Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
And I didn't call Apple out for their disclaimer but their penny-pinching. You know, the company that can't afford a couple dollars for appropriate charging equipment and goes so far as to shorten the charging cable in its second generation. Even if I had called out Apple for its disclaimers it wouldn't mean I'm singling them out to the exclusion of other corporations. Apple is the subject here, not every corporation selling a product.

If you find it so aggravating to buy Apple products, just don't buy them. Apple products are not a requirement for day-to-day living.
 
If you find it so aggravating to buy Apple products, just don't buy them. Apple products are not a requirement for day-to-day living.

Well, I may not going forward. We have 9.7 and 10.5 iPad pros. I've held off on the 12.9 second gen partly because of these issues even though I have the ASK from a first gen 12.9.

If the iPhone is as much as people are projecting I may not get that either. It's not that we can't afford these products but a sanity check at some point.
 
  • Like
Reactions: masotime
There are many scenarios... as mentioned by others above sometimes it is just wanting to charge the device and watch a movie at the same time, not having to choose one or the other. This is not always a "power user" problem.

OK so you plug your iPad in and watch a movie. The battery goes from 88% to 86% or whatever it ends up doing, is that really that big of a deal? How many movies could you watch on an iPad while it was plugged in before the battery actually dies? I'm guessing it would probably be like 10-12 movies. Do you really need to be able to watch that many in a row without taking a break?

For years DVD players, and even Blu-ray players shipped with composite video and audio cords. You had to go out and buy your own component or HDMI cables if you wanted better quality. Everyone knew that and expected it. The manufacturers just had to supply the minimum cables required for the device to work.

That is what Apple is doing here. They supply a charger and cable that can charge the iPad. They never claimed it would "fast charge" it. If you want to be able to "fast charge" they have made the parts available to do so.

Now do I think it would be nice for Apple to have included them, sure. Would I want Apple to raise the price of the iPad Pro by $50-100 in order for that to cover the increased cost to them, absolutely not. I'm sure the majority of users are glad they didn't as well.
 
Yea, I'm voting with everyone else here. It's not that big of deal for me either. I don't have the 12.9" iPad Pro but I do have the 10". I don't find that the battery usage is requiring frequent charges. I use my iPad several times a day to browse the web, email and MS office. I don't consume content except youtube.com and then not like crazy. Regardless, if you have frequent need for recharging, organize your day around the charging like I have to do with my iPhone. I do wish that the iPad had a low battery usage mode like the iPhone. That would be nice to conserve power. With my phone I just make sure I have chargers at work and at home. It just lives on a charger because more than 6 hours it just dies. The iPad battery is much better.
 
Yea, I'm voting with everyone else here. It's not that big of deal for me either. I don't have the 12.9" iPad Pro but I do have the 10". I don't find that the battery usage is requiring frequent charges. I use my iPad several times a day to browse the web, email and MS office. I don't consume content except youtube.com and then not like crazy. Regardless, if you have frequent need for recharging, organize your day around the charging like I have to do with my iPhone. I do wish that the iPad had a low battery usage mode like the iPhone. That would be nice to conserve power. With my phone I just make sure I have chargers at work and at home. It just lives on a charger because more than 6 hours it just dies. The iPad battery is much better.
Same. I'm finding that even when I use my iPad Pro all day long, it still has some juice left at the end of the work day. I can plug it in after work, and by the time we are finished with dinner and have the kids bathed and tucked in for the night, it's long since charged back up to 100% and is ready for use again if I need it. I use my iPad for just about everything and I get much more than the advertised 10 hours of use out of a charge, so I don't see this as an issue.

That being said, I have the 10.5" Pro, not the 12.9". I did have some gift cards to burn recently and bought the 29w charging brick and USB-C to Lightning cable, because I figured if this iPad can do the fast charging I want to do the fast charging. As someone else said though, would I have wanted the iPad to cost $85 more out of the box just to be able to do that? No.

A lot of people will respond, "Come on, Apple can afford it without raising the iPad price!" and that's a complicated matter. There is overhead to worry about, ASP to answer for at quarterly earnings, manufacturing costs for the new-ish standard that is USB-C. I don't like to just assume that Apple can give me this $85 setup with no repercussions. They have a lot more to answer for than just their bottom line.
 
I wouldn't completely dismiss the OP's point. In the past the bundled chargers were likely powerful enough to at least stop the iPad from draining while in use, but the 12.9" iPad Pro is such a beast that, relative to past iPads, the included charger isn't strong enough.

I would agree it isn't a critical issue that the 29W charger / USB-C to Lightning cable isn't included, but I would definitely say it would work a lot better (and isn't that what Apple is about?) if it were.
 
Apple products are expected be premium products with exceptional performance. This charger is not. The 12W charger under-performs with the 12.9 iPad. End of story. ( of course we can argue and justify the situation saying it's alright, OK, not too bad for most circumstances, etc. but the fact is Apple chose not to offer an exceptional charging product)

Now what would a premium brand like Apple want to do about it? Nothing, it seems... and that is what surprises me.

