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iPad Pro USB-C Questions

JonOlafson

JonOlafson

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 9, 2017
28
4
Fanboy since the 90s here. Although largely disappointed by the Post-Jobs Era (e.g. inconsistency, dongle life, software flaws just to name few) I am about to order the 11“ iPad Pro.

I have a few questions concerning the USB-C connector:
  • Will the included 18W power adapter support fast charging?
  • Can I use a 61W MacBook Pro power adapter to charge the ipad?
  • Can I use a USB-C to Lightning cable to use the iPad Pros 18W power adapter to charge an iPhone?
  • Is there an advantage in connecting an external display with USB-C rather than using AirPlay?
Thanks!
 
I can answer the last two:

  • Can I use a USB-C to Lightning cable to use the iPad Pros 18W power adapter to charge an iPhone?
I managed to use this cable to charge an iPhone 6 from a third-party charger that has both QC and "normal" 2.4A ports. Not much charging difference. This means this is possible but will need the actual charger to confirm

  • Is there an advantage in connecting an external display with USB-C rather than using AirPlay?
AirPlay is worse as it relies on Bluetooth and Wifi to transmit the signals for video and audio; there is a chance that audio may skip etc due to the wireless nature of Wifi and Bluetooth. This can be mitigated with the use of Gigabit Ethernet adapter and USB 3 to Lightning adapter to only the iPad Pros 2nd gen. Also usually AirPlay also requires an Apple TV to receive the AirPlay signal before outputting to the external display via HDMI. This makes the setup complicated.

Theoretically USB C will solve all these problems as all you need to do is to plug in an USB C to HDMI dongle to the iPad Pro, and then connect to the external display via a HDMI cable. This potentially remove the possibility of interference of signal and also makes this a much cheaper solution.

Only thing now is to see how Apple implements this alongside iOS 12.1 which is said to allow control of the output
 
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darkarn said:
I can answer the last two:

  • Can I use a USB-C to Lightning cable to use the iPad Pros 18W power adapter to charge an iPhone?
I managed to use this cable to charge an iPhone 6 from a third-party charger that has both QC and "normal" 2.4A ports. Not much charging difference. This means this is possible but will need the actual charger to confirm

  • Is there an advantage in connecting an external display with USB-C rather than using AirPlay?
AirPlay is worse as it relies on Bluetooth and Wifi to transmit the signals for video and audio; there is a chance that audio may skip etc due to the wireless nature of Wifi and Bluetooth. This can be mitigated with the use of Gigabit Ethernet adapter and USB 3 to Lightning adapter to only the iPad Pros 2nd gen. Also usually AirPlay also requires an Apple TV to receive the AirPlay signal before outputting to the external display via HDMI. This makes the setup complicated.

Theoretically USB C will solve all these problems as all you need to do is to plug in an USB C to HDMI dongle to the iPad Pro, and then connect to the external display via a HDMI cable. This potentially remove the possibility of interference of signal and also makes this a much cheaper solution.

Only thing now is to see how Apple implements this alongside iOS 12.1 which is said to allow control of the output
Click to expand...
I believe Airplay is limited to 1080P, USB-C supports 4K. The USB-C signal is essentially the same as HDMI 2.0 whereas Airplay is going to be compressed/decompressed for transmission (H.264 I believe).

The iPhone 6 does not support quick charge so it likely depends on what device you are trying to use. No way to be certain ATM because this is a new charger. It does seem likely it will improve charging times with newer Apple devices that support it.
 
gnomeisland said:
I believe Airplay is limited to 1080P, USB-C supports 4K. The USB-C signal is essentially the same as HDMI 2.0 whereas Airplay is going to be compressed/decompressed for transmission (H.264 I believe).

The iPhone 6 does not support quick charge so it likely depends on what device you are trying to use. No way to be certain ATM because this is a new charger. It does seem likely it will improve charging times with newer Apple devices that support it.
Click to expand...

Yes, AirPlay is still 1080P; if sent to an Apple TV 4K I believe it merely upscales the signal if its output is 4K. So the signal is going to be changed twice (once for H.264 and the other for upscaling). I am unsure about how Apple's implementation of USB C video-out will be as USB C is not 100% universal; Apple may just piggy-back this onto AirPlay (i.e. it may just end up as a glorified version of the Lightning to HDMI adapter) for all we know, so need to test

The iPhone 6 does still charge from either port at least, which answers OP's question on whether an iPhone can be charged with USB C in its path instead of Lightning all the way. This said, yes the new charger needs to be tested to see how its quick charge is implemented
 
And for the first 2 questions:

  • Will the included 18W power adapter support fast charging?
Click to expand...

