I wish they would put in at least some basic effort into smoothing that sharp edge where wrists often rest when using the MacBook, rather than just the curvature of the corner. Any cheap laptop is nicer to my wrists than a MacBook.
It's basically just Bauhaus design but with a few nice soft features, it's gonna be a bit uncomfortable, it's gonna be expensive, it might compromise functionality, all to create a sense of precision, authenticity, and high-endness.
There's the main plug in a plastic housing, and then there's an extra-thick rubber part about a centimeter long which is the strain relief wrapped around the cable, and then the rest of the cable itself. Clearly visible in any product photograph close-up.
Apple has been notorious for sacrificing good strain relief on their cables in pursuit of aesthetics for years. Possibly things have improved now that Ive has left, but there was a period a few years ago when everyone I knew with a Macbook had wrapped the power cable in electrical tape because the cable housing had failed just above the (useless) strain relief sleeve you describe.
But they have changed the design a lot since then so I no longer think this is an issue. The brick is now usb c so you can swap the cable without needing an expensive brick, and the MagSafe cables they now include are braided instead of rubber.
Whether the cables with the braided sleeve are better is something that remains to be seen.
Just wanted to say, you aren’t alone. I don’t do anything special with mine, I’m sure I mistreat them as much as the next person, but like never have the kind of damage I’ve seen others have or complain about.
There's guides on how to workaround it using things like Sugru or tape, but still frustrating.
Over time their strain relief has gotten shorter or longer https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/03...
So a lot of people's memories about Apple's strain relief may come from one of their darker periods when they were super short, stiff and useless.
In my personal experience their previous laptop MagSafe had absolutely useless strain relief and mine would always start going bad within 6-12 months. https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13878908/2...
The current braided MagSafe cables actually have zero visible strain relief but seem like they're simply stronger, mine has held up well so far.
Do you put your laptop in a bag where it gets squished between books and other stuff to cause the display to be pushed in?
Bad design, imo.