Apple Sourcing Components for 17-Watt Power Supply, Speculation Focuses on Rumored 13-Inch iPad

[chrmjenkins]

The same goes for MacBooks.. i can charge my air using an 85w MBP supply if i wanted to..

I'm still trying to re-iterate the point of AC cables vs. DC adapters.
an AC cable is rated based the AC in your country. so yes, they do have ratings.. if i tried to plug my bluray player into an AC outlet in england, i would fry it..
but if the AC cable was designed for use in the US, its made for 110-120v.. so for the most part, trying not to get to technical, i could use the same cable on any of my home consumer electronics and it would work just fine.

now, yes, we can get to semantics and say, if i have a high wattage amplifier that draws 6amps, then, maybe i should stick with the 10amp rated power cable that came with that, and not use the 2.5amp one that came with my Apple TV..

and in the same way as using a larger power adapter on an iPhone, if i just went out and bought a 15amp rated power cable, then i could use it for anything in my house and never worry about it..

yes, there are "ratings" on everything, but the original point i was making was that macrumors was saying the Apple TV comes with a power adapter, when, in fact, it does not.

I agree with you, but my main point was to say that pointing out the misuse of the term is being pedantic, as it is often misused commonly (case in point here). That's why I always use brick to avoid confusion.

To play devil's advocate -- Apple could easily place the PSU inside the AppleTV or airport products outside the device, and it magically becomes an adapter as opposed to a PSU, when it performs the same function (adapting 120V AC to 5V DC). So, it's not even technically wrong to call the internal PSU an adapter either. It's all terminology/semantics. Like I said, important part is they go the number right to begin with.

 

[atteligibility]

So... let's see:

- iPad charger: 12W
- iPhone charger: 5W
- new charger: 17W

Lot people own both an iPhone and iPad and recharge them at night, using two different adapters....

mmmm, and the conclusion from a 17W charger is a gigantic non portable iPad? haha...

common sense, logic and arithmetic gives us a much better explanation..

 

[JohnGrey]

I love the idea of the 13-inch iPad in the abstract, but I doubt I'd love the execution. Honestly, Wacom has ruined me regarding what I need in that kind of form factor with the Companion, the millstone of Windows 8 notwithstanding. Yes, it's rated for a 6 hour battery, but I'll deal with that for tilt-recognition, 2048 levels of pen sensitivity, 8GB of memory, 512GB of storage and a Core i7 processor.

 

[2298754]

If they bring out the 13inch tablet, they need to drop their prices across the lineup. The 13inch should be as much as the regular iPad is now.

 

[unplugme71]

Quick! Let's patent this amazing ability.

Already did.

It uses copper and a rubber insulation.

 

[JohnGrey]

If they bring out the 13inch tablet, they need to drop their prices across the lineup. The 13inch should be as much as the regular iPad is now.

Assuming they used the same panel as the 13-inch rMBP, there's no chance of that happening. Base price on something like that, assuming no extras like a pen-sensitive digitizer, is going to be $699 minimum and that's if the base model is 16GB.

 

[baryon]

It should be called "Big ass iPad".

I do find it a bit strange to imagine such a big iPad, since holding the current normal sized version is just about right, and the iPad Mini feels even better in your hand. I'd think 13 inches is a bit too much, and I'm not sure what benefit it would offer. Of course, Apple does say that iPads will replace computers for most people, but then computers always had larger screens, so it would make some sense to have bigger iPads too…

But then this would be more like a "Desktop" iPad or something, lol.

 

[peb123]

5 + 12 = 17 .... So maybe this is a dual-charger that will charge your pad and phone at the same time?

 

[thasan]

I feel that the reason for a so called 13-inch iPad would be for those people who truly want to drop a laptop altogether and just have an iPad or other tablet, but don't want to sacrifice screen size.

can be family device to play on a single screen. or a better drawing board...
if i had kids, i would buy one for home

 

[HiRez]

This could be huge for music production and probably many other arts.

That's what I'm thinking. Not so much as a mass consumer device where everyone is getting one for christmas and will carry it around with them, but as a generic control surface for all kinds of things. As you say, music production, but also for cash registers, airport checkin, directory information, building guides/floorplans, security systems, home automation, virtual receptionist station, all kinds of kiosks, and many other things. There's a ton of uses developers and businesses could put these to. but it's a lot of niche markets, really. The question is, is the market for all those niches together enough for Apple to bother?

 

[paulrbeers]

20nm won't be ready until 2014.

17W makes sense. USB 2.0/3.0 spec limit max charging current to 5A. Battery at 3.8V gives you 19W.

