The plastic on the cord for the charger for my 2010 MacBook completely peeled off on both sides for 2-3 feet when it was about a year and a half old. Just bare twisted metal coating… it seemed dangerous or something. I took it to an Apple Store hoping for any sort of discount on a new one, and some snotty guy with a septum piercing angrily insisted that I must have habitually rolled over it with a chair. He said my only option was to buy a new one for full price (around $150). I didn’t even own a chair with wheels. All I had ever done was coil it up 3-4 times a day going between my house and coffee shops.
I ended up calling and complaining and a manager said I could get a 50% discount. Great! So I went there 2 weeks later and some guy angrily insisted HE was the manager on duty and HE didn’t approve that. So they looked at my charger and angrily insisted that I’d rolled over it with a chair and my only option was to buy a new one for full price.
Anyway, Apple was trying a lot of different coverings back then to avoid BPA or something. They ended up paying a class action settlement for some of their charging cables.
I have a similar issue with headphone cables failing, often far too soon, but I get that too. It’s wear and tear from being yanked and moved. They’re also often cheap headphones. But I’ve had apple cables disintigrate when stored in a cupboard and not moved at all. It’s like they’re biodegradeable.
I suspect they’re using a softner which degrades the plastic over time. Their cables are softer/more bendy than cheaper/stiffer plastic cables.
But for the price they charge, I don’t see why they couldn’t make them fabric covered. You can buy fabric covered cables for really cheap online, and they ship them half away across the world and still make a profit. Why can’t apple do the same?
They use the excuse of it having a “sleak design” to not make the cables more shielded and rigid. Since they would sell less overpriced cables if the cables lasted longer.
You also throw away the supposed superior connector when the cable frays.
I used to have this on all Apple cables but I haven’t had in a while now.
Whatever Apple did to make those cables was trash. But between the braided ones and the plastic ones it’s been 2 or 3 years since I’ve had one go brown.
I had constant issues with cables when I was still an apple user.
Loads of plastic rot and scarily browning cables.
I honestly don’t get it, given the cables on my commodore 64 are still good as new 40 years later.
The plastic on the cord for the charger for my 2010 MacBook completely peeled off on both sides for 2-3 feet when it was about a year and a half old. Just bare twisted metal coating… it seemed dangerous or something. I took it to an Apple Store hoping for any sort of discount on a new one, and some snotty guy with a septum piercing angrily insisted that I must have habitually rolled over it with a chair. He said my only option was to buy a new one for full price (around $150). I didn’t even own a chair with wheels. All I had ever done was coil it up 3-4 times a day going between my house and coffee shops.
I ended up calling and complaining and a manager said I could get a 50% discount. Great! So I went there 2 weeks later and some guy angrily insisted HE was the manager on duty and HE didn’t approve that. So they looked at my charger and angrily insisted that I’d rolled over it with a chair and my only option was to buy a new one for full price.
Anyway, Apple was trying a lot of different coverings back then to avoid BPA or something. They ended up paying a class action settlement for some of their charging cables.
They ended up losing me as a customer forever.
Yeah. They’re not cheap either.
To be fair I had a fair few cables break in the six years I had my OnePlus One, but they just stopped working, they didn’t literally fall apart.
I have a similar issue with headphone cables failing, often far too soon, but I get that too. It’s wear and tear from being yanked and moved. They’re also often cheap headphones. But I’ve had apple cables disintigrate when stored in a cupboard and not moved at all. It’s like they’re biodegradeable.
I suspect they’re using a softner which degrades the plastic over time. Their cables are softer/more bendy than cheaper/stiffer plastic cables.
But for the price they charge, I don’t see why they couldn’t make them fabric covered. You can buy fabric covered cables for really cheap online, and they ship them half away across the world and still make a profit. Why can’t apple do the same?
I think Apple has learned their lesson. MacBooks charging cables seems to be braided with fabric-like material these days.
Yeah. I mean it’s Apple, they definitely have the means so it’s on purpose. With Apple you’ll always get a generous helping of bullshit.
They use the excuse of it having a “sleak design” to not make the cables more shielded and rigid. Since they would sell less overpriced cables if the cables lasted longer.
You also throw away the supposed superior connector when the cable frays.
Apple makes self-obsoleting trash. That’s the detail you’re not getting.
Apple maintains their phones with OS and security updates for much longer than any Android manufacturers I’m aware of.
I used to have this on all Apple cables but I haven’t had in a while now.
Whatever Apple did to make those cables was trash. But between the braided ones and the plastic ones it’s been 2 or 3 years since I’ve had one go brown.