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iPad 30w usb c charger for ipad air 3

Aditya rathee

Aditya rathee

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 1, 2019
172
42
India
Hey guys
I wanna buy apple 30w usb c charger plus a usb c to lightning cable for my ipad air 3 as it supports fast charging

BUT on apple website the charger have mixed reviews about quality and charging speeds

So anyone if using it on ipad air 3 can share there experience with it if its worth buying or not
 
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Is it really necessary to fast charge the iPad? I charge it always over night. I mean fast charging means high currents flowing which will decrease battery life. I am happy with the power supply included o_O
 
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Aditya rathee said:
Can it work for ipad air 3 cos apple stock 61w charger does not have apple ipad air 3 in list of complatible devices so will this one work??
Click to expand...
The 61W Apple charger will work fine with any iPad, as long as you have the proper cable.
 
In my experience with iPads, I would be careful to set expectations as far as "fast charging". Anything over 30 is overkill and won't charge your iPad any faster (at least not noticeably).

Torty said:
Is it really necessary to fast charge the iPad? I charge it always over night. I mean fast charging means high currents flowing which will decrease battery life. I am happy with the power supply included o_O
Click to expand...

It really depends on the need. If you're using the Pencil with the iPad, it can drain the battery pretty quickly and you may not get even one day out of a charge - I need to charge my iPad at least once every day (also charge overnight).
 
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I use a 60w usb-c charger from Anker. Both ports, 30w each, a single port used, 60w.
Been veryy happy with it for my IPP and Max.
Using Amazon usb-c to lightning braided cables.
 
bensisko said:
In my experience with iPads, I would be careful to set expectations as far as "fast charging". Anything over 30 is overkill and won't charge your iPad any faster (at least not noticeably).
I just use my ipad right now for mild gaming and some browsing thats all
So i guess 18w will be enough right or should i go for atleast 30w?


It really depends on the need. If you're using the Pencil with the iPad, it can drain the battery pretty quickly and you may not get even one day out of a charge - I need to charge my iPad at least once every day (also charge overnight).
Click to expand...
 
Anything over 30w won't charge your iPad faster, but with the 60w it's nice to have the ability to charge two devices that can handle fast charging at the same time.
With the right charger, if only charging one product, the 60w should "throttle down" so as not damage your iPad.

Yes, the supplied 18w is fine for most people so keep that in mind.
 
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Torty said:
Is it really necessary to fast charge the iPad? I charge it always over night. I mean fast charging means high currents flowing which will decrease battery life. I am happy with the power supply included o_O
Click to expand...

Agreed! I always charge my iPad overnight when needed. No need for faster charging.

Do not think that fast charging is best in the long term for the batteries.
 
Newtons Apple said:
Agreed! I always charge my iPad overnight when needed. No need for faster charging.

Do not think that fast charging is best in the long term for the batteries.
Click to expand...

That advice is great for light users. If you’re using the iPad heavily, especially, say, photo work all day, it will/could probably use a charge during later in the day.saying "there’s no need for faster charging" is narrow thinking and doesn’t take into account people that do more than email and light browsing.
 
jagolden said:
That advice is great for light users. If you’re using the iPad heavily, especially, say, photo work all day, it will/could probably use a charge during later in the day.saying "there’s no need for faster charging" is narrow thinking and doesn’t take into account people that do more than email and light browsing.
Click to expand...

Excuse my “narrow thinking”.
 
Newtons Apple said:
Do not think that fast charging is best in the long term for the batteries.
Click to expand...

Yes, and you have to take into account how long the user plans to use the device.
For users that get a new iPad every year or two, it's less of a concern than people who hang on to their devices for 4 years or more. I would imagine (but have NO data to back it up, so I could be completely off base) that Fast Charging is more important to users who use their device a lot (>6-8 hours a day) and are more likely to refresh their device more often.

At the end of the day, it's all about balance and considerations!
 
Will echo others in that 30w is enough, but if want to charge other things simultaneously, more is better.

Seem to recall reading somewhere that the iPad charges like the iPhones in that it will charge at 25-27w from zero to about 60%, and then it throttles down as the battery approaches 100%. Trickle charge at the last couple of percentage points.

As for the bad reviews, hard to tell what was going on. One appears that user might have thought that wireless charging would deliver 30w that way. Personally, I've only had one Apple charger fail, for my old MacBook Pro, and that one took about 9 years of daily use to fail. I would have no issue buying an Apple charger, but generally go third party as can get them cheaper and more ports, in general.
 
jagolden said:
That advice is great for light users. If you’re using the iPad heavily, especially, say, photo work all day, it will/could probably use a charge during later in the day.saying "there’s no need for faster charging" is narrow thinking and doesn’t take into account people that do more than email and light browsing.
Click to expand...

I read Newtons Apple's post as they have no personal need for faster charging. Some don't have that need - depending on what you're doing and how long you're doing it.

I think caution is warranted - knowing what the consequences are and balancing the effect with the need.
 
If I remember correctly, maximum fast charging only kicks in when charge level is below 50% and then it tapers down so it's probably not as harmful to the battery as we assume.

Mind, I expect those who want fast charging are also the ones who use 1-2 charge cycles per day so it's to be expected that their iPads experience greater battery wear than those who only need to charge their iPads once every 1-3 days even without fast charging.

Granted, if I didn't have multiple iPads (so use and wear is spread out), I'd probably need to charge my iPad twice a day as well. Of course, it probably helps that I always have brightness down to 0-15%. I'm usually in low light conditions so that brightness level is just comfortable. Often, I even have Reduce White Point set to 50-80% because even at 0 brightness, the screen is still too bright.
 
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