iPad iPad Air charging time

That's one of the main reasons I'm upgrading from the 3.

The weight didn't neither me much, but the charging time drove me nuts!

Mini takes forever to charge too... 5-6 hours

I don't really understand the whole charging thing. My MacBooks obviously have larger batteries, but they charge much faster. They also obviously have a bigger charger. Would it be possible to make a more powerful charger than the one that ships with it?

JoeRito said:

Mini takes forever to charge too... 5-6 hours

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Are you using the small charger that came with iPad mini. If so go to apple and get the 12w model. It will charge in less than 3 hours for me.

NewbieCanada said:

I don't really understand the whole charging thing. My MacBooks obviously have larger batteries, but they charge much faster. They also obviously have a bigger charger. Would it be possible to make a more powerful charger than the one that ships with it?

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Apple had upgraded the iPad from 10W to 12W at some point to help remedy this. I think anything beyond that may end up hurting the longevity of these cells? Otherwise a fast charger would be a great accessory.

jeffkempster said:

Are you using the small charger that came with iPad mini. If so go to apple and get the 12w model. It will charge in less than 3 hours for me.

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I have to wonder if using the higher-output charger will harm the battery life over time. I'm always hesitant to use the iPad charger on my iPhone for this reason. One would assume they use similar battery tech so it shouldn't be an issue, but otherwise why would they do it? To save cost?

NewbieCanada said:

I don't really understand the whole charging thing. My MacBooks obviously have larger batteries, but they charge much faster. They also obviously have a bigger charger. Would it be possible to make a more powerful charger than the one that ships with it?

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Not that simple. Sure you can always build a bigger charger... but that doesn't mean it will charge faster. There are a lot of factors at work here and they have to do with physics and how certain elemental properties accept current. The ambient temperature is a factor as well.

This is why Apple is trying to engineer their own battery technology.

One way to maintain lithium Ion battery health is to charge it frequently to a full state. Apple has always recommended a once a month discharge to empty.

I do understand your dilemma. And I for one would like to Apple move away from Lithium Ion technology to something considerably more high tech.

I wouldn't say I have a dilemma - I've learned to live with it. I'm really just curious about the reasons why it's that way.

baypharm said:

This is why Apple is trying to engineer their own battery technology.

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Apple is doing quite well for itself, but could completely dominate the markets if they had their own super battery that no competitor could touch. That would be crazy. I remember reading many years ago about some guys at MIT who were working on a new battery that was supposed to power a laptop for like a few weeks or a month and charge in 15-30 minutes. Somehow that news always goes away never to be heard from again.

Rogifan said:

According to iLounge, the battery in iPad Air is 32.4-Watt-hours compared to the 4th gen's 42.5-Watt-hours, which will allow the device to charge faster and reduce the charging time to closer to 4 hours. If this turns out to be accurate I'll be very happy. My iPad 3 is a dog when it comes to charging.

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/apple-quietly-changes-ipad-air-retina-mini-batteries/

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I think that's a bit too long

The ipad 2 battery 25 Watt/Hr unit - Full Charging time was approx a little more than 4 hours or around 260 mins ( using a 10W charger)

The ipad 3 battery 42.5 Watt/ Hr unit - Full Charging time was approx around 6.5 hours or 390 mins (using a 10W charger)

The ipad 4 battery 42.5 Watt/Hr Unit - Full charging time was approx close to 5 hours or around 285 minutes (using a 12W charger)

So basically the cycle should be like this:

ipad 2 -> ipad 3 ( 70 % bigger battery)-> ipad 4 ( same battery but 30% faster charger)

If you put those figures in logical perspective:

ipad 4 -> ipad 5 (air) ( 23% smaller battery but same speed of charging)

so therefore: ipad air should take approximately 3.7 hours or 220 minutes to charge. It could be even less ( but I am putting some leverage for discrepancies and efficiency).

I definitely think that ipad air will charge faster than the ipad 2 if you use the 12W charger.

jeffkempster said:

Are you using the small charger that came with iPad mini. If so go to apple and get the 12w model. It will charge in less than 3 hours for me.

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No I'm using the cheesy little square that came with it...thanks for mentioning this!

baypharm said:

Not that simple. Sure you can always build a bigger charger... but that doesn't mean it will charge faster. There are a lot of factors at work here and they have to do with physics and how certain elemental properties accept current. The ambient temperature is a factor as well.

This is why Apple is trying to engineer their own battery technology.

One way to maintain lithium Ion battery health is to charge it frequently to a full state. Apple has always recommended a once a month discharge to empty.

I do understand your dilemma. And I for one would like to Apple move away from Lithium Ion technology to something considerably more high tech.

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I haven't looked into this, but..... What would be considerably more high-tech? Just wondering what it is if there is/you know.

Rogifan said:

According to iLounge, the battery in iPad Air is 32.4-Watt-hours compared to the 4th gen's 42.5-Watt-hours, which will allow the device to charge faster and reduce the charging time to closer to 4 hours. If this turns out to be accurate I'll be very happy. My iPad 3 is a dog when it comes to charging.

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/apple-quietly-changes-ipad-air-retina-mini-batteries/

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My first iPad was the 3. So you're saying that charging speed isn't normal?

xNYMetsx said:

My first iPad was the 3. So you're saying that charging speed isn't normal?

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Compared to the iPad 1 & 2, yes.

SamuraiMinis said:

I haven't looked into this, but..... What would be considerably more high-tech? Just wondering what it is if there is/you know.

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I am not privy to research going on the field but I recall Apple saying a year or two ago that they were actively engaged in battery technology research - something beyond Lithium Ion that is used now. As someone else here indicated a laptop or iPad could last for weeks if not months. Remember that Lithium Ion technology was a figment of the imagination in the 20's and 30's. Sorry I don't have more detailed info for you.

daywiz said:

The ipad 3 battery 42.5 Watt/ Hr unit - Full Charging time was approx around 6.5 hours or 390 mins (using a 10W charger)

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Hmm. My ipad 3 charges fully in 4hrs with a 10W charger. Perhaps it has to do with voltage in the outlet? 230v here in Sweden.