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MagSafe Charger Only Charges at Full 15W Speeds With Apple's 20W Power Adapter [Updated]

Nothing to see here, we are saving the planet our way if you are willing or not. And dont forget to vote blueeeeeee...
And by the way please buy a new iphone 12 so you can feeel the 5% difference and the sharp edges. Thank you for being an apple faithful customer...
 
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prasand said:
interesting so 3.0 was published. I was just guessing. But I imagine that is indeed why @ communication.
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I looked, PD 3.0 is old. So what I was speculating is that it’s using a newer implementation than the last version of PD. So in this case it would be PD 4.0. Anyway, Apple never uses the standard PD implementation. Anker was producing chargers more than capable of providing that power output, but the iPhone didn’t negotiate with Anker chargers until they were MFI certified. Then Anker had to come out with a bunch of new PD chargers. I imagine the situation is the same. They were only certified for Apple‘s prior implementation of PD.
 
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masotime said:
Decided to look up PD 3.0 v 2.0 - the supposed difference is just that more information is exchanged.
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“One should use USB PD 3.0 if the new features are required in your device's application.”

To me, that could be something for the future. For example, data transfer done through the MagSafe which is faster than straight wireless. Remember, there are rumours of going completely portless. There is nothing here saying the MagSafe has to only be connected to a powerbrick.
 
terraphantm said:
The 96W charger supports 9V at upto 3A, but still doesn’t hit the full speed per this article. So seems like there’s something else going on.
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Yes - I also replied above, but it may be possible that a PD 3.0 charger is involved - the circuit board on the Magsafe charger as discovered by iFixit is likely looking for that extra information exchange that PD 3.0 enables in order to safely regulate temperatures, and if that isn't present then I'm guessing that causes it to fall back to less efficient charging.
 
I'm a little disappointed in Apple here. You'd think they would make the best wireless charger they possibly can, for ALL their devices, not just the iPhone 12 with horribly gimped slow charging for previous models.

The damn thing doesn't even charge Apple Watches.

When a cheap $9.99 Qi charger bought as an impulse buy at Walgreens charges my iPhone 11 PM faster than Apple's own wireless charger, you know they don't care as much as they used to.
 
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terraphantm said:
The 96W charger supports 9V at upto 3A, but still doesn’t hit the full speed per this article. So seems like there’s something else going on.
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I wonder if it is the 5.2VDC/3A rating when the 20W is 5V/3A (since it looks like the MagSafe is using 5V/3A based on the 20W adapter ratings).
 
So does the Spigen 27w PD3.0 charger work at full speed with the MagSafe charger?

it supports 9V at 3A
 
prasand said:
seems like a matter of PD 3.0 vs PD 2.0 chargers, if Apple hasn’t already announced a new version of PD. This will come to light at the latest when they allow manufacturers to certify for the new PD version.

Ultimately, it’s a standard that is more advanced than even what Qi chargers are capable of, so I don’t think it’s a matter of Apple hindering other chargers. The other chargers just can’t do what’s necessary to safely charge that way. Qi 1.2 can theoretically do 15 watts, but in reality even 1.2 Qi chargers only hit around 10 watts at best ... they just aren’t capable. It’s not about what adapters can do in general. It’s about “can that adapter communicate with the device to negotiate a safe charging rate?” A 100 watt power brick is moot if it overcharges, making the phone explode.

Maybe Qi 1.3 will catch up to this PD 3.0 (or maybe more like PD 2.5) that remains to be seen. But i’m sure people will still complain and think they should be getting 15 watt speeds out of their old-school Apple 5 watt chargers.
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I think people should expect to see 15 W wireless charging with MagSafe if they use the 18 W charging brick last year, like Apple is telling us to do.

This is a money grubbing, greedy move by Apple and everybody should be pissed off about it. This has nothing to do with saving the environment.

The environment is a cover so people will sing apples praises about the move, and look. It worked.

This company is scum.
 
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Scottsoapbox said:
Apple's own 96W adapter can't charge at wireless 15W so Apple can sell you another adapter? What happened to all that saving the planet from extra adapters talk???
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I would be inclined to think that maybe (besides likely just being a greedy move) there’s something related to how wireless charging works. Like how a hose can deliver a certain amount of water flow but if one side diameter is shortened it will have to “work more” for the same amount of water (it will travel a lot farther though).

Maybe there are some safety fire hazard thermal considerations hence why so stingy with temperature thresholds, things that a non inductive charging adapter didn’t take into account no matter it’s wattage output.

Any knowledgeable people on the matter? Is it just a cash grab?
 
I have 3 wireless fast chargers laying around the house along with a couple of fast charge adapters as well. for me, there’s no benefit in buying yet another charging solution thats arguably less convenient and slower than the ones I already own. Money in the bank.
 
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Steve Jobs never cared about the shareholders. He was passionate about getting people the best possible product at any given time no matter what. Tim Cook’s Apple uses every tactic possible to milk money from customers. Getting rid of the power adapter the same year they come out with a new charging system. Read between the lines ladies and gentlemen. They succeeded in tricking you into buying two extra items this year with your iPhone purchase.
 
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kcslc said:
I think people should expect to see 15 W wireless charging with MagSafe if they use the 18 W charging brick last year, like Apple is telling us to do.
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It's a little more complicated than that. While Apple is by no means innocent, electrical charging is a complicated affair involving power negotiation to make sure that the right amount of power is delivered without causing overheating and also making sure to not overload batteries with too much power.

In particular, heating is complicated because the resistive heat depends on the voltage / current that's being passed through. I'm not a certified electrical engineer, but heat is governed either as I^2 * R or V ^ 2 / R where R is the resistance of the charger - in either case both current and voltage has to be carefully regulated, depending on the circuit, to make sure devices aren't spoiled. Inductive charging probably also introduces more complexity as opposed to wired charging.

It's true that Apple could improve the marketing around this though by being more transparent about the requirements to achieve 15W charging via the MagSafe connector.
 
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Effectively there is no option for full speed (15W) MagSafe charging in a vehicle? (Other than the ludicrous 12/24V to mains inverter-> Apple 20W charger -> MagSafe.)
 
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