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iPad Pro Anyone wish iPads Pros had Mac-Style MagSafe Charging?

Addicted2Apples

Addicted2Apples

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 16, 2024
9
7
Old Orchard Beach, Maine
iPad Pro MacRumors.jpg


I have an older 12.9-inch iPad Pro:

And I'm legitimately getting annoyed in that in order to use ANY accessory I have to unplug my iPad from the USB-C charge cable, and plug in my USB-A to USB-C Flash Drive, and watch as the battery percent goes from 100% to 70% every time I do a long backup.

I "CAN" use my Satechi Multi-Media Dongle (which has 1x USB-C, 2x USB-A, 1x HDMI & 1x SDXC), but I REALLY wish Apple could be pressured into (the very least) to have 2x USB-C Ports, so I can use 1x of them to charge and to still be able to use accessories.

Or even better, why not just give iPad Pros Mac-Style MagSafe Charging?
I believe the only reason why they wouldn't do this is because the Macs are heavier than the average iPad Pro and thus if the cable pulled away it would still tug the iPad down onto the floor. But if they got around this, (by making the magnet weaker), then imagine having 60W (or even faster) MagSafe charging on a M5-powered iPad Pro. THAT would be an epic feature to switch to from my 2018 iPad Pro.

Meanwhile awkwardly the M4 iPad Pro has the same exact issue with my slower and older iPad Pro with A12X:
1x single port, with the same issue as the Retina MacBook.

Thanks for listening,
If you agree, (or even disagree) please leave a comment down below!
 
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I would love it to be on all portable Apple devices. This will never happen because of politicians who don’t understand tech discourage anything considered proprietary for charging. Apple gets away with it on the MacBook because other brands of laptops use a mess of various chargers.
 
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No thanks. I don't like the idea of having to carry more chargers than necessary and this would be a step away from having one charger for everything (except watches of course). You'd also need to get round the device connectivity question - how would I connect my camera, HDMI connection etc. with only a MagSafe connection?
 
I'd like an additional port - the MKB port is nice to have when using the case. As for mag charging, no interest in it on my part.
 
Mahasamatman said:
No thanks. I don't like the idea of having to carry more chargers than necessary and this would be a step away from having one charger for everything (except watches of course). You'd also need to get round the device connectivity question - how would I connect my camera, HDMI connection etc. with only a MagSafe connection?
Click to expand...
I’m pretty sure in this scenario it wouldn’t have only a MagSafe connection. Like the MacBook it would have USB-C ports as well.
 
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russell_314 said:
I would love it to be on all portable Apple devices. This will never happen because of politicians who don’t understand tech discourage anything considered proprietary for charging. Apple gets away with it on the MacBook because other brands of laptops use a mess of various chargers.
Click to expand...

I mean, the MacBooks can also charge over USB-C last I checked. Magsafe is an optional alternative like it is on iPhone.
 
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Addicted2Apples said:
View attachment 2410519

I have an older 12.9-inch iPad Pro:

And I'm legitimately getting annoyed in that in order to use ANY accessory I have to unplug my iPad from the USB-C charge cable, and plug in my USB-A to USB-C Flash Drive, and watch as the battery percent goes from 100% to 70% every time I do a long backup.

I "CAN" use my Satechi Multi-Media Dongle (which has 1x USB-C, 2x USB-A, 1x HDMI & 1x SDXC), but I REALLY wish Apple could be pressured into (the very least) to have 2x USB-C Ports, so I can use 1x of them to charge and to still be able to use accessories.

Or even better, why not just give iPad Pros Mac-Style MagSafe Charging?
I believe the only reason why they wouldn't do this is because the Macs are heavier than the average iPad Pro and thus if the cable pulled away it would still tug the iPad down onto the floor. But if they got around this, (by making the magnet weaker), then imagine having 60W (or even faster) MagSafe charging on a M5-powered iPad Pro. THAT would be an epic feature to switch to from my 2018 iPad Pro.

Meanwhile awkwardly the M4 iPad Pro has the same exact issue with my slower and older iPad Pro with A12X:
1x single port, with the same issue as the Retina MacBook.

Thanks for listening,
If you agree, (or even disagree) please leave a comment down below!
Click to expand...
Sorry I wasn't clear before:
I wish there was 1x MagSafe Port (IN ADDITION) to the 1x USB-C (Thunderbolt) Port on the iPad Pro and other new iPads.

And just like on the Macs (in this dream scenario), you'd have the option to charge via either the MagSafe port or the USB-C Port, so people can chose to still use one cable for everything.
 
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Mahasamatman said:
No thanks. I don't like the idea of having to carry more chargers than necessary and this would be a step away from having one charger for everything (except watches of course). You'd also need to get round the device connectivity question - how would I connect my camera, HDMI connection etc. with only a MagSafe connection?
Click to expand...
You'd have the MagSafe port IN ADDITION to the USB-C (Thunderbolt) port in this idea I had. You'd also have the ability to charge via EITHER the MagSafe port or the USB-C port just like on a Mac.

