Comment by csydas

I'm not sure this is accurate; on both classic magsafe adapters (mid 2012) and 2019 adapters, I've not had an adapter fray, and both my 2012 and 2019 MacBook Airs are getting daily all-day use (and because I and my friend are clumsy, weekly coffee baths). A quick search for Apple magsafe pvc removal suggests (from Greenpeace's own site) that the change you are commenting on was done in 2009.

The original cables for both survived just fine for their entire life time, and the 2012 machine travelled all across the globe, and the 2019 even more so in a shorter amount of time, again, with very active and heavy use.

I don't think this is a widespread issue, and sounds isolated.