Shocked at charging speed

[dmillar74]

I bought a 2016 MBP nTB, 256/8. I'm truly shocked how fast the battery charges. It maybe took an hour to charge, if that, from around 5% to 100%. Is this one of the big benefits of Thunderbolt / USB C? My 2007 MacBook Pro took a much longer time to charge.

 

[deadworlds]

I think it has to do with the fact that the battery is a smaller capacity.

 

[Brookzy]

The 2016 nTB Pro has a 54.5Wh battery and a 61W power adapter.

The 2007 15" Pro had a 60Wh battery and an 85W power adapter.

So on paper at least, the battery size and power adapter shouldn't lead to much difference in charging time.

But, today's batteries can take far higher charging currents - or in other words the batteries can simply just charge faster.

With regards to your wondering if the power supply had something to do with it (i.e. is USB-C somehow faster), it turns out that a power adapter's rating is a bit of a red herring as it does not necessarily equal charging speed.

Generally speaking, the size of the power adapter that ships with a MacBook is not only dependent upon the physical size of the battery, but also on the peak power draw of the MacBook. This is so that at 100% load, the power adapter will be enough to meet the power demands without tapping into the battery.

The limiting factor here is the speed the battery can charge at, not the power adapter's peak output. Thus in this case a device with a 61W charger is charging faster than one with an 85W charger, because the 2016 Pros have modern batteries that can charge fast without excessive wear*.

Additionally, these factors can be a cause for the difference too:

• If you are observing charging times while using your MacBook, the difference may be due to the huge improvements in efficiency at low and moderate loads in the modern machines, meaning less power is being consumed.
• The age and wear level of your 2007 battery may make it charge slower (if you haven't replaced the battery that is).

Hope that helps answer your question!

*Any battery could charge fast if you were willing to damage it, but charging must be kept at a rate that balances charge time and battery longevity. Modern batteries wear less.

 

[Gav2k]

Newer battery technology. It's as simple as that

 

[chriscrowlee]

I know, I'm shocked too how quick the LED turns from Orange to Green.

Bahahah, sorry, I just had to rub salt in my own wound. I miss the orange\green LED indicator so so bad!

 

[thadoggfather]

I know, I'm shocked too how quick the LED turns from Orange to Green.

Bahahah, sorry, I just had to rub salt in my own wound. I miss the orange\green LED indicator so so bad!

I'm really surprised monoprice or someone doesnt,

they have that kinda thing with lightning:
http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=12871


I'm impressed 2016 battery charges quick too, but it is because its less capacity,

 

[Brookzy]

I'm impressed 2016 battery charges quick too, but it is because its less capacity,

Read my post. Capacity difference is less than 10%.

 

[thadoggfather]

Read my post. Capacity difference is less than 10%.

you're comparing a 15 with a 13


74.9w for 2015 13" - 28% less w Ntb, 35% less with TB
54w for 2016 13" nTB, and 49w for the TB

Comparing 2016 with last iteration is what makes most sense,

 

[chriscrowlee]

they have that kinda thing with lightning:
http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=12871

I've already forgotten what that thing on the right is. It looks so primitive.

 

[thadoggfather]

I've already forgotten what that thing on the right is. It looks so primitive.View attachment 680997

haha

would be great If they a usbc to lightning variation of this cable, I would re buy

 

[chriscrowlee]

haha

would be great If they a usbc to lightning variation of this cable, I would re buy

Me too. Or even greater if they just ditched lightning technology in a humble bit of courage and used the industry standard usb-c on phones and tablets and stop playing the proprietary garbage game they've played for so long.

 

[Brookzy]

you're comparing a 15 with a 13


74.9w for 2015 13" - 28% less w Ntb, 35% less with TB
54w for 2016 13" nTB, and 49w for the TB

Comparing 2016 with last iteration is what makes most sense,

Have you read this thread at all? OP is comparing charge times of their nTB and their 2007 Pro. I didn't pluck two random models out of the air.

