Cables & chargers for new iPad pros

[Greenmeenie]

Got a question for new iPad Pro owners.

The new pros come with an 18W charger as opposed to the usual 12W charger.

* Apple also offers a 30W, 61W & 87W charger. According to their website, all are compatible with the new iPad pros. My question is does anyone know or have tested the difference in charging times btwn all of them on the new iPad pros?

* Also, Apple’s included cable with the new iPad pros is a 1 meter long usb-c 2.0 cable. I plan to buy a longer 2 meter cable for my new 11” iPad Pro. I noticed that the Apple 2 meter cable is usb-c 2.0 as well.

Now my question is...I know there are usb-c 3.1 cables available on Amazon. Do these 3.1 usb-c cables help charging faster? Or do the Apple usb-c 2.0 cables charge just as fast?

I know usb-c 3.1 cables transfer data faster. Like say if you connect your iPad directly to your drone or GoPro with a usb-c 3.1 cable, it will transfer those photos & videos to your iPad faster than a usb-c 2.0 cable. But what about charging?

Anyway. That’s it. I am researching online, but figured i’d Ask here too. Thanks.

 

[cruisin]

USB 2 is limited to 12W charging for iPads and the new USB C iPad comes with a 18W charger by default. The long length will limit the charging speed, as thin USB wires do not help to deliver power over a long distance. So they only offer USB 2 as you will not get the full performance anyway (18W becomes 12W).

The limit for charging iPads is Power Delivery with 15V/3A support (about 45W). The 2018 61W charger is updated for this (other chargers might also have this, this should be printed on the box and/or charger). This is only for starting from 0%. As the battery gets full it slows down and about 80% it stops fast charging. So if you keep it above 80% you won't see much difference in speed. The 45W might help with 2m cables, as the power will fall but might still be able to manage 18W.

The only testing I saw was about the choice of power brick affecting charging speed.

Some references:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/29w-fast-charging-tests-and-3rd-party-adapters.2052414/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/anyone-try-a-45-w-charger-on-12-9-ipad-pro.2153990/

Might need to translate:
http://www.chongdiantou.com/wp/archives/29790.html

 

[Greenmeenie]

Interesting. So you’re saying the 1 meter cable that comes with the new iPad Pros is usb-c 3.0 then? I did not know that about the length of the cable. Cause Amazon is selling 6 ft usb-c 3.1 cables.

 

[cruisin]

Their Camera adapter for the Pro in the lightning port era already had USB 3: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK0W2AM/A/lightning-to-usb-3-camera-adapter

They are using USB 3.1 gen 2 internally for powering 4K displays: https://www.cultofmac.com/586972/ipad-pro-usb-c/

So the 1m cable should be fine. The MacBook Pro can use the 2m cable and have high speeds, so it should be fine as well for iPads. If in doubt, use a normal extension cord for power (which is my preference as it helps for everything needing a longer charging cable and can be longer than 2m).

 

[WesEdit]

USB 2 is limited to 12W charging for iPads and the new USB C iPad comes with a 18W charger by default. The long length will limit the charging speed, as thin USB wires do not help to deliver power over a long distance. So they only offer USB 2 as you will not get the full performance anyway (18W becomes 12W

That’s wrong. There are a lot of 1,8m or 2m USB-C 2.0 Cables, which do support Power Delivery up to 100W. E.g. Apples 2m USB-C 2.0 charge cable up to 100W PD or the AmazonBasics USB-C cable up to 60W PD...
And the limit to charge the new iPad Pros will be ~36W with the 15V/3A profile. The theoretically possible 45W are not reached because Apple only allows max ~2.4A for charging the new iPP.
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Interesting. So you’re saying the 1 meter cable that comes with the new iPad Pros is usb-c 3.0 then? I did not know that about the length of the cable. Cause Amazon is selling 6 ft usb-c 3.1 cables.

No it’s USB-C 2.0 only. Up at least to 60W Power Delivery.
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So the 1m cable should be fine. The MacBook Pro can use the 2m cable and have high speeds, so it should be fine as well for iPads.

They are both USB 2.0 and not fine for fastest data transfer.
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Now my question is...I know there are usb-c 3.1 cables available on Amazon. Do these 3.1 usb-c cables help charging faster? Or do the Apple usb-c 2.0 cables charge just as fast?

The Apple USB-C 2.0 cables (1m and 2m) could charge the iPP as fast as possible.
Btw. the USB specification limits the USB-C 3.1 Gen. 2 cable length to max. 3.3 feet (1m). Maybe we will see a longer USB-C 3.1 Gen. 2 active repeater cable in the future.