Apple's 140W 16-inch MacBook Pro charger gets the teardown treatment

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited October 2021
Peripherals company ChargerLab has taken apart Apple's first-ever GaN charger, the 140W one for the 16-inch MacBook Pro, and detailed every component sourced.

Do not do this at home
Do not do this at home


It was already known that Apple uses gallium nitride in its new 140W charger for the 16-inch, and that it was done to improve power delivery while keeping a small footprint. Now a teardown company has stripped a unit to uncover every detail of its construction and design.






ChargerLab, previously known for learning early that Apple would adopt a 96W USB-C power adaptor for the MacBook Pro in 2019, has listed every component.

The company concentrates on how this is the first time Apple has used GaN, and says that as Apple is an industry leader, it expects "more and more manufacturers" will use the technology.

The charger is Apple's first to employ gallium nitride, or GaN. GaN is a material that allows for higher voltage capacity and reduced energy loss due to heat, for example.

The efficiency of the material enables producers to create physically smaller chargers with similar capabilities to more conventional production methods. Apple's new charger also implements the USB-C Power Delivery 3.1 standard, making it cross-compatible with other hardware that adheres to the same standard.

For the 16-inch model, users can recharge using either MagSafe 3 or Thunderbolt 4, but the 140W fast charging capability of the new charger won't get hit unless the MagSafe port and Apple's charger are used together.

The new 140W charger is being sold as a separate purchase to the MacBook Pros, at $99. That price excludes the $49 USB-C to MagSafe cable.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Would be nice if it had more than one USB-C port. 
    doozydozencaladanianwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 18
    Will it mess up my iPad Pro if I use this base with USB-C on both ends? Would be nice to keep it plugged in and use for both the laptop and iPad. 

    Or the other way around, can I use the iPad charger safely on the new MBP?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 18
    normmnormm Posts: 653member
    crowley said:
    Would be nice if it had more than one USB-C port. 
    It has three.

  • Reply 4 of 18
    magman1979magman1979 Posts: 1,301member
    normm said:
    crowley said:
    Would be nice if it had more than one USB-C port. 
    It has three.

    No it doesn't
    doozydozencaladanianwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 18
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,136member
    crowley said:
    Would be nice if it had more than one USB-C port. 
    At that wattage, it would be nice.  However, it being Apple I could see a lot of people using it to charge other peripherals, in addition to charging their MBP only to begin complaining why their MBP is not charging to 100%.
    williamlondondoozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 18
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    normm said:
    crowley said:
    Would be nice if it had more than one USB-C port. 
    It has three.
    The charger does not have three USB-C ports.  It has one.
    magman1979doozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 18
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    sflocal said:
    crowley said:
    Would be nice if it had more than one USB-C port. 
    At that wattage, it would be nice.  However, it being Apple I could see a lot of people using it to charge other peripherals, in addition to charging their MBP only to begin complaining why their MBP is not charging to 100%.
    Ugh, people. Yeah, you're probably right.
    doozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 18
    tpurdy said:
    Will it mess up my iPad Pro if I use this base with USB-C on both ends? Would be nice to keep it plugged in and use for both the laptop and iPad. 

    Or the other way around, can I use the iPad charger safely on the new MBP?
    1. Nope, that'll work great.
    2. Sort of… as I understand it, if your laptop has an active draw of say 60 watts, and you have a 30 watt charger installed, then instead of charging, you'll be actively draining your battery (albeit more slowly than if the laptop were fully unplugged. This negative-charging of the battery could potentially be damaging.

    It is safe, as far as I know of, to charge your laptop with the iPad charger if it is asleep or turned off. So if you were traveling and wanted to bring the lighter, smaller, charger, and was only charging the laptop while you were sleeping overnight, no problem. 
    edited October 2021 doozydozencaladaniantpurdywatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 18
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,644member
    tpurdy said:
    Will it mess up my iPad Pro if I use this base with USB-C on both ends? Would be nice to keep it plugged in and use for both the laptop and iPad. 

    Or the other way around, can I use the iPad charger safely on the new Macbook Pro?
    No. You can use either on both. but the charger for the iPad isn't powerful enough to charge while using the Macbook Pro and will take a long time to charge even if the Macbook Pro is off.
    tpurdywatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 18
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,644member
    sflocal said:
    crowley said:
    Would be nice if it had more than one USB-C port. 
    At that wattage, it would be nice.  However, it being Apple I could see a lot of people using it to charge other peripherals, in addition to charging their MBP only to begin complaining why their MBP is not charging to 100%.
    Apple isn't making a general purpose charger. if there was another port, people would plug two devices in. and we would be reading complaints from people who were angry it was taking too long to charge either device, and that Apple lied about it taking 30 minutes for a half charge on the Macbook Pro. yes, because some people are that stupid.
    doozydozenFileMakerFellerwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 18
    normmnormm Posts: 653member
    crowley said:
    normm said:
    crowley said:
    Would be nice if it had more than one USB-C port. 
    It has three.
    The charger does not have three USB-C ports.  It has one.
    Sorry, I stupidly misunderstood what you were referring to.  I meant the MacBook has three USB-C ports.  The USB-C charger has one charging port (and zero USB-C ports).
    sphericwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 18
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 4,043member
    I agree it would be nice to have more than one port, but I also agree with the comments about people complaining if they did this. Apple has never made a charger with more than one port, so we shouldn't be surprised that this one only has one port.

    As for the teardown, I'm always impressed with Apple's engineering, how well their chargers are made and how much they pack in there. I think the charger probably has more processing power than my first computer did!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 18
    citpekscitpeks Posts: 253member
    Next time you see someone complaining about Apple's power adapters being "overpriced," direct them to this video, and point out that the competing $25 "Zoifoihwelk" adapter they found on Amazon isn't "just as good" or have the same design and build quality as Apple's.


    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 18
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    normm said:
    crowley said:
    normm said:
    crowley said:
    Would be nice if it had more than one USB-C port. 
    It has three.
    The charger does not have three USB-C ports.  It has one.
    Sorry, I stupidly misunderstood what you were referring to.  I meant the MacBook has three USB-C ports.  The USB-C charger has one charging port (and zero USB-C ports).
    It's still a USB Type-C port, though it only supports USB Power Delivery.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 18
    crowley said:
    normm said:
    crowley said:
    Would be nice if it had more than one USB-C port. 
    It has three.
    The charger does not have three USB-C ports.  It has one.


    I’m surprised that there isn’t a usbc plug bug yet.  

    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 18
    About PD 3.1
    https://www.usb.org/usb-charger-pd

    Anybody knows why max charging is not working via USB-C, only via the new MagSafe?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 18
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    About PD 3.1
    https://www.usb.org/usb-charger-pd

    Anybody knows why max charging is not working via USB-C, only via the new MagSafe?
    Because Apple didn't implement it.

  • Reply 18 of 18
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 4,043member
    About PD 3.1
    https://www.usb.org/usb-charger-pd

    Anybody knows why max charging is not working via USB-C, only via the new MagSafe?
    The USB 3.1 power delivery spec came out after the TB 4 spec so TB 4 only supports 100W charging.
    williamlondonFileMakerFeller
Sign In or Register to comment.