Yes, their magnetic power connector is patented. US7311526. (Not that it ever stopped the Chinese who have had magnetic power connectors on their electric kettles and skillets for years before Macbooks even existed from cloning it, but that's a different story...)
Deep fryers sold in the US also have magnetic power adapters.
Apparently the thing with this (as magnetic power connectors have existed for a long time) is that there are, at the very least, claims in Apple's patents that differ from previous examples and patents[1].
So basically the novel thing isn't magnetic power adapters.
Looking quickly through the claims they don't appear to cover having a circular magnetic connector - instead it's specified (eg in claim 1) that the connector has 2-fold symmetry and in other claims that the 3 connections are arranged linearly.
The other point you might "attack" the claims on (ie in designing around them) appears to be the inclusion of "bias". Mind you it's not entirely clear¹ what is meant (without referring to the description) by "biased" here: claim 6 suggests it means sprung in some way.
Edit: looking at a couple of pieces of the prior art http://www.google.com/patents/us7311526#backward-citations it seems the main innovation in the Apple claims is probably the symmetry / reversible nature of the connector. There were already circular connectors, eg the cited US3808577, so Apple's claims may have had to work around those - hence the construction including the symmetry clauses. Seems a magnetic connector is well doable even without any need for invention, just based on expired patent disclosures.
Your throwaway remark is ridiculous - a quick visual comparison will show you that they're completely different interfaces designed for different products.
> An electrical plug and receptacle relying on magnetic force to maintain contact are disclosed. The plug and receptacle can be used as part of a power adapter for connecting an electronic device, such as a laptop computer, to a power supply. The plug includes electrical contacts, which are preferably biased toward corresponding contacts on the receptacle. The plug and receptacle each have a magnetic element. The magnetic element on one or both of the plug and receptacle can be a magnet, which is preferably a permanent rare earth magnet although electromagnets may also be used. The magnetic element on the plug or receptacle that does not include a magnet is composed of ferromagnetic material. When the plug and receptacle are brought into proximity, the magnetic attraction between the magnet and its complement, whether another magnet or a ferromagnetic material, maintains the contacts in an electrically conductive relationship.
What part of that abstract doesn't also describe the magnetic connector on a Japanese electric water kettle?
Abstrats are meaningless. You could patent something that who's abstract is "It's a club which you use to beat people with." as long as the actual methods are novel.
