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iPad Mini Ships with Same 5-Watt Power Adapter Bundled with iPhones

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,481
30,716



Since the announcement of the iPad mini last week, there has been some discussion about whether Apple would include the smaller 5-watt power adapter typically bundled with iPhone models or the larger 12-watt adapter intended for the latest full-size iPad models.

One report from just after Apple's media event indicated that Apple would be shipping the larger 12-watt adapter with the iPad mini, but iPhoneinCanada.ca noticed soon after that the Apple Store iOS app was showing a photo of the smaller 5-watt adapter as part of the iPad mini package contents.

One MacRumors reader was able to purchase an iPad mini from his local Walmart yesterday and confirmed that it does indeed ship with the smaller 5-watt adapter.

ipad_mini_power_adapter.jpg
Portion of 5-watt power adapter visible in lower right corner​
The 12-watt charger (or its 10-watt predecessor) could charge the iPad mini more quickly than the 5-watt adapter, provided that the iPad mini itself would allow more than 5 watts to be drawn from the charger. Any of the adapters can be used with any iOS device, but both the adapter and the devices themselves specify how much power can be drawn. For example, an iPhone will only draw 5 watts regardless of which adapter it is plugged into, while an iPad will draw the full wattage on any of the adapters, with the lower-wattage adapters obviously charging the device more slowly than higher-wattage ones.

With the iPad mini's battery having three times the capacity of the iPhone 5's battery, charging the iPad mini through the included 5-watt power adapter would take considerably longer than charging an iPhone. If, however, the iPad mini is capable of drawing higher wattage, users may prefer to charge the device through a larger 10-watt or 12-watt adapter intended for the full-size iPad.

Article Link: iPad Mini Ships with Same 5-Watt Power Adapter Bundled with iPhones
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/11/01/ipad-mini-ships-with-same-5-watt-power-adapter-bundled-with-iphones/
A

Astroexe

macrumors member
Feb 19, 2012
57
0
Netherlands
If the iPhone takes about an hour to charge.. this iPad would take, what, three? Is there any difference in size or is this simply to keep the price down?
 
F

ForzaJuve

macrumors member
Jul 20, 2009
75
61
Deal Braker

That's it. That's the deal braker for me. I was going to buy 2, now I won't.

Sent from my Apple TV Mini
 
K

knemonic

macrumors 6502a
Jan 14, 2009
682
153
The only way to know this is to confirm the charging times between the 5 and 10/12.

Hopefully tomorrow, someone with a iPad 3/4 charger tries charging their mini.

I hope it does, cause this would mean charging at 12w would be 140% faster.
 
bbeagle

bbeagle

macrumors 68040
Oct 19, 2010
3,541
2,981
Buffalo, NY
ForzaJuve said:
That's it. That's the deal braker for me. I was going to buy 2, now I won't.

Sent from my Apple TV Mini
Click to expand...

Damn straight!

I would have paid $499 if they came with a 12W - but not now. I have buying power for all the schools in the entire western hemisphere, and Apple just lost my business!

Sent from my White Apple TV
 
iJcaP

iJcaP

macrumors 6502
Jun 19, 2010
297
24
Probably it's not 5 watts even though it looks like the 5 watt adapter. Probably it's a more than 5 but less than 10.
 
57004

57004

Cancelled
Aug 18, 2005
1,022
341
I bet this is done to stimulate the sale of the new 12W adapters.. Should have come with one of those. Although the small ones are kinda handy.
 
F

frayne182

macrumors 6502
Oct 1, 2012
416
0
Canada
I charge my **** in whatever plug I have available. Never had issues.

iPhone 5 is the same way. If the USB plug fits in it then its charging in it.

dgaf.png
 
gmanist1000

gmanist1000

macrumors 68030
Sep 22, 2009
2,832
824
Apple should dump a few billion into R&D of batteries. If we could come up with a technology to sustain power to devices for YEARS.... wow.
 
O

orangebluedevil

macrumors 6502
Jun 28, 2010
323
17
It's an iPod Touch battery...just 3x bigger. The iPad Touch battery max wattage is 5W. So it's not a shock that the max wattage is 5W.

If you think that the max wattage is 10W (or 12W) and that Apple would ship a 5W charger to save money - you clearly don't follow Apple closely.
 
azentropy

azentropy

macrumors 601
Jul 19, 2002
4,021
5,380
Surprise
Bummer. I was hoping the iPad mini would include the new 12W charger so I could try it on my iPad 3 to improve the charge times with it!
 
S

SuperRob

macrumors 6502
Mar 14, 2011
253
4
"For example, an iPhone will only draw 5 watts regardless of which adapter it is plugged into ..."

Wait, what? Then why does my iPhone 4S charge so much faster when plugged into my iPad charger?
 
iThinkIt

iThinkIt

macrumors regular
Mar 21, 2012
164
0
Florida, USA
who cares... charging faster just means more heat build up.. I for one am glad the charger is a lower wattage.. also it has a smaller battery than the larger iPad...






Typed out on my 57 Inch :apple: TV.
 
Blorzoga

Blorzoga

macrumors 68030
May 21, 2010
2,560
66
deannnnn said:
I always thought that an iPhone charges faster when plugged into an iPad charger. This makes much more sense though, it was probably all in my head.
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing and it was all in my head.
 
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