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Review: USB-C to Lightning Cable + 29W Power Adapter is what should have shipped with the 12.9″ iPad Pro

USB-C Lightning iPad Pro

The 12.9″ iPad Pro is a great productivity device, but unfortunately it ships with an inadequate 12W power adapter. This is the same charger commonly used with the smaller 9.7″ iPad line, and it’s much inadequate for a device as large and as power hungry as the 12.9″ iPad Pro.

I find that when using the iPad Pro at full brightness, it’s difficult to maintain your current charge, let alone gain battery life, when using the 12W charger. I’ve actually seen my iPad Pro lose battery life even when it was plugged in.

Needless to say, it’s pretty obvious that Apple should have included a beefier charger with the 12.9″ iPad Pro. Thankfully, as was revealed at this week’s iPhone SE event, an adequate solution is now here. If you’re an iPad Pro owner, should you invest in Apple’s new 29W capable USB-C to Lightning Cable?

Is the USB-C to Lightning Cable + USB-C Power Adapter worth it?

Let me just preface this by saying that this test is by no means scientific, but it’s super-obvious that this new charging solution is much better for the 12.9″ iPad Pro. The difference is night and day.

To test, I simply let the iPad Pro drain until it shut off and displayed the “charge me” message when attempting to turn it back on. I then plugged in the USB-C to Lightning cable and let it charge and automatically power on.

Related: See our review of the Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter

I enabled Airplane mode for this test to make sure that no background network activity occurred. For the first 10 minutes I set the screen brightness to maximum levels. For the next 10 minutes, I let the iPad Pro charge with minimum screen brightness. After the 20 minutes were up, I noted the final charge level. I then repeated this same test with the Lightning cable and 12W adapter that shipped with the iPad Pro.

Video review

Here are the results:

  • iPad Pro using 29W adapter: 14% in 20 minutes
  • iPad Pro using 12W adapter: 5% in 20 minutes
  • With screen brightness set to maximum, the 29W adapter was able to charge the iPad Pro, albeit a bit slowly. Ultimately, it reached almost 15% in 20 minutes of charging.
  • With screen brightness set to maximum, the 12W adapter could basically only hold the current charge. When using the iPad Pro with screen brightness set to max, I’ve seen the iPad Pro actually lose charge, even when connected to the 12W power source.

As mentioned, this is not a scientific test in a controlled environment, but it really doesn’t take such a test to see that the USB-C to Lightning Cable plus the USB-C Power Adapter are must-have accessories for 12.9″ iPad Pro owners. In fact, I’d go as far to say that shipping the iPad Pro with the 12W charger was a mistake that results in a bad user experience. Watch our video walkthrough embedded above, and see for yourself.

USB-C to Lightning

The USB-C to Lightning Cable is just what you would expect. On one end is a Lightning connector, but the opposite end features a USB-C connector instead of the standard USB Type-A connector that we’re all familiar with.

USB-C to Lightning Cable

Like Lightning connectors, USB-C connectors can be inserted on either side. This means that, for the first time, we now have a charging cable that’s reversible on both ends.

One of the nice things about the Lightning cable that ships with the iPad Pro is that it’s thicker and more robust than the Lightning cables that come with our iPhones. Well, the USB-C to Lightning cable features an even lower gauge — it’s noticeably thicker than the iPad Pro’s Lightning cable, and more robust at the connector ends as well.

USB-C Power Adapter

The USB-C Power Adapter is what really makes this whole setup work. Unlike the adapter that ships with the iPad Pro, this adapter is slightly larger, features a USB-C connection, and is capable of providing 29W of power. Coincidently, the iPad Pro is capable of using all 29 watts, which makes this adapter a perfect fit for the largest tablet in the iPad family.

USB-C Power Adapter

An investment

To start with, the USB-C to Lightning Cable is a pricey investment. Not only will you have to pony up for either a 1-meter or 2-meter cable at $25.00 and $35.00 respectively, you’ll also need to buy Apple’s $49.00 USB-C Power Adapter. After using the 1-meter USB-C to Lightning Cable, I have to recommend going with the 2-meter version, as it’s the same length of the Lightning cable that ships with the iPad Pro.

