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Remember Apple's AA Battery Charger? It'll Be a Vintage Product Soon

jerryk said:
I never even knew Apple had a battery charger. But, $29 for a AA charger + 6 AA-batteries sounds like Apple pricing.
Click to expand...

This is what got me into good rechargeable batteries. I had used regular rechargeable batteries before but they all died out after two or three years. I bought the original though, the Eneloops with an Eneloop charger and they were the same price as the Apple branded Eneloops. Considering how much money I saved over the years it was a good investment. For me and the planet. :)
 
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Cool. I got two of these. One for at home and one for at work. Does this mean they are collector items now? I only ever used the batteries in my original generation Magic Track Pad and Magic Mouse. But shortly after I got it, they released the 2nd generation Magic Track Pad which has a built-in battery and force touch support. Then I got the keyboard with built-in battery and the Magic Mouse 2 with built-in battery. No more need for battery charger.
 
Funny thing is the first Apple Magic Mouse doesn't work with some AA rechargeables. They got too fancy with the connectors. Instead of the regular flat side for positive and spring for negative. The positive is slightly recessed so the battery can't connect to it.
 
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The Apple AA battery chargers were very well designed to be energy efficient: drawing very little power when the batteries are fully charged.

From the TechCrunch review:
“We’ve engineering these chargers to have the lowest power vampire draw of any AA chargers,” Apple says.
...
So why six? Apple envisions people using two of them in their wireless keyboards, two in their Magic Mouse or new Magic Trackpad, and then two that will remain in the charger in case the others run out.

From the MacUser/MacWorld review:
Its most compelling feature is its lower vampire draw—the energy that chargers use even after batteries are fully charged—versus other products on the market. Once a battery charge cycle is complete, the Apple Battery Charger automatically slashes its power consumption to 30 milliwatts, which is 10 times better than the industry average, the company claims.

This is an example of the attention to detail paid by Apple engineers. The amount of power is very small: if left on for a whole year, 30mW is 0.26 kWH, and 300mW is 2.6 kWH. It is a very small amount of power wasted per household, but adds up if you consider how many households leave things plugged in.

I appreciate good design and engineering, and saving power is a bonus. I recently purchased another one of these chargers, second hand, before they become harder to find: what alternatives are there that only draws 30mW?
 
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So Apple made their mice and keyboards take AA batteries, so they made a branded charger available.
Now with their push to pro environment, they went for built-ins 'non-user' replaceables that degrade over time. Am I missing something here?
 
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k1121j said:
Not looking firward to the day I can’t use my mouse cause it charging with a cord sticking out the bottom of it #rolleyes
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Plug it in when you go on a coffee break? Or when you go out to lunch? Or at night before you go to bed? 🤔
 
I still use mine and when traveling take it with me. I have apple ac cables for different countries and use those cables both with my usb power adaptor and my AA battery charger!
 
Great batteries and charger! I have one with 6 batteries that I still use with a Magic Mouse and wireless keyboard. The batteries still hold the charge pretty well!
 
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I highly recommend this Powerex charger: https://smile.amazon.com/Powerex-MH-C9000PRO-Professional-Charger-Analyzer/dp/B08DJDQ4Y8/

And these Eneloop Batteries:
smile.amazon.com

Panasonic BK-3MCCA8BA eneloop AA 2100 Cycle Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries, 8-Battery Pack

eneloop AA and AAA NiMH ready to use rechargeable batteries utilize Panasonic advanced rechargeable battery technology, allowing them to be recharged up to 2,100 times. eneloop AA and AAA rechargeable batteries deliver consistent power performance, maintain 70% of their charge for up to 10 years,...
smile.amazon.com

I bought an older version of that charger which is functionally the same (I think they just moved the screen to the bottom to be easier to read when at your desk), and my first Eneloops in 2012. I occasionally recondition them using this specialized charger. I just had my first Eneloop fail last month after 9 years, unable to be reconditioned. They’re pricey but worth it. My oldest batteries hold around 87% of their original capacity. It’s one of my favorite tech things of all time. I used to buy rechargeables on fast chargers that would fail in no time.
 
stringParameter said:
That battery charger was epic. Can't believe some of the comments here.
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That is because they did not have one.

The best batteries and charger I have ever had. Still use it. The batteries are done, but they lasted the longest I have ever had. Usually, rechargeable batteries are good (strong) for about three years (depending). But these lasted twice as long or more.

Apple used eneloops branded batteries, but I bought the supposably equivalent batteries, but they did not last as long.

12 years or so is a good run... RIP.
 
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velocityg4 said:
Funny thing is the first Apple Magic Mouse doesn't work with some AA rechargeables. They got too fancy with the connectors. Instead of the regular flat side for positive and spring for negative. The positive is slightly recessed so the battery can't connect to it.
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I only just stuck in expensive energizer lithium because they lasted slightly longer and because there light the mouse moved better. Rechargeables/alkaline got 2-3 days lithium could go for about 6-7.
 
Mine is in the wall socket right now recharging the original batteries. I use them to power a first-generation Magic Mouse, which is also still going strong.
 
1madman1 said:
Replaceable rechargeable batteries? Apple would never stand for such a thing today. It's all about glued together, unserviceable and disposable to maximize profits.
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Believe it or not, there are benefits other than profits to the way apple manufactures things.
 
anthorumor said:
So Apple made their mice and keyboards that took AA batteries, so they made a branded charger available.
Now with their push to pro environment, they went for built-ins 'non-user' replaceables that degrade over time. Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...
The AA‘s also degrade over time, and more people were using disposables, so the change is a net positive.
 
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anthorumor said:
So Apple made their mice and keyboards that took AA batteries, so they made a branded charger available.
Now with their push to pro environment, they went for built-ins 'non-user' replaceables that degrade over time. Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...

You aren't missing anything. Apple has gotten far less environmentally responsible over the last decade. Glued-in and unrepairable everything is where they are now.
 
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Still have 2 of them and they both still work. The batteries last about 15 minutes and they are dead.

I always thought the batteries drained way too quickly with these even when they were new.
 
I still use my AA apple battery charger. I use it for my remote control charger, so far so good. I think.
 
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