Think of it as what you currently have with the iPad Pros but with the added option for faster charging and the added ability to keep the iPad charging when using accessories, (without having to unplug). :)
 
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ProbablyDylan said:
I mean, the MacBooks can also charge over USB-C last I checked. Magsafe is an optional alternative like it is on iPhone.
Click to expand...
This is correct. If you have to charge and all you have is a USB-C cable it’ll do the job. I’m not crazy about the Qi version of MagSafe on iPhone because it’s not as efficient and generates heat.
 
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Addicted2Apples said:
You'd have the MagSafe port IN ADDITION to the USB-C (Thunderbolt) port in this idea I had. You'd also have the ability to charge via EITHER the MagSafe port or the USB-C port just like on a Mac.

Think of it as what you currently have with the iPad Pros but with the added option for faster charging and the added ability to keep the iPad charging when using accessories, (without having to unplug). :)
Click to expand...
That’s fair. I still think I’d prefer a second USB C port for commonality, but with a decent powered USB Hub and Bluetooth only having one is not a disaster…
 
I wish MacBook magsafe style to be the default charging standard worldwide. But Sadly USBC won this race.

It is a very good design because of simplicity. Second best design was the lightning port. But it was dead because of Apple's own doing. They kept ignoring and never updated to compete with USB.

If lightning had offered faster charging and data transfer speed than USBC then Apple would have easily countered the EU mandate of USBC charging standard.

USBC is not very reliable in long term. Considering iPad's are not repairable at all, the cleaning of the port is also a lot more problematic because of the card between the port (I use a USB cover as of now to protect from lint entering the port in the new devices).
 
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Sezel said:
Is there any brand which make chargers for ipad but using the pogo pins?
Click to expand...
They had some when Apple had those pins on the edges of the iPad… haven’t seen any since the Logitech Logi Base Charging Stand, though
 
Addicted2Apples said:
View attachment 2410519

I have an older 12.9-inch iPad Pro:

And I'm legitimately getting annoyed in that in order to use ANY accessory I have to unplug my iPad from the USB-C charge cable, and plug in my USB-A to USB-C Flash Drive, and watch as the battery percent goes from 100% to 70% every time I do a long backup.

I "CAN" use my Satechi Multi-Media Dongle (which has 1x USB-C, 2x USB-A, 1x HDMI & 1x SDXC), but I REALLY wish Apple could be pressured into (the very least) to have 2x USB-C Ports, so I can use 1x of them to charge and to still be able to use accessories.

Or even better, why not just give iPad Pros Mac-Style MagSafe Charging?
I believe the only reason why they wouldn't do this is because the Macs are heavier than the average iPad Pro and thus if the cable pulled away it would still tug the iPad down onto the floor. But if they got around this, (by making the magnet weaker), then imagine having 60W (or even faster) MagSafe charging on a M5-powered iPad Pro. THAT would be an epic feature to switch to from my 2018 iPad Pro.

Meanwhile awkwardly the M4 iPad Pro has the same exact issue with my slower and older iPad Pro with A12X:
1x single port, with the same issue as the Retina MacBook.

Thanks for listening,
If you agree, (or even disagree) please leave a comment down below!
Click to expand...
A second Thunderbolt port would fantastic, and very much ‘pro’. However, I’m afraid it would make the iPad 2 mm thicker, so it will not happen 😏. Apple’s solution: buy the Magic Keyboard 😅…

… which I did 🤪
 
You can buy a small adaptor that adds Magsafe to a USB-C port for about £$10 from Amazon. You can also buy the inverse, allowing USB-C charging of older Magsafe laptops.
 
Ctrlos said:
You can buy a small adaptor that adds Magsafe to a USB-C port for about £$10 from Amazon. You can also buy the inverse, allowing USB-C charging of older Magsafe laptops.
Click to expand...
All true, but OPs main issue isn't just the lack of Magsafe but the inability to charge and have a secondary device attached to a USB-C based iPad without the need for a larger hub type device with power passing through to the iPad. So OPs proposition is keep a USB-C port and add Magsafe or have two USB-C ports.

My thoughts on OPs proposition is that the cost of the extra connection would have to be placed upon all users whether they need that functionality or not so because of that I would think that Apple would lean towards not including it. With resepect to the Magic Keyboard, the pins for the keyboard provided an opportunity to do both power and keyboard connection so that was justifiable to include but its a harder sell to justify two USB-C's in all devices or an additional power connection on top of having a USB-C port. With those considerations in mind I would think the compromise would be put the functionality in Pro models and keep it off of the base and Air models.
 
There are usb c flash drives with power delivery. That would resolve your issue.

But if Apple absolutely must add another port then it would have to be (for me) another usb c. One of the main points of usb c is that it is simple - you cannot plug in the device incorrectly. If they added a port that was not usb c, now you have to start checking which port to plug into. Plus, as others have said, all devices being usb c is so much easier when traveling.
 
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