Apple's 140W Power Adapter is Company's First GaN Charger, Supports USB-C Power Delivery 3.1

[RichardGroves]

USB spec details what PD 3.1 means - https://www.usb.org/usb-charger-pd
So the 140W adapter will be delivering 28V @ 5A with the right cable.
PD3.1 spec was only announced in May 2021 so pretty rapid adoption by Apple.

 

[reyesmac]

Apples chargers are so huge and so expensive it would be a benefit to their customers if they just put bunch of non charging ports on it so it can do double duty as a hub instead of just an ugly brick. At least then the price wouldn't be so bad.

 

[senttoschool]

Then why does it look so dang big? My HyperJuice (100W) is the size of a credit card and has 2 100W USB-C and 2 18W USB-A ports...

You really thought your HyperJucie has 236w charging?

 

[alee]

Given this is GaN I'm surprised by how massive it is. Apple's chargers are usually really well made, but so are Anker chargers and they are a fraction of the size.

“Massive” based on what? No dimensions have been posted, but if proportions are accurate, it looks to be slightly narrower and sightly taller than the 96W, for a significant gain in wattage.

 

[PSeg]

Just wondering...can this be used with a USB-C to lightning cord and charge my iPhone 12 at this 140W?

 

[alee]

Just wondering...can this be used with a USB-C to lightning cord and charge my iPhone 12 at this 140W?

You can charge your iPhone with it, but only at the maximum speed the iPhone allows. It will not charge at 140W, nor will you damage the phone by plugging it in.

 

[Razorpit]

At a 140W does this mean it will be able to fast charge the new Apple Watch, or do you need a different adapter?






(Calm down, it's a joke people...)

 

[Eorlas]

I would be great if there are multiple usb-c ports on this brick. Lost potential.

it would indeed be nice, though it's not very apple of them to do such a thing. it's also just really meant to primarily be the magsafe brick for specifically the 16" mbp.

on the other hand, i am wondering if they'll (or already have) license out magsafe so companies like anker can sell their own

 

[zhenya]

Then why does it look so dang big? My HyperJuice (100W) is the size of a credit card and has 2 100W USB-C and 2 18W USB-A ports...

To pile on, I have the same Hyperjuice and it's a fine device, however it does not charge at anything like 100w peak power. I charge a Thinkpad X1 Extreme with it that matches the appropriate power delivery specs, and it charges more like 50w max. I have an OEM Thinkpad 65w power brick that puts more power into the battery more consistently than the Hyperjuice.

Secondly, while in theory having multiple ports on these chargers is great - in practice it's very confusing for the end user because the charger must use some internal logic to determine how to allocate power. Hyper (to their credit) publishes this chart, however, in day to day use it's still confusing. If I plug in my iPad before I plug in my computer, it won't charge the computer because the logic sends the highest power to the first device plugged in, etc.

It's actually a problem that I'd love to see Apple set their engineers to solving because I haven't yet seen one on the market that doesn't have this problem.

 

[alee]

on the other hand, i am wondering if they'll (or already have) license out magsafe so companies like anker can sell their own

The iPhone MagSafe can be licensed already. As far as I know, only Belkin licensed it. Don’t think Anker, Aukey, etc. will do it.

But I’m fairly sure companies Anker will make their own USB-PD 3.1 brick at 140W. The MagSafe cable is detachable so as long as you have the cable from Apple, you should be good.

 

[popltree2]

For being GaN it is huge. They should have been able to keep it the same size. I just ordered a Setachi 108 watt multi port usb charger for my 16" for $75 that is smaller then the OEM one by quite a bit. This stupid big.

My guess is, if you open up both of them, you'll see a significant difference in the insulation and safety measures between the two. It'd be similar to the difference between other Apple-branded chargers and off-brand Amazon specials.

 

[popltree2]

Nope. I pack a 30w Anker charging plug for my M1 MBA that is only slightly larger than the stock plug that used to come with the iPhone. As others have pointed out there are already comparable output plugs available from other notable brands that are half the size of this thing and offer multiple ports.
This is just Apple continuing its trash accessory game.

I mean, unless you have opened up both of them to compare, it's impossible to say what the difference is in the internal safety measures.

 

[fenderbass146]

My guess is, if you open up both of them, you'll see a significant difference in the insulation and safety measures between the two. It'd be similar to the difference between other Apple-branded chargers and off-brand Amazon specials.

Anker, Aukey, and Setachi are off brand Amazon specials? I don't think so.

 

[Pro Apple Silicon]

Return of an underwhelming HDMI 2.0 port*

we need to be calling out this crap guys

There is nothing underwhelming about it. No one needs HDMI 2.1 on a MacBook Pro. There is no use case for it. The HDMI port is there purely for convenience. And you can't do HDMI 2.1 with TB4 either.

This device almost certainly has 4 TB4 controllers, the 4th one is split between HDMI and SD. TB4 is only 40Gbps of bandwidth vs. HDMI 2.1 which is 48 Gbps. You wouldn't be able to do it anyway.

