How is Microsoft’s Magnetic Connection different from Apple’s MagSafe for MacBooks?

While Microsoft’s October press event focused heavily on AI – much to no one’s surprise – the company made some major announcements regarding the Surface Laptop Ultra. It’s powered by NVIDIA’s RTX Spark platform and sports up to 128GB of shared system and graphics RAM. In a demo, Microsoft showed it running apps like DaVinci Resolve and Gears of War: E-Day simultaneously without missing a heartbeat.

One smaller point that caught our attention was a new power port dubbed Magnetic Connect. Charging technology isn’t normally a big deal, but Microsoft dedicated part of the show to it. This is remarkable when the company could have easily spent a few extra minutes working out Windows 11’s Spark or AI upgrades.

For Apple fans, the technology was immediately reminiscent of one thing: MagSafe charging ports on MacBooks. There are some important differences, however, and we wouldn’t be surprised if Apple changed course to copy Microsoft. That would be an interesting reversal.

The main difference is that while MagSafe is a proprietary port – in the unfortunate tradition of other Apple formats, like Lightning – Magnetic Connect really isn’t. It’s simply a Power Delivery-equipped USB-C port paired with a custom magnetic charging cable. The cable connector automatically aligns with the port and uses a special funnel-shaped tip to slide in smoothly. No jokes, please.

Why is this important? As Microsoft notes, this means the port can be used for other functions when you’re not charging. You can connect an external monitor, keyboard, your smartphone, or any other device you can think of. Laptops tend to have very few ports to begin with, so it’s a welcome change to get a magnetic power connection without sacrificing valuable space. Beyond the magnetic connection, the Surface Laptop Ultra has two additional USB-C ports, as well as HDMI, USB-A, an SD card reader, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

It’s important to note that Microsoft seems open to other companies adopting this technology. At the event, he said he hoped to lead the ecosystem, although he didn’t explicitly mention licensing Magnetic Connect to other manufacturers. This would likely be beneficial, because while Surface devices would no longer be special, owners would also have access to a wider variety of accessories that they could use interchangeably. Presumably, no one buys the Ultra just for its loading options.

In fact, one of the big problems with MagSafe is that while third-party cables are available, they are unlicensed. The only approved and fully reliable ones are from Apple, which charges $49 each. Since Magnetic Connect is just a combination of USB-C and magnets, even counterfeit products will likely work just fine.

Yes and no. The reason Apple, Microsoft, and others are interested in magnets is that without them, you risk tripping over a charging cable and sending your laptop to the ground. It’s also a bit more convenient, as no effort is wasted trying to line anything up. That’s it: no wireless transmission is involved, and it’s not like you can’t plug non-magnetic charging equipment into the Ultra.

If Magnetic Connect gains traction beyond Microsoft, it’s likely to improve laptop design across the board by freeing up the port space we mentioned. Apple would be hard-pressed to look away, especially since one of the reasons it ultimately adopted USB-C on iPhones was to comply with European Union regulations on mobile charging technology.

Don’t expect Magnetic Connect to become a truly universal standard, as USB Power Delivery tops out at 240W. That’s enough for most laptops, but some gaming models require even more power to support the high-end CPUs and GPUs they’re equipped with. That means both custom ports and giant charging bricks.