My sister has a 13" MacBook Pro. Is it safe to use her charger to charge my MBA? From my understanding, the MBA would only draw as much power as it can take. So in theory, it should be safe. Correct?
I've read online that it's supposedly okay to use any MagSafe adapter that's greater (and not less) the wattage for your Apple laptop, but is it IDEAL?
I mean, is there any benefit to using only the 45W adapter for your MBA vs using your MBP 17" 85W adapter?
Otherwise, if you have both MBPs and MBAs, wouldn't you want to just buy the highest wattage adapter to take care of all your charging needs? (assuming you don't care about the slightly smaller size of the different adapters).
Any Magsafe adapter will operate any MacBook model, the change will only effect battery charging speed.
Power adapters for Intel-based Apple portables are available in 45W, 60W, and 85W varieties. Although you should always use the proper wattage adapter for your Apple portable, you can use an adapter of a higher wattage without issue.
For instance If you have a MacBook (13-inch Late 2009) that normally uses a 60W adapter, you can also use an 85W adapter with that computer. You would not use a 45W adapter with that computer; it would not provide enough power for that MacBook. Using an adapter of higher wattage than the adapter that came with the computer will not cause the computer to charge more quickly or otherwise operate any differently than using the adapter that came with the computer.
Why did Apple make the MagSafe plug the same on all adapters? I have a new MacBook Air and a 2008 15" MacBook Pro they have the same MagSafe plug... The transformers are under my desk... Until I marked one with a red dot I was always grabbing the wrong power cord. It seems to me that if there is a problem interchanging the adapters between apple products, then Apple should have marked the plugs with the wattage or in some way that the user can easily tell them apart.