iPad mini Apple bringing back the 10W USB Power Adaptor with the Retina iPad Mini

[Ryox]

Really feels like an odd move for me since they replaced this adaptor with the 12W version.

Thought it would be an interesting note for us considering the Retina iPad Mini.

The iPad Air ships with the 12W.

 

[tann]

No idea what the reasoning for this could be? It has a bigger battery than iPad mini 1, so using a smaller charger really sounds weird!

I can't imagine it saves them more than $0.50 or something, if that!

 

[Pressure]

The iPad Mini (1st generation) only came with a 5 Watt charger, so this is definitely a step up!

 

[Ryox]

Why not just go for the 12W? Since you cant even buy the 10W standalone from apple anymore.

Surely that would have made more sense, unless the device it self couldn't draw more than 10W from the charger?

 

[CJisohsocool]

Why not just go for the 12W? Since you cant even buy the 10W standalone from apple anymore.

Surely that would have made more sense, unless the device it self couldn't draw more than 10W from the charger?

My mini draws from the 12w fine, this is probably them being cheap lol

 

[Ryox]

My mini draws from the 12w fine, this is probably them being cheap lol

Well... hmm. You're probably right.

 

[Brian Y]

Well... hmm. You're probably right.

Either that, or they have a crap load of them left over which they need to use!

 

[macguy360]

My mini draws from the 12w fine, this is probably them being cheap lol

The device limits the amount of power draw. It is built into the circuitry. You could plug a 40 watt charger into the iPad mini if it were available and it would still charge at only a certain rate.

The reasoning behind this move is because if the circuitry limiter were to fail, the higher watt charger would cause the iPad mini to overheat, potentially destroying the mini or causing a fire. The iPad Air is larger which allows more heat dissipation and thus there is less worry to overheating. There is also probably a slightly larger battery in the iPad Air and so Apple is trying to balance charge times to make both devices charge in a similar amount of time.