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stanleystf

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 24, 2022
213
36
Hi! Sorry I'm not big on electronics and chargers. Since I travel frequently these days, I was wondering if it would okay to use this charger by Anker to charge my M1 16 inch Macbook pro and Iphone at the same time:


My concern is the wattage and if it's right. Generally, what's the best wattage for this Macbook?

Also, since this charger is not "APPLE", is it possible that it would damage my Macbook's/Iphone's battery in the long run?

Do you have other recommendations for a compact charger?
 
Last edited:

kbright1892

macrumors member
Jun 12, 2009
77
41
It will work fine. It will just charge slower than the included charger due to the lower wattage. It will be much slower if charging both at the same time. It won't damage your battery. I prefer to use lower wattage options when available since there is less heat generated.
 
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stanleystf

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 24, 2022
213
36
I searched and the included charger is 140 watt. The difference is huge! I might go with the 120W option:

So, what you're saying is that a 65W charger is safer(because of less heat) but slower? Should I stay away from 150W because of its heat? Is it more likely to damage the battery?

Also, I intend to keep the main charger at home. Would I need to buy an original Apple magsafe cable for this Anker charger? Because that's around 50$, which is insane!
 
Last edited:

rmadsen3

macrumors regular
Aug 9, 2022
133
50
This thread really catches my eye. Would you readers please talk wattage, particularly how to interpret iStat Menus data?

In the sensors tab set 'Total power' to be displayed in menu bar. My device is MBP14. When my device is on battery, the iStat Menus number is c. 5.0 watts (plus/minus half a watt). When my device is plugged, the number is a bit higher. I assume the 'on battery' reading is lower, in large part, because I've set low-power mode to be activate when the device is not plugged in.

So is it fair to say that, because the iStat Menus 'Total power' reading is relatively low (c. 5.0 watts), even a 30-watts charger would work to charge my device? In other words, the 'watts' rating of the charger has to just be greater than the 'Total power' reading reported by iStat Menus?

Thanks!
 

stanleystf

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 24, 2022
213
36
This thread really catches my eye. Would you readers please talk wattage, particularly how to interpret iStat Menus data?

In the sensors tab set 'Total power' to be displayed in menu bar. My device is MBP14. When my device is on battery, the iStat Menus number is c. 5.0 watts (plus/minus half a watt). When my device is plugged, the number is a bit higher. I assume the 'on battery' reading is lower, in large part, because I've set low-power mode to be activate when the device is not plugged in.

So is it fair to say that, because the iStat Menus 'Total power' reading is relatively low (c. 5.0 watts), even a 30-watts charger would work to charge my device? In other words, the 'watts' rating of the charger has to just be greater than the 'Total power' reading reported by iStat Menus?

Thanks!
Maybe you can start your own thread to get better answers.
 

jaytv111

macrumors 65816
Oct 25, 2007
1,028
875
Hi! Sorry I'm not big on electronics and chargers. Since I travel frequently these days, I was wondering if it would okay to use this charger by Anker to charge my M1 16 inch Macbook pro and Iphone at the same time:


My concern is the wattage and if it's right. Generally, what's the best wattage for this Macbook?

Also, since this charger is not "APPLE", is it possible that it would damage my Macbook's/Iphone's battery in the long run?

Do you have other recommendations for a compact charger?
Ideally for the 16 inch, use around 100 watts, 140 watts enables fast charging but usual computer tasks are well-served on 100 watts, it just charges slower.

You can go lower, down to about 30 is okay (technically you can use as low as 18, but it’s a terrible experience to use 18, charges slowly or doesn’t even charge, etc). Generally, if you don’t run up the CPU it will enable the battery to charge, albeit slower the lower the wattage you supply, but if you use CPU heavy tasks, it could actually drain the battery if you use less than 100.

65 is acceptable, but if you plan on putting the CPU through its paces, it won’t be ideal.

It won’t damage the iPhone or MacBook. All the power supplies supply the same power, when USB-C at least.

Also, you posted some other chargers that have over 100 watts, do note that the charger needs to be PD 3.1 certified to supply more than 100 watts to a MacBook Pro 16 (M1), if it’s not PD 3.1 it will only supply up to 100 watts, so those other Ankers won’t be supplying more than 100. However, they are multiport chargers so you can use the additional power with another device connected, like your iPhone of course. And again, 100 watts is perfectly fine and you could even do heavy CPU tasks with 100 watts, the 140 seems to be just for extra fast charging.
 
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