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I've repeatedly encountered an issue where putting my phone, or headphones, or a magnet (the magnetic power adapter thing) near the speaker port on the left side of a rMBP (or on top of the speaker holes nearby) will cause the display to go to sleep. Is this an intentional design?

personjerry
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    intentional: unlikely; expected: absolutely; A speaker/headphones/magnet all generate a magnetic field. It sounds that left side of your laptop isn't properly shielded from EMI. – Ramhound Jan 06 '17 at 19:59
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    Whats more likely honestly is that the rMBP has a sensor, which detect a small magnet in the lid, thus putting your screen to sleep. It sounds like the sensor is so v its actually detecting the magnetic field generated by your phone and headphone. Apple is notorious weird design decisions in their products, it takes them several iterations, to fix design flaws in their products. – Ramhound Jan 06 '17 at 20:05
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    As @Ramhound said it's likely the sensor in the lid/base thinking it's been closed - just yesterday read about a guy who's metal plate in his arm would put his laptop to sleep accidentally. – djsmiley2kStaysInside Jan 06 '17 at 20:11
  • @Ramhound - from the beginning of your 2nd comment... it's not just likely, it's an absolute. That's how a Mac 'knows' the lid is closed, magnetic proximity. That's also what holds the clamshell closed, rather than any kind of mechanical catch. – Tetsujin Jan 06 '17 at 20:43
  • @Tetsujin - I realize after my first comment, what was going on, still say its not an intential design flaw that an external magnet is activating the sensor though. – Ramhound Jan 06 '17 at 20:51

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It's way more common than what you think. Many consumers electronics depends on this kind of sensors. The reason behind this is that you can conceal a small magnet away from the user and not use a mechanical, or piezoelectric, switch. Which will get stuck with dirt over time, asides from being plain ugly.

dmb
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