Microsoft's October press event was heavily AI-oriented, but the company devoted a notable portion of its show to a smaller announcement: a new power port called Magnetic Connect on the Surface Laptop Ultra. The Ultra is powered by NVIDIA's RTX Spark platform and offers up to 128GB of shared system and graphics RAM. Charging technology isn't usually a big deal, which makes Microsoft's focus on it stand out.
For Apple fans, Magnetic Connect immediately recalls MagSafe, the magnetic charging port on MacBooks. The key difference is that MagSafe is proprietary, in the same vein as Apple's Lightning connector. Magnetic Connect is not. It is simply a Power Delivery-equipped USB-C port paired with a custom magnetic charging cable. The connector aligns automatically and slides in smoothly thanks to a funnel-shaped tip. Because the port remains usable for other functions when not charging, it can also support external monitors, keyboards, smartphones and other peripherals, which is valuable on laptops with few ports.
Microsoft also appears open to other manufacturers adopting the technology, though it did not explicitly mention licensing. Third-party MagSafe cables exist but are unlicensed, and the only sanctioned options come from Apple at $49 apiece. Since Magnetic Connect relies on USB-C and magnets, knockoff products are likely to work well.
The magnets mainly guard against tripping over a cable and sending a laptop to the floor, and they make connecting more convenient. Magnetic Connect is unlikely to become a truly universal standard, however, since USB Power Delivery tops out at 240W, which some high-end gaming laptops may exceed.
Source: Engadget · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing