Apple MC556LL/A Laptop AC Adapter Review

The Apple 85W MagSafe Power Adapter is the highest wattage available in this line of Apple MacBook AC adapters. It is designed for use with any 15 or 17 inch MacBook Pro models.

These MagSafe Apple laptop AC adapters bear the companies landmark magnetic design. Rather than plugging into a jack on your MacBook, these adapters instead latch onto your machine via a magnetic connection. Aside from giving your machine a very cool design factor, this is actually a very functional design. First, this design is as efficient as any DC jack connection. However, this magnetic connection is much faster, easier, and more convenient to attach and remove. Also, it doesn’t require any more parts on your machine, which means there’s less to break or require repair.

This is actually a safety feature of the machine as well. A common source of damage to both typical laptop AC adapters and DC jacks is caused when someone trips over or hits the cord connecting the adapter to the machine. In a DC jack connection, this connection is rigid, and the force can bend pins or jacks, or cause stress on the cord and connections themselves, which can damage or outright break your components. With this magnetic connection, the cord simply falls away, with no damage to either component, and even without any kind of accident, a much longer lifespan for your adapter.

Just like Apple’s innovative laptop batteries, these adapters also bear an LED light indicator indicating to you the status of its charging or running state. An amber light indicates your battery is charging, while a green light tells you your battery is fully charged. These adapters are designed with a unique shape as well, meant for the cord to wrap neatly and securely around its own cube designed plug, for convenient storage and portability.