If you’re a 12″ MacBook owner, the good news is that you can use your MacBook’s USB-C Power Adapter to charge the iPad Pro. That means that you’ll only need to invest in a USB-C to Lightning Cable.

If you don’t own a 12″ MacBook, you’re going to spend either $74 or $84 just to get started. It’s not a cheap investment, which makes the fact that Apple didn’t include an adequate charging solution with the iPad Pro sting a bit.

True, this whole setup can be a pricey investment, but the difference it provides when charging the iPad Pro makes it worth it in my opinion. What are your thoughts on the matter?

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Comments

  1. Jonny Pez - 8 years ago

    It would be nice to have, but I’m getting around just fine with a full overnight charge as it is.

    • Jeff Benjamin - 8 years ago

      Yeah, the current one works, but if you’re a power user, who charges while working, 29W is the way to go for sure.

    • Andrew Williams - 8 years ago

      Same here, no problems with charging my “iPad Pro plus” with the supplied charger.

  2. Patrick Crowley - 8 years ago

    Does anyone know if you can charge an iPhone faster with this cable and adapter?

    • KL (@bluemonq) - 8 years ago

      It will not charge your phone any faster. iPhones support 5-volt charging. iPad Pros support both 5-volt AND 14.5 charging. The adapter outputs 2 amps regardless of voltage.

      • City King (@cityking) - 8 years ago

        Actually not true if you’re using the charger that came with your iPhone. That only outputs 1A. Your iPhone will pull 2.4A. So you don’t need this 29W adapter, though it would help – but an iPad charger (or any 2.4 / 5V capable USB charger) will charge your iPhone much faster than the charger that comes with it.

    • Matthew Lavelle - 8 years ago

      `no, it won’t. The iPhone simply can not handle the 6 amps of current going to the battery that the 29W adapter is capable. So, it would be a waste of money and overkill. Now, it is a good use for that 12W adapter that came originally with the iPad Pro. If you have something like an iPhone 6 Plus, the total of 2.4 amps from the 12W adapter can help improve charging times. But, if you are already using one of those 5 outlet chargers for your phones and iPads, you were already getting 2 amps of charging current, so you may not notice a big difference.

  3. applegetridofsimandjack - 8 years ago

    I think it’s absolutely disgusting that it doesn’t ship with the iPad Pro. It’s like shipping a Retina Macbook Pro with the 5W USB charger that comes with iPhones.

    Just another way to ripping people off.

    • Elmore Leonard - 8 years ago

      Then don’t buy the iPad Pro. If you are going to pay premium prices for a device don’t be surprised that you have to pay premium prices for accessories.

      • I completely disagree with this sentiment. A power adapter is not an accessory. It is NECESSARY.

        The 12W adapter provided is not even powerful enough to HOLD a charge on the 12.9″ Pro if it is in use. AND Apple is now aware of this. That is a PROBLEM. The pencil or the keyboard or covers, etc. are accessories. An adapter is not. They should absolutely be providing an adapter that actually has the power to charge the machine.

      • I completely disagree with this sentiment. Power adapter is not an “accessory” it is NECESSARY to the device, which is why it is included in EVERY SINGLE purchase of a device. Apple’s business model, which gets oh so many complaints, as so many other intelligent things they do, of creating a base device which you can buy and then accessories you can purchase as extras makes perfect sense to me. If you want your device to do everything it is capable of or somewhere in the middle you have the option to modify it as you see fit, instead of being required, for instance, to buy a Pencil if you don’t want one. I look at that as just the total cost of the machine. But an adapter does not fit in the category of accessory except if you are purchasing an extra one. I noticed from day one that the provided adapter did not seem to charge properly and thought something was wrong with my machine. Then I find out that, no, it’s just that the provided power source is not adequate for the machine it is supposed to power. That’s a mistake that needs to be rectified.