No. The USB3.0 spec calls for ports to be CAPABLE of 5A, but limit the specs to 1.5A out of any given port when in "charging" mode.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#USB_3.0

Further, the voltage of the battery has nothing to do with the voltage required to charge. The charging voltage is actually 5volts. The reason the battery is rated for 3.7v is Lithium Ion cells are 3.7v. If you used 2, it would be 7.2-7.4v thus delivering too much voltage.

Your reasoning is flawed.

 

[mdelvecchio]

Maxi Pad

lol

so original. so funny. never gets old. doesnt sound like a teenaged boy joke.

not.

 

[Sky Blue]

so original. so funny.

Thanks!

 

[chrmjenkins]

No. The USB3.0 spec calls for ports to be CAPABLE of 5A, but limit the specs to 1.5A out of any given port when in "charging" mode.

And that's where the maximum rating would come from. The port's capability, and not necessarily real world scenarios.

Further, the voltage of the battery has nothing to do with the voltage required to charge.

This statement doesn't make any sense. You have to exceed the voltage of the battery to be able to charge it. So, yes, the voltage of the battery has very much to do with the charging voltage.

The numbers I provided were a worst case impossible scenario where the battery was using all the power delivered to it (the wall is essentially directly powering the device at 3.8V). I didn't feel the need to use the 5V (actual charging voltage) because 25W is an even more ridiculous number that is in no way realistic. You pointed out that the 1.5A is the maximum charging voltage, but being able to peak at 5A is what matters since wattage is an instantaneous measurement, and not time dependent like energy.

For example, if you used the max 1.5A charging rate at the full 5V, you're still at only 7.5W, less than half of the 17W rating.

The charging voltage is actually 5volts. The reason the battery is rated for 3.7v is Lithium Ion cells are 3.7v. If you used 2, it would be 7.2-7.4v thus delivering too much voltage.

That's if you connect the cells in series like a car battery. Cells are more often connected in parallel for consumer electronics devices. For instance, the original ipad had a 2 cell battery

edit: found a good picture of the 12W:

They claim 5.2V output at 2.4A peak current. That gets you to 12.48W. Similarly, 17W gets you 3.27A at 5.2V.

 

[MartiNZ]

the twist is that the 13 inch iPad will run OS X.

Mmm twist. If they just let it double as a touchscreen that airplays -from- the new Mac Pro, mmm the potential.

 

[Sardonick007]

I was going to refrain, but I couldn't resist. They really typed iPad Maxi with straight faces? I guess the iPad Maxi with wings will be next.

 

[CausticPuppy]

It could just be a new charger for regular 9.7" iPad models so that they don't take an entire night to charge.

 

[macnisse]

the twist is that the 13 inch iPad will run OS X.

Now we're talking, that would be a great twist! :-D

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Personally, I don't expect Apple to call a new size of iPad an iPad anything. I expect Apple to stop calling the entire iPad line by anything. Just like their computer lines, you'll just get an iPad with certain specs.

Your options are 9", 11", and 13" for screen size, 32, 64, or 128 GB, Wi-Fi+Cellular or Wi-Fi only, white or black, and retina only (the iPad Mini will be receiving retina and I see no reason Apple wouldn't skip to retina with the 13", given they already have retina laptops at 13"). All together, 36 different possible configurations (assuming all the cellular models can be combined and they don't need different models for different cellular networks.)

 

[weing]

The 17 watt is likely an upgrade for the next generation iPad not a new 13-inch model. The 12 watt adapter is a JOKE for the current iPad with it taking on average 6-8 hours to charge your device from zero. Even USB buss charging from your MBP is twice as fast.

 

[Renzatic]

Seriously.... anybody who thinks that Apple marketing folks would name it the "iPad Maxi" is delusional. It should be dubbed the "iPad Mega" or "iPad XL".

If it comes out, my money is on iPad Pro.

...and it better have a damn stylus digitizer on it.

 

[chrmjenkins]

The 17 watt is likely an upgrade for the next generation iPad not a new 13-inch model. The 12 watt adapter is a JOKE for the current iPad with it taking on average 6-8 hours to charge your device from zero. Even USB buss charging from your MBP is twice as fast.

It's possible it could be both (iPad and iLegalPad go to 17W adapters), but I agree a 13" seems unlikely.

 

[Mindcrime]

I can't imagine there will be a 13" iPad.

I deal with 13" tablets at my job and they're unwieldy, heavy and uncomfortable. It would seem like a step back for Apple to go this route.

 

[Tiger8]

Can't wait to shoot with that one on a concert.

LMAO

 

[Pigumon]

the twist is that the 13 inch iPad will run OS X.

And come with a flip down keyboard and be called the MACBOOK AIR.