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Teardown of 140W MacBook Pro Power Adapter Shows What's Inside

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The 140W power adapter that ships with the 16-inch MacBook Pro models is unique in multiple ways, with Apple introducing new technology in the charger. It is the first Apple power adapter using gallium nitride or "GaN" technology to cut down on size, and it is equipped with USB-C Power Delivery 3.1. ChargerLab today published a teardown of the 140W power adapter, giving those who are curious about what's inside a look under the hood.


The teardown video features general measurements and testing of the power adapter, but ChargerLab also completely disassembles the body to get to the internals. The analysis portion of the teardown is highly technical, but that bit, which starts at around 7:30 into the video, is worth watching for those who want to know about the specific chip setup Apple is using.

As mentioned up above, this is the first power adapter that Apple has introduced with USB-C Power Delivery 3.1, and it is also compatible with devices that support that charging specification. MacBook Pro models are also able to charge with USB Power Delivery 3.1 chargers from third-party brands.

The 140W power adapter ships with the 16-inch MacBook Pro, and it is also available from Apple for $99.

Article Link: Teardown of 140W MacBook Pro Power Adapter Shows What's Inside
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/10/29/140w-macbook-pro-power-adapter-teardown/
Wish apple’s chargers were smaller and had some duo charge plugs. I get it’s more money for apple, but it sucks to carry two chargers for two usb_c devices when clearly it’s safe to have a 2:1 plug.
 
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darkslide29 said:
I see that this power adapter only comes with the 16-inch Pro. When configuring the 14-inch, the default is 67W, or can upgrade to the 96W for $20 more. Is there a benefit to upgrading to the 96W? I imagine this 140w would be completely overkill.
Click to expand...
The 14 inch needs 96 watts to fast charge. The 140 watt won't even do anything the 96 watt doesn't do for the 14 inch, you need the 16 inch to take advantage of the 140 watt power.
 
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darkslide29 said:
I see that this power adapter only comes with the 16-inch Pro. When configuring the 14-inch, the default is 67W, or can upgrade to the 96W for $20 more. Is there a benefit to upgrading to the 96W? I imagine this 140w would be completely overkill.
Click to expand...
I seem to recall hearing that with the 14", only the 96W charger can do the Fast Charging thing.
 
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I wish this charger had an ethernet jack, like the iMac's power brick - it wouldn't have been as good as returning the ethernet jack to the Mac, but it would have been better than no ethernet at all.
 
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TheYayAreaLiving said:
Dang! They ripped that thing apart. Highly advanced technology in that little adapter.

However, the adapter does get heated while charging your ?
Click to expand...
GaN chargers go to around 95-96% efficiency, so that “loss” (5% of 140W equals ~7W) has to go somewhere … it’ll be fine, it’s designed for that
 
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I don't get how my 108 watt Setachi with 3 usb ports is half the size of my old 96watt 16" MBP non GaN charger, yet to go up up essentially 40 watts with GaN tech they had to make the charger way bigger. I really figured with Gan they could have made the new 140 watt charger the same size as the old 96/86watt
 
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This bums me out, I'm excited for the day that wall outlets have one regular plug and a couple USB-C EPR outlets, and this is about the best we can do for a reasonable price, and its huge, and still expensive.
 
MacRumors said:


The 140W power adapter that ships with the 16-inch MacBook Pro models is unique in multiple ways, with Apple introducing new technology in the charger. It is the first Apple power adapter using gallium nitride or "GaN" technology to cut down on size, and it is equipped with USB-C Power Delivery 3.1. ChargerLab today published a teardown of the 140W power adapter, giving those who are curious about what's inside a look under the hood.


The teardown video features general measurements and testing of the power adapter, but ChargerLab also completely disassembles the body to get to the internals. The analysis portion of the teardown is highly technical, but that bit, which starts at around 7:30 into the video, is worth watching for those who want to know about the specific chip setup Apple is using.

As mentioned up above, this is the first power adapter that Apple has introduced with USB-C Power Delivery 3.1, and it is also compatible with devices that support that charging specification. MacBook Pro models are also able to charge with USB Power Delivery 3.1 chargers from third-party brands.

The 140W power adapter ships with the 16-inch MacBook Pro, and it is also available from Apple for $99.

Article Link: Teardown of 140W MacBook Pro Power Adapter Shows What's Inside
Click to expand...

Does anyone know if the new MBP 16" Fast-charge capable with included 140W USB-C Power Adapter will 'fast charge' when coupled with Apple's power adapter extension, or will it revert to normal charging speed?

I still want to benefit from the 0 to 50 percent charge in around 30 minutes, but also want the added length of the 1.8-meter Power Adapter Extension Cable.

Although Apple's site description says "Use it with MagSafe and MagSafe 2 power adapters, 10W and 12W USB-A power adapters and 29W, 30W, 61W, 67W, 87W, 96W, and 140W USB-C power adapters." The one that Apple just shipped me with my new MBP 16" 2021 box says... MagSafe 2 up to 87W. See Screenshot attached.

