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MagSafe Charger Only Charges at Full 15W Speeds With Apple's 20W Power Adapter [Updated]
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How so?
In my opinion there is a net win here for the environment, when one considers the total footprint of including 80M chargers and pods, packaging and shipping...against on demand orders for magsafe.
I would challenge this statement. I believe *most* people will be able to charge their iphone 12 without incurring additional cost.
Do you want to stop people from returning product to Apple, Amazon, Best Buy etc?
It was spot on.
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I could buy the argument that their special 20w charger is super special and has a special secret sauce chip inside or something that secretively and selectively uses its own brand new pd profile... I guess... but... eh... why? Why couldn’t my 100w usb-c brick do it? It just seems unready if it costs $39+$19 to get this thing to work with only ONE METER. It’s just not useable or practical, and that’s saying something for Apple... I even agree with most of their decisions. I was a FAN of the hockey puck mouse. I am riveted at the thought of a portless iPhone. But not like this... not like this...
So, solution-oriented posting.
1) MagSafe should work at 15w with all quality usb-c bricks that respect and followed all the bs usb-c standards up to now. Limit it to 75w and above I don’t care just let some other chargers work... this is unconscionable that we’re forced to buy a single port 20w charger exclusively for use with this 1 meter magnetic charger. Which brings me to...
2) One meter? Come on... it wasn’t ready! What’s the use here? I can honest to goodness see the use of this whole thing if the length in meters was 2m+ (2.5m or even 3m would be generous, in a somehow retractable way even?). Then at that point we’re talking a magnetic puck that you can have hovering around your bed or desk or wherever somehow, since the cord is very long, and now I can charge “wirelessly” while reading without having to be annoyed by a rigid and sterile wire+port? And I can pass it to others easily? Sign me up!
But this 1m nonsense seems a bit of a dishonest play in my book... the whole thing seems exciting until you realize how short the cord is. Many people are going to be so disappointed, and also will further be disappointed by the slow charging speeds. It’s a double whammy of profit for Apple, but what’s worse, it’s a double whammy of disrespect to the consumer. We paid a lot AND it’s barely useful?!
To reiterate, lengthen the cord and broaden the chargers that can get 15w. If this is not possible... at this point I think they should have bitten the bullet and included the 20w puck, but even that doesn’t make people like me happy who have 100/130w chargers to spare and what? We aren’t good enough for MagSafe? We can’t power 20watts correctly??
I’m gobsmacked.
So, solution-oriented posting.
1) MagSafe should work at 15w with all quality usb-c bricks that respect and followed all the bs usb-c standards up to now. Limit it to 75w and above I don’t care just let some other chargers work... this is unconscionable that we’re forced to buy a single port 20w charger exclusively for use with this 1 meter magnetic charger. Which brings me to...
2) One meter? Come on... it wasn’t ready! What’s the use here? I can honest to goodness see the use of this whole thing if the length in meters was 2m+ (2.5m or even 3m would be generous, in a somehow retractable way even?). Then at that point we’re talking a magnetic puck that you can have hovering around your bed or desk or wherever somehow, since the cord is very long, and now I can charge “wirelessly” while reading without having to be annoyed by a rigid and sterile wire+port? And I can pass it to others easily? Sign me up!
But this 1m nonsense seems a bit of a dishonest play in my book... the whole thing seems exciting until you realize how short the cord is. Many people are going to be so disappointed, and also will further be disappointed by the slow charging speeds. It’s a double whammy of profit for Apple, but what’s worse, it’s a double whammy of disrespect to the consumer. We paid a lot AND it’s barely useful?!
To reiterate, lengthen the cord and broaden the chargers that can get 15w. If this is not possible... at this point I think they should have bitten the bullet and included the 20w puck, but even that doesn’t make people like me happy who have 100/130w chargers to spare and what? We aren’t good enough for MagSafe? We can’t power 20watts correctly??
I’m gobsmacked.
Guys, it's not about the saving the planet BS, it's Apple saving their money. Let's add it up.. buy the magsafe and it comes in a box... then you buy a charger that comes in another box. end of day, a lot more packaging and a lighter wallet.
I have no doubt that this is absolutely the right move to make in the long run.
Let’s say Apple sells 200 million iPhones over the next year. That’s 200 million charging bricks and EarPods’ worth of materials saved.
Yes, some people will buy magsafe chargers and the new 20w charging brick, just as the rest will go on to use their existing usb-c chargers (at last count, I have 3 of those 30w chargers with a usb-c and usb-A port inside).
Likewise, yes, some people may go on to buy EarPods, or they may continue using their existing headphones, or opt to buy some other brand that they were planning to use anyways.