    • Matthew Lavelle - 8 years ago

      Why does everyone assume that it is a way to “Rip people Off”, as if there is a department inside of companies that figure out ways to do this. You know what is far more likely? Pure ignorance and or incompetence. The people who take the finished product and design packaging and accessory content have a budget and specs like everyone else, and some engineer probably recommended that the 29W adapter be used, and was ignored or failed to elevate it properly. So when it came time to choose the adapter, someone chose the 12W and called it a day. There was no evil decision made to sell maybe $60 in accessories. What is the value in that if it causes people to lose brand loyalty when it comes time to buy again? There is so much profit built into the device that the accessories are more of an irritation than a profit center. Apple does better than most at making some profit from accessories, but they are not so stupid as to do so to the point of losing customer brand loyalty. Grow up.

      It is a childish and slightly ignorant notion, just like the notion that they build something to doe when the warranty runs out. The idea that something like that is possible is stupid, and this comes from someone who has designed products. It would double (or more) the development costs of a product to make it fail at a predictable time, without a margin of error so large that you could bankrupt the company with a large percentage of failures occurring just before the warranty failed instead of after. Add in the fact that it could sit in a warehouse of a store shelf for days or years, so a planned failure would be nearly impossible to predict, and would have a far better chance of bankrupting a company with warranty claims than it would of generating new sales after the warranty ends.

  4. modeyabsolom - 8 years ago

    I don’t know if this is an oversight by Apple or just another money grab? If the next gen 12.9″ Pro comes with a beefed up power supply then it was the former, if not then the latter.

    • Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 8 years ago

      I think that Apple’s in the process of transition with respect to USB connectors. Oversight? I don’t think so. The MacBooks were designed around USB-C connector and nothing else is at this time, but I’m sure things will change, but the thing is that the charger they ship with the iPad Pro is just the same charger as all other iPads and I’m sure price and size are the considerations. You can always buy the larger model if you want, but I highly doubt that many iPad Pro users are going to buy the bigger and more expensive charger.

      In either event, submit your complaint directly to Apple and if they get enough complaints, maybe they’ll do something about it.

      http://www.apple.com/feedback

    • Whoda (@Whodakat) - 8 years ago

      Yeah, they are getting rich off iPad cables and chargers.

      • darwiniandude - 8 years ago

        Apple is getting Rich off everything they sell. They sell everything at a healthy profit. But enough people like the product and are happy to pay.

  5. Jeff, the conspiracy theorist in me says you know why the iPP shipped with the smaller adapter. Additional sales. The rationalist in me says the adapter may not have been available in sufficient quantities to warrant shipping it with the initial run of iPP’s. Either way, I agree with you. It should have been the adapter in the box day 1.

    • mjlavelle - 8 years ago

      Actually, it was the development of a USB-C cable with a Lightning connector that had a MFI chip that was capable of handling the extra current that an iPad Pro would use with the 29W charger. The chips (the ones that say it is an authentic Apple licensed product) is on the negative line of the charger cable. It can handle about 2 amps max current. They needed to develop a beefed up chip capable of handling the 5.8 amps the iPad Pro would pull. Since it is the only product with a lightning connector that would need the heavy duty chip, the development was not a high priority. This is also a problem if you buy non-Apple brand USB-C to Lightning cables to charge an iPad Pro with the 29W adapter. They will charge iPhones and other iPads fine, because they have the regular chip. But they will not charge the Pro because they do not have the high amp chip in them. I spoke to an engineer at one vendor that I bought a cable from and it burned out. He confirmed that only Apple Brand cables have the new high current chip. I went through 3 cables from 3 different brands before I learned this. I bought the Apple cable, and no more issues. I believe that Anker may have the new chip for their USB-C to Lightning cable now as well, but I would confirm that before buying it to charge a Pro.
      So, for all the people claiming that Apple is just ripping people off, it is just not true. They released the Pro before they completed the design of the new chip, and at the same time they were finishing the design of the USB-C charger, so the best they could offer was the 12 watt charger. I would not be surprised if they include it in the Pro’s going forward.being able to offer fast charging would be a big selling point. I can say that it is worth every penny. The 12W charger can not even keep the iPad battery from discharging if you are using it with the charger plugged in. But the 29W not only keeps up, it gets ahead of it fast. I have plugged mine in after it died, started using it as soon as it had enough juice to turn on, and used it constantly for 1.5 hours, and it had charged up to 99% in that time. It will charge 10% in about 8 minutes if you are not using it. None of my previous iPads could do that.

