OK to Charge AirPods pro with 20W USB-C Power Adapter

[purdnost]

As the AirPods Pro don’t come with a power adapter, am I safe to use the 20W one that came with my iPad Pro?

 

[MacNerd01]

That might be a bit too much.

Check the input wattage on the airpods.

 

[wilberforce]

Yes. The charger and the device negotiate the appropriate USB-C Power Delivery power profile via a data connection, and default to the lowest power profile (5V). These are not just dumb chargers.

USB hardware - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I frequently charge my various Airpods and Beats Fit Pro with iPad chargers

 

[purdnost]

“Charging is fastest when you use an iPhone or iPad USB charger or plug into your Mac.”

Charge your AirPods and learn about battery life - Apple Support

Learn how to charge your AirPods and their charging case, and how to get longer battery life for your AirPods.

support.apple.com

 

[iDron]

That might be a bit too much.

Check the input wattage on the airpods.

No this is wrong. The voltage is always fixed, so wattage only depends on the current. The current solely depends on the draw of your device. You can charge your AirPods with a 140W MBP charger if you wish to do so. It won't work the other way round. A MBP will try to draw more than 20W, but if that is limited by the charger it might not charge.

 

[wilberforce]

No this is wrong. The voltage is always fixed, so wattage only depends on the current. The current solely depends on the draw of your device. You can charge your AirPods with a 140W MBP charger if you wish to do so. It won't work the other way round. A MBP will try to draw more than 20W, but if that is limited by the charger it might not charge.

Voltage is not fixed, btw. The voltage is negotiated between the device and charger via a data connection. These are "smart" chargers.

If you read the fine print on the charger (other than the smallest chargers) it lists several output voltage levels

 

[russell_314]

With newer devices if they are designed properly it doesn’t matter. You could plug your AirPods into a 140 watt MacBook charger and it would be fine