next upgrade if they don't have them.

Ok -I guess we all use computers for different things - I mainly use a laptop for work - so mainly sitting at a desk/somewhere sensible for most of the time ...whilst it is charging.
(I find if I sit on the sofa to watch a movie etc the biggest danger is me falling asleep -have done in the past- and then waking up with laptop still (thankfully) perched on my knee).
Now I tend to watch things on my tablet rather than laptop...but not whilst charging...biggest danger to that is overheating if I use it as an ereader in bed as it overrides the sleep mode - fall asleep and wake up to find it under the duvet, screen illuminated, battery nearly flat and really hot...
Have never dropped or come close to dropping a laptop...or having one dragged off...

So a USB will charge an Ipad ...the way to look at it if Apple do a special charger that can speed that up - fine you buy it...but you shouldn't have to buy one /replace it...

You don't. You just plug your iphone or ipad into any USB port. I seriously cannot believe people are getting worked up about the price of cables (not chargers, just cables).

I am going to drop it but it isn't the cost of the cable that is the issue...
In our family we have multiple devices that are mini USB and plug into a USB...we can use the same charger and cable for them all - with a spare in case we need to charge 2 devices at the same time. If a friend visited (and we had an industry standard) they could use it too. Also a few months ago a mum dropping off at school and found she had a flat tyre - was asking around if anyone had an iphone charger...her battery was dead, she didn't know her Dps new mobile number (it was on her phone) and couldn't remember which breakdown company they were with (we did find someone in the end but still an unnecessary faff -we all had chargers just not the right kind). It is a convenience thing - I remember when we had 4 different phone chargers, different earphones, a camera cable etc etc -a jumbled mess of wires that needed labelling so things are moving in the right direction...

But also we could (should) get to the stage that you buy a phone/device/laptop and it doesn't come with a charger or even a cable (like tv 'add ons' like DVD players/PVRS etc -even printers - most no longer come with a scart/HDMI/printer cable - if you need one you can buy one separately -but you can just use your old one too.)
Currently every device still ships with a cable and charger - device dies and everything ends up landfill (or actually they will/should retrieve the copper out of the cable)...but the whole manufacture/transport/disposal of the cable is an unnecessary waste....

None of the mac laptop chargers I've had (for the three macs I've owned/own) have broken.

Iphone chargers are a different story. DH and I have to stock up on them as they break so easily.

we can use the same charger and cable for them all

But on iPods and derivatives back to their very early history the connector has carried not only power but also analogue and digital audio and control lines. So in order for you to be able to use the same charger, you would need to have multiple cables when connecting an iPod/phone to your car or to a speaker system, or you would need an extremely complex (and unreliable) connector consisting of a single shell containing a MicroUSB (which didn't exist when iPods and iPhones started) and a subsidiary connector for everything else. A 30-pin dock cable charges everything from the 2004 iPod to the 2014 iPhones and iPods (there are a handful of docks which charge via the 12V firewire pins which don't work on more devices, but they're extremely rare): what connector do you propose Apple should have fitted in 2004 which would still have worked in 2014?

In our family we have multiple devices that are mini USB and plug into a USB

I've got a big 6-port USB charger which I used to charge a mix of Apple and non-Apple devices. I just need to keep a 10cm long cable, cost £1, in my bag. The standard is 5V USB A connector at the charger end.