  6. PMZanetti - 8 years ago

    I use and charge my iPad Pro every single day and could not possibly care less.

    I use my devices during the day. I charge them at night. This goes for my iPad Pro, iPhone 6s, and Apple Watch. And don’t give me that “power user” bullshit. iOS devices are meant to be portable. The very image of using one while tethered to the wall is ridiculous. That’s not how the devices are meant to be used, and saying that Apple should have bundled this expensive charging solution with the iPad Pro to accommodate that is ridiculous. Because that’s all you’re really saying. There is demonstrable need for this charger under normal, real-world use.

    • PMZanetti - 8 years ago

      * There is NO

      • Jeff Benjamin - 8 years ago

        I respectfully disagree. So you’re telling me it’s okay for an iOS device to actually _drop_ in power while it’s being charged? No. Power user or not, it’s painfully obvious that the iPad Pro was built with 29W charging in mind. The evidence doesn’t lie.

      • dcj001 - 8 years ago

        Jeff.

        The only reason to use an iOS device at full brightness, as you did in your battery-draining scenario, is if/when you are using it in direct and bright sunlight.

      • Jeff Benjamin - 8 years ago

        Yes, and I often am when sitting on my patio.

      • bruinsrme - 8 years ago

        I agree, there is absolutely no reason that the user can’t be at full brightness and not have the charger be able to keep up.
        People wouldn’t stand for it with a MacBook Pro why should be accept it with the IPP.
        To me this was intentionally done by Apple. Why else would they allow it to be done.

    • PMZanetti - 8 years ago

      You seem to forget that there have been many iOS devices over time that have been the same boat, where charging is not fast enough to supersede drain under certain conditions.

      What I’m telling you is that if there is any reason why you need to plug in your iPad while using, Apple has got it all wrong anyway. Since I consider myself a “power user” of the device, and have never ever needed to plug it in while using it, I respectfully disagree with the entire premise of the argument.

      Especially since the argument is not “I can’t use my iPad because it doesn’t charge fast enough”…the argument is “I can’t believe Apple made it possible for me to charge faster if I really need it and expects me to pay for it.”

      The average buyer does not need it, and thus Apple did not have to lose money on shipping more expensive (not to mention unique) charging components. When it comes to Apple, the fact that this is even possible for the few people who may opt for it, is a gift.

      • PMZanetti - 8 years ago

        To be honest, I can’t take it any more seriously than the 16 GB iPhone argument. The people that argue “I need more, so shame on Apple for not making the cheapest base model more.” No, shame on you for assuming that your need represents the entire market. It does not.

        Anytime you find paid upgrade options in the Apple world that get you where you want to be, understand this: It is this way, because some people need it, but most don’t….so the few that do, can pay for it.

      • Jeff Benjamin - 8 years ago

        There’s one problem with your argument, though. We, as users don’t have a choice of buying an iPad pro with a power adapter that’s sufficient. I can choose to buy an iPhone or iPad with more storage space. We only get the dinky 12W adapter, which has been proven to not be able to charge an iPad at full brightness, which is absurd. If you can’t see the absurdity of such a thing, then there’s no reason to even discuss it.

      • hz64 - 8 years ago

        So you never had to plug in your iDevice during the day? You must be a perfect planner that never ran out of battery when you need it. The rest of us, though, are human beings. Kudos to you for assuming that you are the “normal”.

      • ericisking - 8 years ago

        Hmmm – not sure – it’s probably true that the average buyer does not need it. I don’t think I’ve ever used my iPad while it’s plugged in. But it also seems like it should be a basic function, if you do need it, to use the iPad while it’s charging. Especially for the larger iPad Pro, which is marketed as a laptop replacement – so the idea is that you can use it at your desk, instead of a computer.