@Beerstalker work and productivity scenarios are going to obviously be more critical than a movie binge...
Also, I thought top of the line iPads are meant to be premium products, not something comparable to $100 or $200 DVD players. Maybe I'm wrong?

@everyone with 10.5" iPads or smaller... thanks for posting, but your experience is largely irrelevant to my point. A 12W charger may be great for smaller devices. It isn't great for a 12.9" iPad.
 
This charger is not. The 12W charger under-performs with the 12.9 iPad.
For you perhaps, it doesn't seem to be a major sore point for all 12.9 owners. While my ownership of the 12.9 was brief, I personally was not impacted or disappointed by the slower charging. What I did was adjust how I charged and worked and that seemed to work well. I suspect most 12.9's owners naturally adjust the working/charging patterns to account for the longer charge times. Those people who cannot (or will not) adjust their worflow, can and probably will buy the larger charger. You paid nearly a 1,000 for a tablet why quibble over a charger?

End of story.
Same exact complaints about the MBP and lack of included dongles.

Now what would a premium brand like Apple want to do about it? Nothing, it seems... and that is what surprises me.
They offer you a higher capacity charger, That's not nothing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: masotime
Just bought the 29 W adapter for $18 and the usb c to lightening for $13 off eBay. No need to pay $50 to Apple. (Hopefully it’s not a fake.)
 
Just bought the 29 W adapter for $18 and the usb c to lightening for $13 off eBay. No need to pay $50 to Apple. (Hopefully it’s not a fake.)
I got my 29w brick at Target, so I know it's a genuine part. I ordered my USB-C to Lightning cable from a third party seller on Amazon, and it's supposed to be delivered today--I am crossing my fingers that it's an OEM cable and not a knockoff.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AllergyDoc
I bought the 29W brick awhile back for my gen 1 12.9 and it does make an enormous charge time difference... which is great. I do agree that it's pricey, but the included charger does charge it just fine - and I would've been fine with it, but I wanted to charge faster so I paid for the new charger. I have to say I didn't even think about "exceptional performance" from anything beyond my iPad when I got it - which delivers... I think I might be more upset had this been something that was explicitly advertised and then not included, but I don't recall any discussion about it at all
 
For you perhaps, it doesn't seem to be a major sore point for all 12.9 owners. While my ownership of the 12.9 was brief, I personally was not impacted or disappointed by the slower charging. What I did was adjust how I charged and worked and that seemed to work well. I suspect most 12.9's owners naturally adjust the working/charging patterns to account for the longer charge times. Those people who cannot (or will not) adjust their worflow, can and probably will buy the larger charger. You paid nearly a 1,000 for a tablet why quibble over a charger?


Same exact complaints about the MBP and lack of included dongles.


They offer you a higher capacity charger, That's not nothing.


I am a owner of the 1st Generation iPad Pro 12.9 and it bugged me! I was very lucky in that I had purchased an 2015 MacBook earlier in the year and found out about the 29W charger solution. I still believe that the iPhone Pluses should have 10W chargers and the 12.9 should come with the 29W Charger. very cheap of the richest company in the US.
 
I am a owner of the 1st Generation iPad Pro 12.9 and it bugged me! I was very lucky in that I had purchased an 2015 MacBook earlier in the year and found out about the 29W charger solution. I still believe that the iPhone Pluses should have 10W chargers and the 12.9 should come with the 29W Charger. very cheap of the richest company in the US.
Again though--doesn't necessarily mean that they're "being cheap". There's a lot more to it than that.
 
Definitely sucks and a cheap move for a ‘pro’ tablet with a mighty price I agree, and a major turnoff for people dipping their feet in the Apple ecosystem for thE first time
Perhaps like 16gb phones in the past ... until iPhone 7. classic bean counting Apple but— while waiting for the class action lawsuit to pan out against Apple’s army of lawyers (an unlikely feat for reasons already mentioned), i’d Get an anker brick for cheap, or 29w used off eBay to stick it to apple from buying direct at full price no less

It takes away from the out of box experience, you have to be methodical about charging it and not hammering it with usage at the same time with the measly 12w included, or let it do its thing overnight.

Pretty much discouraging binge use of the Pro, which is counterintuitive to being used as a ‘laptop replacement’ without that hurdle

Its not like laptops come with underpowered bricks...



Its also lame imo that the new 3ds xl doesnt even come with a ac adapter. The thing is a $200 portable and nothing! But luckily an adapter and adequate one is only $9, not $84. Still...

Glad they made good on including it with the $150 2ds xl
 
Last edited:
If you're the type of person that can drain a fully charged iPad ina day (10 hours of use or more) then youre a power user and yes, it's not crazy to expect you to buy an accessory that's made for people like you. I think it's odd that a cable is a available that can charge the iPad twice as fast and it's not included in the box,but in no way is my experience hampered by having to charge my iPad at night when not in use.
 
If you're the type of person that can drain a fully charged iPad ina day (10 hours of use or more) then youre a power user and yes, it's not crazy to expect you to buy an accessory that's made for people like you. I think it's odd that a cable is a available that can charge the iPad twice as fast and it's not included in the box,but in no way is my experience hampered by having to charge my iPad at night when not in use.