I’m not sure exactly what “fast charging” refers to, or if it describes a charge rate above a certain threshold, but essentially the 18W charging block will charge at 18W (where for example in the past iPads included 10W and 12W adapters, the iPhone includes a 5W adapter, and with the iPad Pros from past few years it was possible to use the 29W and 30W adapters to charge at those respective rates).


  • Can I use a 61W MacBook Pro power adapter to charge the ipad?
Click to expand...

You definitely could, but depending on the power delivery profiles supported by the iPad Pro, I’m not sure what charge rate the new iPad Pro can pull using the 61W adapter. There was an excellent thread here on MR about testing all these charging blocks with the previous iPad Pro.

Edit: here’s one of the threads: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/87w-usb-c-charger-doesnt-charge-12-9-ipad-pro-29w.2015416/

It’s mainly about the 87W adapter, but because it doesn’t have specific charge profiles, the iPad Pro drops to the fastest compatible profile which on the 87W adapter is 12W (5.2V @ 2.4A). Not sure what exactly the 61W adapter supports.
 
Last edited:
1) Yes, the 18W will be faster than the old charger, but not the fastest the iPad can charge at.

2) Yes you can. I’ve been using the 87W USB-C MacBook Pro charger since I ended up with a spare in 2017.

3) Yes you can. You can even use your 61W USB-C charger with an iPhone using the USB-C to Lightning Cable should you so desire. The iPhone will only use its maximum charging capability whatever Apple charger you connect it to.

4) Again, Yes there is. As already mentioned, there will be a higher resolution, uncompressed signal. As opposed to the 1080P maximum of AirPlay.
 
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Thanks for your replys. Will answer when I am at home.

I just checked apple.com
Any idea why the estimated delivery date is November 20 - 27? I thought it was November the seventh..
 
AceFernalld said:
First come first serve, launch day online orders sold out long ago.
Click to expand...
I see. Guess I will have to visit the Apple store :)
[doublepost=1541280097][/doublepost]
TrueBlou said:
1) Yes, the 18W will be faster than the old charger, but not the fastest the iPad can charge at.

2) Yes you can. I’ve been using the 87W USB-C MacBook Pro charger since I ended up with a spare in 2017.

3) Yes you can. You can even use your 61W USB-C charger with an iPhone using the USB-C to Lightning Cable should you so desire. The iPhone will only use its maximum charging capability whatever Apple charger you connect it to.

4) Again, Yes there is. As already mentioned, there will be a higher resolution, uncompressed signal. As opposed to the 1080P maximum of AirPlay.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That’s the answer I was looking for!
 
gnomeisland said:
I never said it won't charge. The OP asked if it will fast charge. An iPhone 6 will not. It does not have the circuitry to do so. I am still rocking an iPhone 6 and would love to be wrong about this, so if you've got some contrary evidence please share.


Lightning to HDMI required a very specific adapter with a separate processor that did AirPlay over a wired connection. I'm 99.99% confident in saying USB-C on the 2018 iPad Pro will not work that way. The HDMI Alternate Mode for USB-C is part of the USB-C standard (although you are correct that not every manufacturer implements it correctly) and Apple connoted that their implementation of USB-C was by-the-book in hardware if not fully supported in software (USB storage devices outside of pictures and movies is the big one).


https://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdmialtmodeusbtypec.aspx
Click to expand...


The iPhone 6 is actually capable of charging faster than the standard 5W power adapter delivers.

Connecting it to, for instance, an iPad charger allows it to draw up to 2.1A 12W, the same power profile of the iPads which were current at the time. If you want a link for evidence, here’s one from MacRumors;


https://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/22/iphone-6-and-6-plus-charging/
 
rayricepudding said:
Does this mean you can use the iPad as a second monitor for a pc through the usb-c port?
Click to expand...


I don’t think there’s a definitive answer on that yet, we’ll probably find out come Wednesday. Certainly the other way around is one of the new features, having a second screen connected to the iPad. But using the iPad as a second screen, god knows.


If Apple don’t do it, then maybe, so long as there’s no api restrictions, it can be implemented in-app. Similar to how it’s already been done via the Lightning cable.
 