So...
  1. Did Apple send me the wrong power extension cable, is there another one compatible with MBP 16" 2021?
  2. Does the power extension cable work with MagSafe 3 / Fast-Charge and Apple just hasn't updating their specs on the actual box yet?
Thanks for help!

ApplePowerAdapterExtension.jpg
 
Reelmower said:
Kudos for proper use of unique. Most would have written “very unique” (incorrect), instead of “unique in many ways” (correct).
Click to expand...

Yes. However, the MR style guide, assuming one exists, allows a lot of hipster-speak. For example:
  • curate, instead of choose or select
  • share, instead of release or publish
And we users abuse "literally" and "?" all the time.

Anyway, it's good to see a teardown of a genuine Apple charger. I hope some comparison photos of third party chargers are published (shared?) by somebody soon. I was shocked (ha ha) when I came across comparisons of Apple and no-name iPhone and iPad chargers a few years ago.
 
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operationsphere said:
Does anyone know if the new MBP 16" Fast-charge capable with included 140W USB-C Power Adapter will 'fast charge' when coupled with Apple's power adapter extension, or will it revert to normal charging speed?

I still want to benefit from the 0 to 50 percent charge in around 30 minutes, but also want the added length of the 1.8-meter Power Adapter Extension Cable.

Although Apple's site description says "Use it with MagSafe and MagSafe 2 power adapters, 10W and 12W USB-A power adapters and 29W, 30W, 61W, 67W, 87W, 96W, and 140W USB-C power adapters." The one that Apple just shipped me with my new MBP 16" 2021 box says... MagSafe 2 up to 87W. See Screenshot attached.

So...
  1. Did Apple send me the wrong power extension cable, is there another one compatible with MBP 16" 2021?
  2. Does the power extension cable work with MagSafe 3 / Fast-Charge and Apple just hasn't updating their specs on the actual box yet?
Thanks for help!

View attachment 1883386
Click to expand...
They don't have to change anything on the extension, it's the same extension. Since it's on the AC side of things, it actually doesn't change anything on the DC side (the actual cable you use to charge the device), it just has to be reasonably thick to handle the current (which it definitely is and the increased power barely makes a dent in that thick a cable on the AC side).

The magic of AC power is that the cables can be super long and handle a lot of power, but the disadvantage is that all AC needs to be converted to DC for electronics to work.
 
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qpid360 said:
So I’m guessing this wouldn’t be allowed with carry on bags? I thought the limit is 100w?
Click to expand...

Mick-Mac said:
That restriction is on lithium ion batteries (100VA) - the thing that contains the energy (and can blow up). A battery charger isn't the same thing as a battery.
Click to expand...
For energy there has to be a time unit included. W=VA (well technically P=VI), which is an instantaneous power unit, but power has no energy unless there is a timespan over which that power is delivered.

Energy (like battery capacity) is measured in Watt-hours (or amp/milliamp-hours, in which case just multiply by the nominal cell voltage to get watt-hours).
 
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KaliYoni said:
Yes. However, the MR style guide, assuming one exists, allows a lot of hipster-speak. For example:
  • curate, instead of choose or select
  • share, instead of release or publish
And we users abuse "literally" and "?" all the time.

Anyway, it's good to see a teardown of a genuine Apple charger. I hope some comparison photos of third party chargers are published (shared?) by somebody soon. I was shocked (ha ha) when I came across comparisons of Apple and no-name iPhone and iPad chargers a few years ago.
Click to expand...

I don‘t like when tech sites say that a company has “pushed” a software update instead of “released”. Pushing an update implies a forced install, which is not the case for all devices.
 
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operationsphere said:
Does anyone know if the new MBP 16" Fast-charge capable with included 140W USB-C Power Adapter will 'fast charge' when coupled with Apple's power adapter extension, or will it revert to normal charging speed?

I still want to benefit from the 0 to 50 percent charge in around 30 minutes, but also want the added length of the 1.8-meter Power Adapter Extension Cable.

Although Apple's site description says "Use it with MagSafe and MagSafe 2 power adapters, 10W and 12W USB-A power adapters and 29W, 30W, 61W, 67W, 87W, 96W, and 140W USB-C power adapters." The one that Apple just shipped me with my new MBP 16" 2021 box says... MagSafe 2 up to 87W. See Screenshot attached.

So...
  1. Did Apple send me the wrong power extension cable, is there another one compatible with MBP 16" 2021?
  2. Does the power extension cable work with MagSafe 3 / Fast-Charge and Apple just hasn't updating their specs on the actual box yet?
Thanks for help!

View attachment 1883386
Click to expand...
Yes, old packaging specs, but will work fine with the MagSafe 3 items. Personally using the extension I had from OG MacBook Pro from 2012 or so.
 
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Mick-Mac said:
That restriction is on lithium ion batteries (100VA) - the thing that contains the energy (and can blow up). A battery charger isn't the same thing as a battery.
Click to expand...
From what I understand the actual restriction is on the amount of Lithium in the battery. 10 grams. Which works out to ~26800 mAh or ~100VA.
 
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