Its not necessarily 10 hours of persistent use a day as it is having to think when to charge ur device and not use it

If you use it occasionally here and there and low and behold its on 20% after a handful of days of use, and you’ve been slacking, its going to take forever to continue using it without setting it aside for 4-5 hours

With a 29w, you never really have to plan or be punished for procrastinating on charges,
 
Its not necessarily 10 hours of persistent use a day as it is having to think when to charge ur device and not use it

If you use it occasionally here and there and low and behold its on 20% after a handful of days of use, and you’ve been slacking, its going to take forever to continue using it without setting it aside for 4-5 hours

With a 29w, you never really have to plan or be punished for procrastinating on charges,

In which case an overnight charge will fix that right up. If you're such a casual user, an overnight charge shouldn't be such a big deal.

I don't even see an overnight charge to be such a huge deal in the case of a "power user" who gets a full day out of one charge (lucky).

The iPad Pro's biggest weakness is the Pencil. Constant use of the Pencil can seriously drain your battery in 4-5 hours and having that 29w charger is super useful.

And, I agree (as most here would) that it would have been awesome to have the 29w adapter in the box... but I still don't see it as negligence or any other suit-worthy move by Apple.
 
Apple products are expected be premium products with exceptional performance. This charger is not. The 12W charger under-performs with the 12.9 iPad. End of story. ( of course we can argue and justify the situation saying it's alright, OK, not too bad for most circumstances, etc. but the fact is Apple chose not to offer an exceptional charging product)

Now what would a premium brand like Apple want to do about it? Nothing, it seems... and that is what surprises me.

@Beerstalker

@everyone with 10.5" iPads or smaller... thanks for posting, but your experience is largely irrelevant to my point. A 12W charger may be great for smaller devices. It isn't great for a 12.9" iPad.

Definitely sucks and a cheap move for a ‘pro’ tablet with a mighty price I agree, and a major turnoff for people dipping their feet in the Apple ecosystem for thE first time

It takes away from the out of box experience, you have to be methodical about charging it and not hammering it with usage at the same time with the measly 12w included, or let it do its thing overnight.

Pretty much discouraging binge use of the Pro, which is counterintuitive to being used as a ‘laptop replacement’ without that hurdle

Its not like laptops come with underpowered bricks...

l

If you're the type of person that can drain a fully charged iPad ina day (10 hours of use or more) then youre a power user and yes, it's not crazy to expect you to buy an accessory that's made for people like you. I think it's odd that a cable is a available that can charge the iPad twice as fast and it's not included in the box,but in no way is my experience hampered by having to charge my iPad at night when not in use.

As I have posted before, I have to agree with the underlying sentiment and these posts. While I do not think its class action worthy, I do think it is questionable as to why they would make this decision other than continuity across the ipad lines. (What would the cost be to include the 29w and USB-c to lighting cable instead, since they make BOTH). For a better user experience on something that is done virtually every day (charging).

To the people saying well how could you drain it in one day or charging it every night insnt a big deal. I see the point, but this is a PRO device, and marketed as such not just a consumption device. Yet I would be surprised if ANY product along the apple range took longer to charge. Sure 90$ isn't ridiculous for a "power" user, (I still laugh at this because who is buying a pro device to watch YouTube or couch surf?) but when you couple that with 100 for a pencil and 170 for a keyboard to use it as the pro device they market, What is the point at which consumers should say ok this should be included?

If a MacBook or an iPhone took 6 hours to charge there would be an uproar. I plugged mine in today at 35% and was reading pdfs (light usage by any stretch of the imagination) and it gained 35% charge in 3 hours. I would say that's not very good, or "pro" like.
 
As I have posted before, I have to agree with the underlying sentiment and these posts. While I do not think its class action worthy, I do think it is questionable as to why they would make this decision other than continuity across the ipad lines. (What would the cost be to include the 29w and USB-c to lighting cable instead, since they make BOTH). For a better user experience on something that is done virtually every day (charging).

To the people saying well how could you drain it in one day or charging it every night insnt a big deal. I see the point, but this is a PRO device, and marketed as such not just a consumption device. Yet I would be surprised if ANY product along the apple range took longer to charge. Sure 90$ isn't ridiculous for a "power" user, (I still laugh at this because who is buying a pro device to watch YouTube or couch surf?) but when you couple that with 100 for a pencil and 170 for a keyboard to use it as the pro device they market, What is the point at which consumers should say ok this should be included?

If a MacBook or an iPhone took 6 hours to charge there would be an uproar. I plugged mine in today at 35% and was reading pdfs (light usage by any stretch of the imagination) and it gained 35% charge in 3 hours. I would say that's not very good, or "pro" like.

I can't really disagree with you there. For a lot of us it's just not a problem since we don't use it to the point charging it is a real issue, but I honestly can't fathom why there's a faster way to charge it with a simple cord and power block and apple hasn't just included that in the box. It's just bizarre when you really stop and think about it.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.