How does one distinguish between all the tiny devils in the details between all possible chargers to have the maximum efficiency in ones iPhone charging?
Hopefully Apple releases a UK version of this adapter soon. The design looks very similar to my beloved Apple UK 20W charger [1]. I’d buy a 40-60W version in a heartbeat!
Wow, that does look very neat for an Apple charger. The prongs are individually foldable, right?
I wish there was something like this for Europlug chargers. Ironically, the most compact USB adapter for me so far is one with a US plug, combined with an US-to-Europlug adapter, which can be made very compact, but seem a bit risky at 220V, given that US plugs expose the prongs while connected.
Is there a way to slow down these high power chargers? Sometimes I want a fast charge but mostly I want slow to getting hot. I realize overnight charging phones are smart enough to do this but otherwise seems to be impossible without having two different chargers.
On my Samsung S24 Ultra I have a routine set up where it automatically disables fast charging during the night, but enables it again during the day - the logic being that I don't mind if the phone charges slowly while I sleep, but if I plug it in during the day then I probably want the quickest top-up possible.
This is very cool, I might actually get one to charge my laptop.
That being said...
I can't be the only person who consciously avoids fast-charging my phone. My whole apartment is full of wireless charging pads intentionally plugged into weak chargers (wireless charging avoids putting wear on the USB port). 60 watts can't possibly be healthy for a battery small enough to fit into a phone.
Its so classically Apple that just when most brands are starting to standardize on PPS (Programmable Power Supply) to allow any voltage to be used, they come with an alternate standard AVS (Adjustable Voltage Supply) just to force people to buy their certified chargers.
The sole benefit of AVS over PPS is that AVS goes beyond 100W. But these chargers only do 60W. And it would have cost Apple almost nothing to also add PPS to their phones and chargers.
I wonder what temperature this thing hits. I have an even smaller 65 W GAN charger[0] that gets pretty toasty under load. I can't really see Apple wanting to ship a toasty charger, though.
Wow, that's really small. Only 43 cm3 (without the plug) for the EU version. I own an a Anker Nano II 65W GaN Charger and that's already small with 64 cm3. I can imagine that Rolling Square one getting even hotter with that low amount of material, and thus cooling.
I have an Anker nano II that get's very hot while charging my laptop (~25-35W average). I should run a thermometer on it. If I held it for more than a second, I might get a burn.
Why do so many websites disable pinch-to-zoom for mobile users? This page is full of interesting close-up photos, but at least on my Android phone, I can't zoom in to see any of the details. Who benefits from disabling this feature?
turning the desktop mode on in the browser always worked for me to bypass such limitations on the mobile browser.
just tested it and the pinching and zooming works fine.
At my work, we have an X-ray machine for PCB reverse engineering. On Fridays we throw in random stuff from around the office, and sometimes make videos about what we find inside.
A few weeks ago we released an X-ray teardown of several other, older chargers. Very interesting to compare with these fancy new ones!
Something like the Anker Prime 100W GaN charger is far more compact than any charger Apple has shipped.
Now, granted, many compact chargers lie about how long they can provide sustained power. That's exactly what this "dynamic" charger is doing, except that it's being more up-front about the fact that it's not a 60W charger, it's a "60W until it's inevitably too hot" charger.
I wish they could do a 2 port version. During holiday I tend to charge both my Phone and Battery pack at the same time over night. Unless All Hotels around the world start doing integrated GaN 30 to 40W charging port as standard I will still need to bring my own USB-C Adaptor.
Even the same 60W max, 30W per port is enough to charge both to full in 2-3 hours.
Great that Apple is making smaller chargers. I use a 65w anker 715 charger which weighs 120g for my laptop - ridiculously small compared to the massive 140w charger the laptop came with.
Amazing tear down and such compact design, but it's such a shame that these devices are glued together. Every time you see a glued device, just think "future e-waste".
The best part I find about ChargerLab teardowns is identifying all the passive and discrete components.
Western distributors tend to only stock western/japanese brands of these, but they can make up a sizable fraction of the BOM (especially electrolytic capacitors) so knowing who the big players are comfortable with using is very handy. LCSC stock a lot, but its nice to know which suppliers have been proven in use.
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[ 4.5 ms ] story [ 53.1 ms ] threadAlso while the US plug makes some pretty compact power adapters, the effect is largely ruined in the EU and UK with their wider more cumbersome plugs.
[1] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apple-20W-USB-C-Power-Adapter/dp/B0...
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EuPD4j8
It can deliver 50 watts entirely to 1 port, unlike most others where they mean 25 watts per port.
$5.50 with free shipping.
I wish there was something like this for Europlug chargers. Ironically, the most compact USB adapter for me so far is one with a US plug, combined with an US-to-Europlug adapter, which can be made very compact, but seem a bit risky at 220V, given that US plugs expose the prongs while connected.
That being said...
I can't be the only person who consciously avoids fast-charging my phone. My whole apartment is full of wireless charging pads intentionally plugged into weak chargers (wireless charging avoids putting wear on the USB port). 60 watts can't possibly be healthy for a battery small enough to fit into a phone.
The sole benefit of AVS over PPS is that AVS goes beyond 100W. But these chargers only do 60W. And it would have cost Apple almost nothing to also add PPS to their phones and chargers.
Edit: hello fanboys :)
[0]: https://rollingsquare.com/products/supertiny-the-smallest-65...
Many devices are made larger simply to have more surface area to spread the heat over to stay within the law.
At my work, we have an X-ray machine for PCB reverse engineering. On Fridays we throw in random stuff from around the office, and sometimes make videos about what we find inside.
A few weeks ago we released an X-ray teardown of several other, older chargers. Very interesting to compare with these fancy new ones!
https://youtu.be/4h4qabPsPfI
Note that the audio mix for the microphone fell in the left channel only.
Apart from that, interesting images!
Curious, does this machine get past the top copper layer?
https://youtu.be/z09X_ZnAcLs
Happy to take recommendations for other stuff to drop in there and film!
Also if this sounds cool to you, we're hiring US citizens.
https://redballoonsecurity.com/company/careers/
I have to wonder if they have a team with an EE paired with an origami artist, with how creative some of the layouts get.
Something like the Anker Prime 100W GaN charger is far more compact than any charger Apple has shipped.
Now, granted, many compact chargers lie about how long they can provide sustained power. That's exactly what this "dynamic" charger is doing, except that it's being more up-front about the fact that it's not a 60W charger, it's a "60W until it's inevitably too hot" charger.
Even the same 60W max, 30W per port is enough to charge both to full in 2-3 hours.
https://slimq.life/
Western distributors tend to only stock western/japanese brands of these, but they can make up a sizable fraction of the BOM (especially electrolytic capacitors) so knowing who the big players are comfortable with using is very handy. LCSC stock a lot, but its nice to know which suppliers have been proven in use.