Saturday, October 26, 2019

Thunderbolt Display Life Extension: An Environmental Proposal for Apple

I recently replaced the power supply and data cable on my Thunderbolt Display to keep it working with its 5th Mac.  I know from experience that the original cables go bad, especially from MacBook Air users having to put too much stress on the cable being plugged into both sides of that laptop.  I personally wore out 2 Apple original cables when the strain relief around the data cable failed. So time for a replacement. Although I could have just used the auxiliary Thunderbolt 2 port on the display, I was in refurbish mode, and was opening the display up anyway.

Here's the cable I found on Amazon. Like the original it has a MagSafe 1 power connector and a Thunderbolt via Mini DisplayPort data connector. Which would be great, if I still used a 2015 MacBook Pro.
Thunderbolt Display Cable Replacement
But I have a 2018 MacBook Pro which has no MagSafe and has 4 Thunderbolt over USB-C ports. So, I purchased a separate Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adaptor from Apple for $49: 
Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2
Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adaptor

And I had to provide my own $79 power supply, despite the fact that I now have a new 250W power supply in my Thunderbolt Display which would be perfectly capable (I would think) of driving both the display and my laptop. 

I could have ripped the whole cable out and replaced. it with a Thunderbolt 2 cable, as the inside connector is just a Mini DisplayPort jack, just like the other end. I could have even put a short Thunderbolt 2 cable inside the case, attached to the adaptor and brought out a Thunderbolt 3 cable through the opening in the case, but I wouldn't have power over that cable. What I want is a one cable solution. 

Here is my proposal to Apple. Create a replacement cable assembly that ends up with a powered Thunderbolt 3 USB-C port embedded in the opening currently occupied by the MagSafe/Thunderbolt 2 cable. Enough with embedded cables that go bad with inadequate strain relief. Put a port in the back of the display to make it easy to replace future cables. Charge $129 for it, and I will buy one, I promise. 

Apple is always claiming to lead the way environmentally, but they are allowing 100's of thousands of otherwise functional monitors to go out of use before their they have to. They don't even sell a monitor in this price region anymore.  They brag about using "recycled" aluminum in their lower end products, but have this golden opportunity to keep equipment working and not being recycled and landfilled.