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

[qpid360]

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.

I... am an idiot. Thanks for clearing that up haha

 

[macpot]

Now put it back together ?

 

[operationsphere]

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

UPDATE: Called Apple also, apparently there's an internal memo about one of my questions (140w compatible). It's old packaging apparently until they run-out and then re-print to specifically match the new specs online for upgraded machines.

 

[Pro Apple Silicon]

bUt It ShOuLd HaVe MoRe PoRtS

Lol. This is Apple, not Anker. The is a dedicated 16" MacBook Pro charger. Regardless of what other utility you imagine for it.

 

[lazyrighteye]

That dude really leaned into the "tear" side of "tear down." Badger!

 

[Sinfonist]

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.

They've probably pushed it to their servers. The installation is a separate step

 

[Johnny907]

Meh. The tech inside the 30w Anker charger that currently powers my M1 MBA while only being slightly bigger than Apple's own USB-A iPhone charger makes this thing look ridiculously behind the times.
Congrats on joining the first gen of a technology that Third Parties are already on their second and third gens of, I guess.
Apple's new slogan when it comes to accessories may as well be "hey better late than never."

 

[Satch111]

why are you even asking this silly question ?.

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

 

[GuilleA]

So I’m guessing this wouldn’t be allowed with carry on bags? I thought the limit is 100w?

That's for batteries, the max is 100 watt hours.

 

[GuilleA]

UPDATE: Called Apple also, apparently there's an internal memo about one of my questions (140w compatible). It's old packaging apparently until they run-out and then re-print to specifically match the new specs online for upgraded machines.

It should work. There's no reason why the detachable plug is able to handle 140w of load and the extension wouldn't.

 

[Cameront9]

It should work. There's no reason why the detachable plug is able to handle 140w of load and the extension wouldn't.

Yeah, I've used the extension cable that came with my Powerbook G4 on my 2019 Macbook Air. I for one am glad that they have kept the same design for 20 years.

 

[kolebee]

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.

Hey, volt-amperes do not measure energy. Units of power are rates, so they need a time component to be able to refer to stored energy. Milliamp-hours also do not measure energy (if you have that rating, you would also need a battery's nominal voltage to determine how much energy it contains).

The FAA restriction for lithium ion batteries is 2 grams of lithium, widely interpreted (including by the FAA) as being batteries with energy capacity ratings under 100 Wh.

There is also a per-passenger allowance for two batteries over 100 Wh but under 160 Wh, and that requires notification/approval by the airline.

 

[melgross]

I liked the way he said that this charger could be sold so CHEAPLY because Apple yada yada. People are going to complain it's too expensive.

 

[MacBH928]

I used to complain about charger prices but seeing how much goes into this thing, I guess its worth the price.

Why is GaN just started being popular?

 

[till]

Other companies - premium brands - are eager to sell you cheap junk in a fancy package, but it's comforting to know that Apple's attention to detail extends to opting for high-quality components like Rubycon capacitors, instead of saving a few pennies and making a worse product that fails faster.

 

[alee]

Meh. The tech inside the 30w Anker charger that currently powers my M1 MBA while only being slightly bigger than Apple's own USB-A iPhone charger makes this thing look ridiculously behind the times.
Congrats on joining the first gen of a technology that Third Parties are already on their second and third gens of, I guess.
Apple's new slogan when it comes to accessories may as well be "hey better late than never."

We're really trying to compare your 30W charger to a 140W charger? 😂

 

[alee]

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

108W Satechi on top. 140W MBP charger below. It's roughly 40% bigger... which would make sense going from ~100W to 140W.

Edit: Also worth noting that in regular use, the 108W Satechi charges the 16" Max just fine under normal use. I plugged the MagSafe cable into the Satechi and charged up from 50-100% while using normal non-GPU heavy stuff (e.g. email, browser, 1 virtual machine running Win11).

If you're looking just to charge up overnight after using the laptop all day, the 108W Satechi is great. You only need the 140W for fast charging and probably super heavy constant-on workloads with a lot of devices connected. After my first few days with the 16" Max, I feel pretty confident I won't need more than the 100W on-the-go.

 

[svish]

Very interesting to see internals of the new MacBook charger.

 

[fenderbass146]

108W Satechi on top. 140W MBP charger below. It's roughly 40% bigger... which would make sense going from ~100W to 140W.

Edit: Also worth noting that in regular use, the 108W Satechi charges the 16" Max just fine under normal use. I plugged the MagSafe cable into the Satechi and charged up from 50-100% while using normal non-GPU heavy stuff (e.g. email, browser, 1 virtual machine running Win11).

If you're looking just to charge up overnight after using the laptop all day, the 108W Satechi is great. You only need the 140W for fast charging and probably super heavy constant-on workloads with a lot of devices connected. After my first few days with the 16" Max, I feel pretty confident I won't need more than the 100W on-the-go.

That the desktop one? My Satechi is same height as my 96watt but about half the width. I have the wall plug one.

 

[StevieD100]

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.

Just like how updates are pushed to Teslas. My EV has OTA but it is down to me to choose when and if I install it. That is the way it should be IMHO.

 

[alee]

That the desktop one? My Satechi is same height as my 96watt but about half the width. I have the wall plug one.

It’s the 140W wall plug that comes with the 16 max. I just have the extension plugged into it.

The 140W is simply not as big as you think it is.

Edit: This is the Satechi I'm using. It's the tiny 108W GaN.

108W USB-C 3-Port GaN Wall Charger

satechi.net

 

[MN7119]

Got mine yesterday. It is a freaking monster.

 

[alee]

Got mine yesterday. It is a freaking monster.

Stop exaggerating.

 

[CarlJ]

Stop exaggerating.

But it’s already devoured half his family!!1!

 

[garylapointe]

MacBook Pro models are also able to charge with USB Power Delivery 3.1 chargers from third-party brands.

Can I charge, albeit slowly, from a standard USB charger if I have a USB-C cable for it.
(I'm defining "standard" as non-"Power Delivery 3.1")