    • mjlavelle - 8 years ago

      Because everyone uses theirs exactly like you. I use mine constantly for 8-12 hours a day. With the old charger, I would have to stop and recharge it 3-4 times a day. Even using it plugged in with the 12W charger is not enough. It can not charge fast enough to counter the battery drain. Mine would drain down to zero when I was using it plugged in. With the new 29W charger, I can get a full charge in about an hour or so, and it can charge from zero to 99% while I am using it in about 1.5 hours. It is like having a new iPad. I was disappointed in the pro before I got this new charger. Now, I love it.
      Yes, it is meant to be used on the go, and I use it that way. But I don’t have the luxury to charge it overnight when it runs down in less than 8 hours. It will run down in as few as 3 hours, depending on what work I am doing. Using CAD, Photoshop, or other technical apps will drain it fast, but it is also much more capable of using those apps than any previous model. I used to only use them in an emergency on my iPad Air 2, because it was just so frustrating. The Pro is pretty close to being as capable as my notebook computer now, and I believe it could be just as good or even better if they revised the software for the iPad Pro.

  7. Joe Botz - 8 years ago

    Everything you explained in your piece is exactly what happens to me on a daily basis. the included charger does not do the job.

  8. Steve32 - 8 years ago

    Is there a data transfer rate difference between regular lightening and type-C?

  9. Eiad Jandali - 8 years ago

    “Well, the USB-C to Lightning cable features an even higher gauge — it’s noticeably thicker than the iPad Pro’s Lightning cable”

    I think you mean lower gauge

    • Jeff Benjamin - 8 years ago

      Thanks, fixed. I always get those two mixed up.

      • dcj001 - 8 years ago

        If you “always get those two mixed up,” shouldn’t you eventually learn the correct way to phrase what you mean to say?

      • Jeff Benjamin - 8 years ago

        Yes, I should. :-/

  10. platypusw - 8 years ago

    Jeff, do you know if the usb-c cable allows for usb 3 transfer/sync speeds when plugging the 12.9″ pro into a pc/Mac? Can’t seem to find the answer anywhere…

  11. Robert Ruitenberg - 8 years ago

    Apple should have opted for both a USB-C as well as a regular USB connector, this so that we can choose which cable to use.
    The plug/power adapter itself is big enough for 2 connectors.
    They continue ripping people off this way

  12. Matthew Fox - 8 years ago

    I’ve been trolling about this for years. mac os x has a feature that you can use to measure various currents for apple devices. its the last word in any of these ipad charger arguments.

    1) connect any apple iOS device to any mac
    2) mac should be newer then 2007 for iPhone and 2010 for ipad maybe the ipad pro would need either a current model mac or the next model coming out
    3) trust each other devices and allow them to connect
    4) click on about this mac on the apple logo on the upper left hand screen
    5) click on system report
    6) click on USB
    7) click on the device

    you will clearly see how much charging current that the mac gives your device. this test will tell you that the maximum power
    that the iPhone 6 will ask for is 2100ma, the will tell you that the maximum power that a 6s will ask for is 2100 ma ( as long as you run el captain anything older will be less current )

    i don’t have the money to test all your guys latest gadgets. but i feel going back 7 years now, that if you take a macbook with usb c and attach the pros
    to it, it might reveal what the actual charging current of that device is

    usb cant really DUMP current on a device. the usb client has to ASK the host controller how much power it wants.

    and another thing is that i read that usb 3.0 has a new standard that manufactuers had agreed on that allows brands from one manufacturer to be charged by another manufacturer using a higher power output. and this is an actual standard now

    doing this would reveal there are only 2 apple supported charging currents. to the best of my money and budget to buy latest gadgets
    1000 ma = iPhone / iPod touch 4th gen or older possibly 5th gen iPod touch
    2100 ma = ipad / iPhone 6 and 6s current ( 6S REQUIRES EL CAPITAN or its 1000ma)

    i have never seen a higher charging current then 2100 ma on an apple device

    • Matthew Fox - 8 years ago

      I’m really sick of positng the same thing overtime some apple blog thinks their ipad charging test is scientific. and no one trying my method, which is actually scientific

      • Matthew Fox - 8 years ago

        * every time

      • Matthew Fox - 8 years ago

        if the apple watch can only support 1000 ma charging by a late 2013 mac book pro , its not going to charge any faster by connecting it to the ipad charger, because the apple watch IS NOT ASKING FOR EXTRA POWER.

