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Charging iPad Pro 10.5" with Apple USB-C to lighting cable

T

tthkbw

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 13, 2009
32
33
Portland, OR
If I purchase the Apple USB-C to Lightning cable and plug it into my 2018 Mac mini USB-C port, will it charge the iPad Pro 10.5" faster than the stock 12 watt charger that comes with the iPad?

I know the iPad 10.5 supports fast charging, the question is if the charging output from the USB-C port on the Mac mini will put out more than 12 watts.

The answer is probably out there somewhere, but I haven't found it.
 
tivoboy said:
Didn’t the 10.5 allowmfasr charging.
Click to expand...
Yes, it can fast charge, if the charger supports USB-PD and the higher output levels required for fast charge. I use my 15” MBP’s USB-C charger and it’s about 4x as fast as the stock brick that came in the box.
 
PBG4 Dude said:
Yes, it can fast charge, if the charger supports USB-PD and the higher output levels required for fast charge. I use my 15” MBP’s USB-C charger and it’s about 4x as fast as the stock brick that came in the box.
Click to expand...
It's odd though. I've been sometimes plugging it in to my Anker USB-PD charger, using the requisite apple USB-C to Lightning cable. I use this cable and charger with my iphone 8 plus and my wifes iphone 8 basically daily or every few days when I need a FAST charge.

but, several times now, when I have plugged in the 10.5 ipad, I wake up to use it and it's totally DEAD. Flashing red stripe battery icon dead. Part of me wonders if this new 10.5 ipad has some charging issue, or if something else is going on? Were there problems with 10.5 models not charging?
 
tivoboy said:
This is the one

https://www.amazon.com/Charger-Anke...46021270&sr=8-3&keywords=anker+usb-pd+charger
Click to expand...

Hmmm... this particular model may be problematic - https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/Tx1Y1WJIP7O8U22/ref=ask_dp_lsw_al_hza?asin=B072K5ZJXF

I would expect that it would work though - but I myself have had issues with the PD port for this model + 1st gen iPad Pro. For reference - this was my review, but it was for an older model: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-...f=cm_cr_srp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01D8C6ULO
 
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masotime said:
Hmmm... this particular model may be problematic - https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/Tx1Y1WJIP7O8U22/ref=ask_dp_lsw_al_hza?asin=B072K5ZJXF

I would expect that it would work though - but I myself have had issues with the PD port for this model + 1st gen iPad Pro. For reference - this was my review, but it was for an older model: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-...f=cm_cr_srp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01D8C6ULO
Click to expand...
REALLY?

Wow, that is interesting. Well, it's odd that it will do the iphone 8 plus and 8, but sometimes not this device. I would think that it would at least CHARGE at SOME rate? If not FC, some sort of LOW c? Anyhow, of course when I got it charger on a regular outlet (one of the other outlets on this same charger but just with a lightning to lightning cable. THEN I switched it to the PD port and it was charging apparently FAST charging? Not sure, maybe there is just something wrong with my lightning port on the device? Can apple technical support see issues with this?
 
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tivoboy said:
REALLY?

Wow, that is interesting. Well, it's odd that it will do the iphone 8 plus and 8, but sometimes not this device. I would think that it would at least CHARGE at SOME rate? If not FC, some sort of LOW c? Anyhow, of course when I got it charger on a regular outlet (one of the other outlets on this same charger but just with a lightning to lightning cable. THEN I switched it to the PD port and it was charging apparently FAST charging? Not sure, maybe there is just something wrong with my lightning port on the device? Can apple technical support see issues with this?
Click to expand...

I think the PD negotiation may be a bit unreliable - this is an unfortunate effect while the USB-C Power Delivery effort is still undergoing standardization across manufacturers. Still, this is a newer Anker model, so I am surprised it has issues.

I assume you meant USB-A to Lightning rather than "Lightning to Lightning" above - it's possible the internal circuit needs some initial power draw to properly perform fast charge, hence the symptom you noticed above. At this point though, I would recommend most people get a USB-C PD charger with more dedicated USB-C functionality - this usually means less USB-A ports (at most 2 maybe?) or something more fancy like this Hyperjuice with 2 USB-C ports (I use that and have been satisfied so far, but it is expensive...).

To clarify - it's really probably an issue with the underlying microchip that regulates power, and I suspect products with less ports have the newer chips which support the updated USB-C PD standards.

I don't pretend to understand the electrical details, but you can read a little at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_(Physical)#PD - it mentions they are up to revision 3 of the specifications - I assume that's the most stable, but unfortunately most providers don't list this as part of the product marketing.

@pepperjobs may know more - I know he's part of a team (solo?) that's working on manufacturing their own lineup of USB-C PD chargers.
 
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