 

[darinzook]

You really thought your HyperJucie has 236w charging?

No, and my post doesn't reflect this. The HyperJuice charger only is capable of 100W (this is in my post...). If you charge more than one device at a time you're not going to get the full wattage from each port. The ports themselves will put out 100W or 18W respectively, depending on load (and the device).

 

[msackey]

The fact that all of the new chargers aren't using GaN is also a bit bewildering... Why only the 140W version? Especially if you're making a 67W that is new to the lineup as well?

I was wondering the same thing too. Apple is so focused (obsessed?) with thin and smaller, why wouldn’t they attempt to make their charging adapters smaller?

 

[Pro Apple Silicon]

The posts saying it should have "more ports" are really strange. Apple isn't Anker. They aren't making universal chargers. This product is for charging the MacBook Pro at full speed, and requires all of its power to do so.

 

[Pro Apple Silicon]

Just wondering...can this be used with a USB-C to lightning cord and charge my iPhone 12 at this 140W?

Pretty sure this is not a serious question, but:

1. The iPhone can only charge up to the iPhone's max charging speed. Which can be accomplished with a 20W charger.
2. You can't charge anything with this at 140W over USB-C because the cables literally do not exist yet. This is brand new spec. Apple's MagSafe cable is, for now, the only cable that can do it.

 

[fenderbass146]

“Massive” based on what? No dimensions have been posted, but if proportions are accurate, it looks to be slightly narrower and sightly taller than the 96W, for a significant gain in wattage.

massive compared to existing GaN chargers. Using GaN tech there is no reason it should have been bigger then the 96 watt.

 

[Kuckuckstein]

No, you end up with an infinitely growing power brick because every time you say "hey! room for another USB-C in there" you add another 15W or more to the peak power consumption and have to make the power supply even bigger...

The primary purpose of these bricks is to charge the MacBook that they come with via the included MagSafe cable - connecting that via USB-C so you can use it to power other things is a nice bonus (plus it allows you to replace damaged cables) but you shouldn't become a victim of mission creep. If you really want a multi-port charger or docking station you can get one - and it looks like now you could still use the MagSafe cable with it.


...but it also connects via Magsafe which is designed to break away at the slightest tug rather than drag the Mac off the desk. Accidentally disconnecting the power on a laptop with its own battery is no big deal - whereas disconnecting Ethernet could cause apps to hang or crash, while pulling the USB plugs on external drives etc. could even cause data loss.

Contrast the magnetic connector on the iMac which has the opposite purpose to MagSafe - not to pull out easily and provide a secure connection without the grip provided by a much deeper connector.

Plus, the power brick is not the most convenient place to have ports if its going to be plugged into a socket near the floor. Even the iMac arrangement is pretty dumb, and was clearly spawned in an echo chamber where everybody lived in a building with hot & cold running ethernet sockets next to their power sockets (that's what those spiral cable tidies are for, folks!) and nobody had (e.g.) a router on their desk. Of course, the real reason for that is that some form-over-function nut desperately wanted to make the iMac so thin that it wasn't deep enough for standard sockets and an internal PSU, and everything else was after-the-fact rationalisation.

Yeah, I guess you are right. Faster wireless router it is then

 

[citysnaps]

massive compared to existing GaN chargers. Using GaN tech there is no reason it should have been bigger then the 96 watt.

I suspect there is a reason. Perhaps Apple is more conservative with their design for safety and regulatory approval purposes.

 

[Arsenikdote]

I would be great if there are multiple usb-c ports on this brick. Lost potential.

My opinion, but I feel like that is overly complicated for how Apple likes to market stuff. If they did that then the laptop charging speed would decrease and it wouldn't be evident to the user. You could add an interface but then that would confuse people. You could add an explanation, but...see this is an endless hole, not to mention the complication it would add if fast charging or not or using a USB-C end or a MagSafe end and into which size laptop...on and on with complications xD

Other MFG's will make what you are looking for, Apple is keeping it simple as they always have.

 

[theLedger]

Wow - 4 pages of discussion over a charging brick. Next topic - how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

Does anyone really think that Apple would make an overly sized charging brick if they could have made it 2/3 the size and save on weight and materials? It wouldn’t surprise me if Apple requires larger operating margins than third party suppliers to increase safety and reliability.

 

[_Spinn_]

GaN is seriously cool.

 

[carestudio]

It also means that those who buy the new 16-inch MacBook Pro can use compatible chargers from third-party brands to charge the notebook if they prefer.

It is also confirmed on caldigit's site where they said their current element and TS3 Plus and all other charging docks can charge 14" and 16".

Apple Silicon Mac & CalDigit Dock Compatibility – CalDigit

www.caldigit.com

For some 14" that come with 67W, TS3 Plus can fast charge it through MBP's TB port.

Also it's important to know, based on Apple's site, the new MacBook Pro 14" and 16" can delivers the same performance whether it’s plugged in or not. So doesn't matter you are using a 140W or 60W charger, the performance won't be different.