Stuck at the dock

Why doesn't Apple sell its retail display chargers?

It’s fairly obvious what can be purchased and what’s off limits in an Apple Store. As a general rule, if it looks like a product, you can buy it. But every rule has exceptions, and every Apple Store has MagSafe docks.

Apple announced the current iteration of MagSafe in fall 2020, and in summer 2021 began piloting MagSafe docks and display risers at Apple Park Visitor Center. The fixtures officially launched at select stores alongside the iPhone 13 and gradually rolled out to markets worldwide over the past two years. In summer 2022, matching watch docks were added to the Apple Watch Discovery Table.

For years, Apple Stores relied on essentially off-the-shelf iPhone Lightning Docks and Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Docks for displays. This made it easy to assemble an at-home charging solution that looked as clean as an Apple Store. MagSafe upset the order.

Tabletops readers and visitors to my Apple Store Glossary regularly email me wanting to purchase the magnetic docks Apple Stores use. Next to the highly-coveted band trays, this has to be one of the most popular requests I field. I expect the demand will only grow now that every first-party dock including MagSafe Duo has been discontinued. To top it all off, iOS 17 ships with StandBy, a feature that practically requires a MagSafe dock to use. When I created the artwork for this year’s MacStories review, I modeled Apple’s own dock specifically for this case.

If you wander the seedy back alleys of social media, you can find resellers offering official retail docks for undisclosed sums. (Please don’t email me for links. I cannot provide them.) I don’t know how these fixtures are acquired, and purchasing internal hardware to study is not my idea of ethical research for this newsletter, but there are other resources we can turn to to learn more.

In 2021, Apple submitted an FCC application for Magnetic Charger model A2548. The application and relevant documentation is publicly available online. The device is what you’d expect: a MagSafe charger on a stainless steel arm connected to a plastic foot that contains a few electronics and a security tether spool. Hong Kong design patent 2119034.7 “Display Stand” and US-20220408943-A1 “Display Stand Unit” are fixtures with the same design.

US-20220408943-A1

Last year, Apple also submitted Magnetic Charging System A2876 and Magnetic Charger A2929 for Apple Watch. The story here is much the same. Both docks contain USB-C connections.

If you study the illustrations and test photos, it becomes clear that these chargers are simply not suited for resale. If Apple were to release first-party docks on its online store, they’d need to develop entirely new models.

The retail dock designs appear driven primarily by a desire to intelligently conceal security tethers, and significant portions of the device volumes are filled with the spool mechanisms. This makes both docks relatively large and thick. Storage wasn’t a factor with the Lightning Dock and original Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock, neither of which had any cable management solution. Store employees were busy spooling all day long.

FCC Application

The construction is primarily plastic, not brushed aluminum or a fabric material. If produced in large quantities, this might conflict with Apple’s environmental goals. And speaking of the environment, packaging is a major concern. The current MagSafe dock doesn’t fold flat and is quite tall. Based on its approximate dimensions, I estimate the volume of the box could be nearly 275 percent greater than the box for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. That’s a nonstarter for the company that just took pains to reduce Apple Watch Series 9 box volume by 23 percent.

I don’t think any of these challenges are reasons not to produce docks customers can buy, but it’s clearly not as simple as putting a barcode on the retail displays. Perhaps sales of older docks were light, but I think they’re an idea worth revisiting today.

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Grab bag

via PetaPixel

Now that another iPhone launch is in the books, there’s time to share some links I’ve been sitting on:

Bollards blocked

Boston’s Back Bay Architectural Commission rejected Apple’s proposal to add bollards outside the entrance to Apple Boylston Street, asking for alternative designs. In August, I discussed Apple’s progress adding protections to its most vulnerable stores. This is another good reminder of how challenging and slow a “simple” remedy can sometimes be.

Today at Apple

Designers will enjoy this peek at the flexible identity system artist Gianluca Alla created to brand a series of Today at Apple events in Milan.

Shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max

National Geographic photographer Reuben Wu’s iPhone photos were featured on the video wall at Apple Champs-Élysées in Paris and highlighted by Tim Cook.

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Featured image

Apple 명동

Photo via @k.j.producer.