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Comment by pg | Hacker News Reader

I don't remember the details, but IIRC they are Apple proof.

Hopefully, but color me skeptical. I don't see how anyone can be X-proof, where X is a company that has over $100 billion in their bank account.

HyperMac literally bought Apple adapters and chopped off the cable. I'm not sure how much more Apple-proof you can get than that. What you need to be is "lawyers on retainers who can keep draining your law funds"-proof.

edit: another comment suggest a MagSafe-MagSafe2 adapter is used. That's an interesting solution that may very well work if they require the customer to buy it themselves, as I believe the Apple patent hinges on using a magnet. Of course, they may want to argue that in court. For years and years.

Apple under Jobs might be different to Apple under Cook. Potentially they have Apple's blessing. Suppose a promising YC company was just going to make it for the newest Samsung laptop otherwise. What would you do if you were Apple? Just speculation, but that's how I imagine "Apple-proof" meaning, especially if there's some agreement that they can't announce yet.

I have a feeling that if it can connect to a MagSafe port and work, Apple has control over it.

The claimed performance would provide a huge competitive advantage. If it worked as advertised and Apple had control over it, they'd integrate the software into their products and this box would never see the light of day as a third party product.

Apparently Apple already has it. Read the section titled "your new notebook" http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

They have something like it. As do almost all makers of modern battery-powered electronics. But no-one else is claiming essentially no loss of capacity after 3000 cycles.

Apple boasts 80% of original capacity after 1000 cycles. Which was industry leading, at least at the time of introduction. But a long way off GBatteries' claim.

And better batteries would further buoy resale price of Apple gear, which buoys their premium pricing for new goods. If they could have this, they would want it. Badly. It would also perfectly fit their MO for acquisitions: an engineering/technology acquisition that provides a competitive advantage to their core business.

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