Reviewers find you can’t charge a MacBook Pro while it’s inside Apple’s new leather sleeve

9to5
Mac/YouTube

• Apple’s new leather sleeves for its 13-inch and 15-inch
  MacBook Pro laptops aren’t designed to allow for charging while
  the computer is full inside the sleeve, according to early
  reviews.
• Reviewers at 9to5 Mac and iDownloadBlog noted the same
  frustration, and found it to be a main reason not to buy the
  sleeve.

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Reviewers have gotten their hands on the new leather sleeves for
Apple’s recently introduced MacBook Pro laptops — and they’ve
already run into a frustrating pain point that stems from the
sleeves’ overall design.

Apple introduced new MacBook Pro
laptops earlier this month, and added
the new high-end laptop sleeves to
go with them. Much like Apple’s other leather accessories,
the sleeves are great-looking — they come
in midnight blue, saddle brown, and black, and Apple says
they’re made from “high-quality European leather.” 

The sleeves cost $180 for the 13-inch version and $200
for the 15-inch version — and that’s on top of the cost of the
laptop, which starts at $1,800. 

9to5 Mac’s Jeff Benjamin
posted his review of the sleeve on Tuesday. And while he mostly
enjoyed the sleeve’s look and feel, he also noted his main point
of frustration: the sleeve isn’t designed to allow you to charge
your laptop while it’s inside. 

Benjamin pointed out that, because of the orientation of the
Apple logo on the front of the sleeve, Apple clearly intends for
you to put the end of the MacBook Pro with the USB-C ports in
first, which eliminates the possibility of connecting a
charger.

The
new MacBook Pro sleeve in midnight blue.
Apple

But what if Apple actually intends for you to flip it the other
way, leaving the USB-C ports more exposed? No, that doesn’t work
either — Benjamin tried putting the laptop in backwards, but the
USB-C ports are still too far inside the sleeve to be able to
connect with the charger. 

iDownloadBlog’s Christian
Zibreg encountered the same pain point during his review.

It’s possible that there’s a valid reason why Apple doesn’t want
you to charge your MacBook Pro while it’s inside the sleeve. Both
reviewers noted that the sleeve is very snug — and,
being made out of leather, it’s likely not very
breathable. While other laptop sleeve makers allow you to
charge your device while in the sleeve, it’s possible that with
Apple’s version, connecting a charger would present a fire
hazard. 

It’s also worth noting that Apple has previously sold leather
sleeves for its 12-inch MacBook, but it’s not clear whether
owners of that version have been able to charge their MacBook
while it’s in the sleeve.

Still, the new sleeves for Apple’s new MacBook Pro are
accessories that cost as much as $200, and both reviewers noted
how annoying it is to remove the laptop from the sleeve each and
every time you need to charge it.