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Comment by blackrock | Hacker News Reader

I would actually like a Type C sized USB port that is magnetic.

Kind of like the magnetic Apple charger for the older MacBook.

Why magnetic? So that I can quickly attach and detach a flash drive to it, without actually plugging it in. And then have an external mechanical locking pin or mechanism, to hold the device or cable in place, if you need to better secure it.

Why would this be superior?

* You eliminate the actual wear and tear of the USB metal housing.

* The external locking mechanism can be easily repaired or replaced when it wears out or breaks.

* It would probably help make your computer more waterproof.

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A couple possible issues, mostly inherent to magnetic connectors like this:

* attracts everything magnetic and mettalic, not just the connector - need to be careful no to attract to many metal turnings, washers, etc. * the number of contact points & the quality of contact might not be enough for high speed communication * the contact pads/pins might be more exposed than normal connectors, so more likely to be damaged or accumulate dirt

Apple avoided this by making it an "intelligent" port. There is a bit of handshake that occurs when connecting the magport charger. Until this handshake happens, the power does not turn on. When first connected the LED turns amber to indicate the connection has been made, but the electrons are not yet flowing. Once the handshake occurs, the electrons start flowing and the LED turns green.

It would be cool to go one step further and have the handshake enable an electromagnet.

That would be kind of pointless though, wouldn't it? The handshake only takes place after the cable has been physically connected to the port. You would need to manually guide the connector to where it needs to be and then keep it stationary until the handshake is ready (which might not be a very long time in human terms, of course).

The part I liked about the magnetic connection was that yanking the cable wasnt catastrophic. The secondary benefit was that the connector had basically zero depth.

what about accidentally unplugging and corrupting the data? it's fine for power cable, but not sure how much for data. It would need some sort of locking in place.

There's some magnetic USB-c adapters you can get on Amazon. They kinda look like pogo pins

I was under the impression these only work for usb c power distribution; do they also work for data, display, etc?

Yes. Some have only 2 leads, but the newer ones have all of them.

Any recommendations for a good one? I know the Type C market is rife with poor quality stuff.

Knaive KD3 [1] has worked well with my MacbookPro. It supports 100watts of USB-PD and USB 3.1 (10gbit). I've had no problems doing 87watts, 1080p @ 60hz HDMI and ethernet/USB over a single cable.

USB 3.1 only has bandwidth for 4K @ 60hz w/o USB; so with non-thunderbolt cables (like these magnetic adaptors) it's either Power+4K@60Hz or Power+USB+4K@30Hz.

[1]: https://amzn.to/38ZXPVa

We've been using these on our Macbooks at home: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07GHZC8FN

I've been using this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MMKZ8XD

All 24 pins are connected, so video, data, and power all work as expected.

>I would actually like a Type C sized USB port that is magnetic.

I would love one to. Except there wont be another port once EU pass the USB-C law.

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