 

[bartvk]

I've already forgotten what that thing on the right is. It looks so primitive.View attachment 680997

What is it used for? It's so big, it looks like some kind of blunt weapon. Hammering nails?! Crack coconuts open perhaps??
[doublepost=1483185955][/doublepost]

I miss the orange\green LED indicator so so bad!

I'm really surprised monoprice or someone doesnt

I bought this Moshi cable:
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01D64WBIU/

I can't find it on amazon.com, just on .de. It promises the same as the orange/green LED, but it's really not. Basically it just displays a green LED when it's connected but no power is flowing over the cable. That only happens when the laptop lid is closed and the battery is charged.

But MagSafe turns green when the battery is charged, regardless whether you're using the laptop or not.

My reasoning is that there's a bit of signaling involved with MagSafe. It has five pins. The middle pin is used by the laptop to control the LED. Since Moshi's cable has to conform to the USB-C standard, and the new MacBooks don't put out any special signal about the battery, the cable doesn't have enough info.

 

[Karnicopia]

This is one of the really nice things about the laptop that doesn't get talked about much but this thing does charge amazingly fast. It even charges pretty fast while I'm using it, I can get go from 5% to full in about an hour and a half while using it. Really shocked me the first time I looked down and it was already at 100%.

Another underrated aspect is just how convenient it is to charge on either side, how often I use that and how nice it's going to be to be able to use external batteries and share chargers with other people. I think a lot of this gets lost in the shuffle but these are all going to be amazingly useful features. External batteries and universal charging are going to be really great for traveling.

Also lol on the usb a pic. To tell you the truth usb c was a really big selling point to me I really hated the old usb plugs and how every single time it seemed like you had it the wrong way. Just such unnecessary tedious BS to have to spend time making sure you have a plug the right way when it could just be a plug where orientation doesn't matter. This is another underrated but huge improvement honestly in just how much easier it is to actually use the usb c connector.

 

[chriscrowlee]

What is it used for? It's so big, it looks like some kind of blunt weapon. Hammering nails?! Crack coconuts open perhaps??
[doublepost=1483185955][/doublepost]



I bought this Moshi cable:
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01D64WBIU/

I can't find it on amazon.com, just on .de. It promises the same as the orange/green LED, but it's really not. Basically it just displays a green LED when it's connected but no power is flowing over the cable. That only happens when the laptop lid is closed and the battery is charged.

But MagSafe turns green when the battery is charged, regardless whether you're using the laptop or not.

My reasoning is that there's a bit of signaling involved with MagSafe. It has five pins. The middle pin is used by the laptop to control the LED. Since Moshi's cable has to conform to the USB-C standard, and the new MacBooks don't put out any special signal about the battery, the cable doesn't have enough info.

Not the same. :-(

 

[bartvk]

Not the same. :-(

No and if you think about it, it can't be done without Apple creating specific hardware for this. Oh well.

 

[chriscrowlee]

No and if you think about it, it can't be done without Apple creating specific hardware for this. Oh well.

Agreed, but part of going with the benefits of an industry-standard is not having proprietary stuff. And I'd much rather forfeit the orange\green LED and have industry standard technology than go back to the dark ages.

 

[thesaint024]

Agreed, but part of going with the benefits of an industry-standard is not having proprietary stuff. And I'd much rather forfeit the orange\green LED and have industry standard technology than go back to the dark ages.

+1. I do wish there was EITHER the orange/green light or the green led lights on the side you can just push. It's nice to know at a glance how your battery is without powering up. But again, I wouldn't trade that function for the usb-c flexibility or the fast charging.

 

[chriscrowlee]

+1. I do wish there was EITHER the orange/green light or the green led lights on the side you can just push. It's nice to know at a glance how your battery is without powering up. But again, I wouldn't trade that function for the usb-c flexibility or the fast charging.

Don't forget the huge benefit of being able to charge from the left or the right side. I never realized how nice that is until I was able to do it, hehe