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iPad New iPad 12-Watt Power Adapter Question

K

kalt

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 17, 2011
164
0
Can someone please confirm that the "12 Watt" part of the charger is the bigger "L" shaped section of the unit, not the small corner with the plug or chord that attaches in to it?

Basically, with my setup it will be a lot easier for me to just replace the 10W charger with the new 12W charger by sliding off the old 10W part, leaving the chord plugged in, and attaching the new 12W part. I assume that's the way it works. The only part that says "10W USB Power Adapter" or "12W USB Power Adapter" is the large part (i.e. the part with the wording on it which the USB plug goes into).

I think it's safe to assume that the chord or the plug (it comes with a plug and you get a power chord if you buy an extra power adapter for $30) which attaches to the unit has absolutely nothing to do with how many Watts it gets. This makes sense and I'm like 95% sure I'll be getting 12W if I slide the new 12W part onto the old chord that came with the 10W adapter. All the electronics, capacitors, resistors, etc are in the large part, not the small connector part (or so it seems).

But can someone please confirm this for sure? I hope I've described my question adequately. I have a feeling what I'm asking might be a little confusing. I've tried my best to be descriptive and specific.

Thanks for any info.
 
Archer1440

Archer1440

Suspended
Mar 10, 2012
730
302
USA
Yes it is, externally, identical to the 10W adapter, so the integrated plug slides off and accepts a shaver cord or official Apple extension cord.
 
K

kalt

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 17, 2011
164
0
It definitely fits. I'm just wondering if using the cord that came with the 10W adapter with the body of the 12W adapter will have it running at 12W. As far as I know they no longer make the cords which is why the 12W adapter costs $20 instead of $30 at apple.com.

So far i've been using this setup, and it seems to be charging my ipad just fine.

I noticed the small detachable plug parts all say "2.5A 125V" regardless of which iPad it came with. The one from my iPad 1 says the same as the one from my iPad 4. So this is why I'm nearly certain only the the big part that's like 3/4 of the adapter which the USB cable plugs into is all that matters.

But the iPad 4 will charge with an older ipad 10W adapter. I tried.
 
balamw

balamw

Moderator emeritus
Aug 16, 2005
19,366
979
New England
kalt said:
I noticed the small detachable plug parts all say "2.5A 125V" regardless of which iPad it came with.
Click to expand...

The small detachable 'duckhead" part and cord is common to all the adapters Apple uses for their Macbooks. 45W-60W-85W

2.5Ax125V~220W r.m.s. which is the rating of that part. Neither the duckhead or cord will be a limiting factor in this case.

B
 
G

GrandPhrase

macrumors 6502
Jun 16, 2012
431
1
kalt said:
Can someone please confirm that the "12 Watt" part of the charger is the bigger "L" shaped section of the unit, not the small corner with the plug or chord that attaches in to it?

Basically, with my setup it will be a lot easier for me to just replace the 10W charger with the new 12W charger by sliding off the old 10W part, leaving the chord plugged in, and attaching the new 12W part. I assume that's the way it works. The only part that says "10W USB Power Adapter" or "12W USB Power Adapter" is the large part (i.e. the part with the wording on it which the USB plug goes into).

I think it's safe to assume that the chord or the plug (it comes with a plug and you get a power chord if you buy an extra power adapter for $30) which attaches to the unit has absolutely nothing to do with how many Watts it gets. This makes sense and I'm like 95% sure I'll be getting 12W if I slide the new 12W part onto the old chord that came with the 10W adapter. All the electronics, capacitors, resistors, etc are in the large part, not the small connector part (or so it seems).

But can someone please confirm this for sure? I hope I've described my question adequately. I have a feeling what I'm asking might be a little confusing. I've tried my best to be descriptive and specific.

Thanks for any info.
Click to expand...

I see what you're asking.. It's the bigger 'L' aspect of the adapter. Remember that with more W the brick needs to be bigger to have that much more power - think of the Macbook > iPad > iPhone. If you think about it practically, this is how it is. The part that slides off is always the same - it merely transfers the energy to the device and the brick itself it what produces that power/energy.
 
K

kalt

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 17, 2011
164
0
GrandPhrase said:
I see what you're asking.. It's the bigger 'L' aspect of the adapter. Remember that with more W the brick needs to be bigger to have that much more power - think of the Macbook > iPad > iPhone. If you think about it practically, this is how it is. The part that slides off is always the same - it merely transfers the energy to the device and the brick itself it what produces that power/energy.
Click to expand...

That's what I figured, and it makes sense. I just wanted to be 100% sure. I would have been surprised if it did make a difference, but i've been surprised before.

Thanks for the info
 
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