TrueBlou said:
I don’t think there’s a definitive answer on that yet, we’ll probably find out come Wednesday. Certainly the other way around is one of the new features, having a second screen connected to the iPad. But using the iPad as a second screen, god knows.


If Apple don’t do it, then maybe, so long as there’s no api restrictions, it can be implemented in-app. Similar to how it’s already been done via the Lightning cable.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the problem with how it's done now over lightning is that it requires a software install on the computer sending the video signal, and I'm unable to install pretty much anything on my work pc...
 
rayricepudding said:
Yeah, the problem with how it's done now over lightning is that it requires a software install on the computer sending the video signal, and I'm unable to install pretty much anything on my work pc...
Click to expand...

Aye that’s a downer. I’d like to think Apple had the foresight to allow the iPad to be used as a second screen now that they’ve switched to USB-C. After all, apps have existed on the store for a while to achieve it, even with their limitations. So there’s clearly demand for it.
Roll on Wednesday :D
 
TheMadBrewer said:
I've been using an app called Duet to make my iPad and second monitor on my laptop. It does require software to be installed on the host computer, though.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've been trying to get approval from our IT department, but I work for a massive company with incredibly complex approval processes for new software. I have a feeling it could take a year to get approved, but would more likely be immediately shot down. I wish I could find an IT guy who'd just give me admin permissions!
 
rayricepudding said:
Does this mean you can use the iPad as a second monitor for a pc through the usb-c port?
Click to expand...
Highly unlikely since you can't use your MacBook as a second screen for your iMac. Yes, it seems different but in this case the iPad is a host device like a MacBook or iMac. Apple did do something similar with 27" iMacs for a while, which wasn't a standard part of the protocol, so I can't rule it out.
 
Will there be a USB-C to Lightning dongle? I have some Audeze Sine headphones with a "Cipher" cable that is a direct lightning port connection that draws a little power for an inline amp.

Still works on iPhone because it hasn't switched to USB-C but I'm wondering if the Cipher cable will be junk because of the USB-C move or if I'm going to be able to get a dongle for it...
 
AndrewS said:
Will there be a USB-C to Lightning dongle? I have some Audeze Sine headphones with a "Cipher" cable that is a direct lightning port connection that draws a little power for an inline amp.


Still works on iPhone because it hasn't switched to USB-C but I'm wondering if the Cipher cable will be junk because of the USB-C move or if I'm going to be able to get a dongle for it...
Click to expand...


I’ve been wondering the same thing. I’ve asked around but no-one seems to know at the moment.


I hope there is, it’s technically possible and for Apple, pretty straightforward. So I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.


Wouldn’t seem like Apple to miss out in selling yet more adapters though
 
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TrueBlou said:
I’ve been wondering the same thing. I’ve asked around but no-one seems to know at the moment.


I hope there is, it’s technically possible and for Apple, pretty straightforward. So I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.


Wouldn’t seem like Apple to miss out in selling yet more adapters though
Click to expand...

I’m really hoping for this too. I bought the Bowers and Wilkins P9 signature headphones and it would be a shame to have to use them with the headphone jack instead of the lightning DAC as there were intended.
 
7F930209-32D5-4103-B7C7-1BE9C1D109DE.jpeg

I just bought a new iPad at the Apple Store and unpacked it at home just to see that it has a dent. Would you go back and ask for an exchange? Since it is quite a trip to the store I am really mad!
 
JonOlafson said:
View attachment 802056

I just bought a new iPad at the Apple Store and unpacked it at home just to see that it has a dent. Would you go back and ask for an exchange? Since it is quite a trip to the store I am really mad!
Click to expand...

I can barely see it, it may well be worse in person. But me, I wouldn’t bother my ass for such a small mark.

Though I’m entirely sure I’m in the minority and most folks will tell you you should accept nothing less than perfection.

I guess it’s down to how much it bothers you. None of us can tell you how much it affects you.
 
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JonOlafson said:
View attachment 802056

I just bought a new iPad at the Apple Store and unpacked it at home just to see that it has a dent. Would you go back and ask for an exchange? Since it is quite a trip to the store I am really mad!
Click to expand...

Seal the box up and let Apple know ASAP. This is on them to resolve as this is meant to be new. Heck this is not even a refurb!

PS: This is quite off topic lol but I won't blame ya for being upset
 
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