Should Apple have waited another year or two to increase the number of usb-c chargers in circulation first before making such a move? Perhaps. Maybe this is a move designed to boost short-term profits as much as it is about long-term environmental sustainability.
It’s a net gain overall even in the first year or two, and once everyone who needs a usb-c charger has gotten one (be it from Apple or a third party), it’s pure savings for the environment thereafter.
Sometimes, in order to bring about meaningful change, you have to force it. While being bold and unapologetic about it at the same time.
In a way that only Apple can.
Right, that’s exactly what I mean. One group was not talking to another group. It is also a little strange that they didn’t notice this when putting together the presentation.
I wish I would have waited on MagSafe. It’s a total waste. I bought the 20W charger and my iPhone 12 Pro charges ridiculously slow.
Am I the only one that denies those Apple bags that you get when you order stuff for pickup at the Apple Store?
I'd gladly choose a box-less option if there was one. But <shrug> there isn't.
USB-PD doesn't work that way... the MagSafe puck supports a set of profiles (combination of volts & amps) and the only way for a charger to provide it 15w is for it to also support that profile. Apple can not make it work with all possible USB-PD bricks at full capacity. It will run at whatever profile they both support, which may be 15w or may be 10w.
What? The iPhone charges insanely fast with the 20w charger. I've used a 5w, 18w, 20w, and greater (MacBook chargers). It charges really REALLY fast. I've had the +/Max models since the 6+ and ... I'm surprised how fast this iPhone charges (my first non+ for a long time).
Seems you're not thinking it through.
For those that have a Lightning cable and charger from a previous iPhone/iPad, you're good to go.
For those that happen to have a USB-C charger, or recent Apple laptop, no worries, Apple has you covered by providing a Lightning to USB-C cable in the box with your new iPhone 12.
Either way, you can charge your iPhone 12. Charge with reckless abandon!
Magsafe is already pointless (yea I know what you said)
I think it was mentioned there was a disclaimer on the box about this. So it seems people from multiple groups were talking. MAy not have been mentioned during the interview.
USB-PD works that way as long as the company putting out their next product doesn’t create a brand new profile for no reason other than to create difficulties. Are we saying that this MagSafe charger is so specific in its needs that it required a brand new profile that only the stingy 1 port Apple USB-C chargers use? And so all current non-Apple chargers don’t support this new profile?
Or does MagSafe charger support multiple pd profiles that are already in use and supported by quality brands??
That is my question at this point. I didn’t see very many high wattage chargers being tested. I’d be interested to see how those perform, the ones that are high wattage and support very many pd profiles all the way up and down the list.
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This has always been my impression of Apple products ...nothing is ever quite as good as it seems.
Says on the back of the MagSafe box, ”18W” minimum. Nothing about slower charging speed. Apple has been inundated with returns, as I have returned mine.
Their site (which qualifies as "any literature") says "up to 15W" and points you at the 20W block. If there is no combination of hardware that provides 15W, they haven't properly documented. If it charges with more than 15W, then they haven't properly documented. Otherwise, there's no legal issue.
Appreciate that and understand, however if you go directly into the Apple shop and purchase, the only documentation/literature you’ll see is on the box. ‘18W’
This "test" is not even remotely reliable.
As one comment mentioned:
You probably need to retest this man. It seems Mag Safe use 9V/1.67A USB-PD rev 2.0/3.0 protocol and your test shows gradual decrease of Ampere as the phone’s battery fill up. 1st test 1.62A 2nd test 1.35A 3rd test 1.14A 4th test 1.07A 5th test 1.03A 6th test 1.02A 7th test 0.83A
As one comment mentioned:
You probably need to retest this man. It seems Mag Safe use 9V/1.67A USB-PD rev 2.0/3.0 protocol and your test shows gradual decrease of Ampere as the phone’s battery fill up. 1st test 1.62A 2nd test 1.35A 3rd test 1.14A 4th test 1.07A 5th test 1.03A 6th test 1.02A 7th test 0.83A
Apple literally said they didn’t ship charging blocks with the new phones because people already have them. Actually, NO ONE has them, at least not the ones that support the much-heralded MagSafe charges at full potential. Apple absolutely knew this yet deliberately misstated the facts.
From that wording...
- Apple didn't explicitly specify that to achieve maximum speed, their specific 20W charger is required. They only indicated that they have a 20W charger sold separately.
- Apple also indicated that the pad is compatible with Qi, yet it is outputting severely low wattage on other Qi compatible phones. When such compatibility is mentioned, consumers will expect at least the minimum 5W charging, now 1.5W.