    • mdw1951 - 8 years ago

      I did this on my 6s and it was 2100 ma thanks.

    • Jon C (@JonCBK) - 8 years ago

      I’m getting 1,000 mA for my iPhone 6s. Maybe it is lower charging because I’m using a 2011 iMac. That should be USB 2.0 so it should be able to charge faster. Anyway, fast charging seems silly to me. Charge over night and be done with the issue. Especially for an iPad.

      Current Available (mA): 1000
      Current Required (mA): 500

      • listcatcher - 8 years ago

        You should also see (using El Capitan)
        Extra Operating Current: 1600
        Sleep Current: 2100

        Which should indicate that while the USB to which its connected will only supply 1000mA, the phone, under the right circumstances, can request 2100mA.

  13. SKR Imaging - 8 years ago

    In the FCC regulatory page in general settings of the iPad Pro, it is clearly stated that the device requires 29W power (calculate Amperage multiplied by Voltage)… when I saw that a while back, I knew that the next version of the iPad Pro will have to ship with the 29 W charger in box instead of the measly 12 W charger..

    • darwiniandude - 8 years ago

      Problem is, if it ships with the 29W charger and USB-C – Lightning Cable, no one except MacBook owners can connect it to their computer. Ship with two cables in the box? Maybe. Not sure what the optimal solution is.

      iPhone 6 Plus charges faster with 12W charger yet ships with 5W version.

  14. Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 8 years ago

    Has anyone contacted Apple to see if there is any potential damage to the battery if they use the larger charger?

    • srgmac - 8 years ago

      The device draws the power that it needs. There is no problem with using a charger that is capable of providing more power than the device needs — it’s quite the opposite actually…What you NEVER want to do is use a charger that can’t provide enough power to the device.

    • mjlavelle - 8 years ago

      Apple was the one who announced this usage for the 29W charger, at the 2016 WWDC. The reason why it was not included with the Pro is because the current MFI chip (The one that verifies that the cable is a genuine Apple or Apple Licensed) was not capable of handling the 5.8 amps that the 29W charger connected to the Pro would need. The MFI chip is wired into the negative leg of the charging wires, and all other Lightning devices use less than 1.5 amps. So, they had to develop a new chip to handle the higher amps, and it was a low priority, since the Pro is not a big seller. I believe it was designed to use the same 29W charger as the MacBook, but the new MFI chip was not ready, so they sold it with the highest wattage adapter that the MFI cable could handle. If you buy a USB to Lightning cable from a 3rd party, even if it is MFI certified, it can not handle the Pro, and will burn out. I went through 3 of them from 3mvendors before I spoke to an engineer at one vendor who told me that they used the same chip that they use for iPhones and iPads (the 1.5 amp), and only Apple had the new high current MFI chip, and he said Anker may have them as well, but I would just buy Apple to be safe. Their cables are meant for people to charge their phones with the new MacBook which only has USB-C, and they did not plan on people using it to charge a Pro with the cable plugged directly into the 29W adapter.

      • Kevin Berg - 8 years ago

        Where are you getting your 5.8A measurements from? According to the regulatory information on the iPad Pro, the 29W charging ability is achieved by 14.5V x 2A.

      • mjlavelle - 8 years ago

        Well, I have seen 2 different figures, one being 5v @ 3 amps, and another, including this article that claim that it can use the entire 29W at 5V which would equal 5.8 amps, but may only be capable of 3-5 amps. I would find the 14.5v number to be extremely surprising considering the fact that iPhones can be plugged into this thing as well, and 14.5V would fry an iPhone. It would only make sense to limit it to 5V (although it is capable of more), so 5V at maximum amperage, which would be perfectly safe for iPhones and older iPads because there is a maximum limit that their batteries are capable of pulling, which is around 1.5 amps. The 5v implementation would seem to be the most likely choice here, and I have seen that on some Apple sources. Actually, the only figures I have not seen is the ones you quoted, but I have not necessarily seen the regulatory info. However, having worked in regulatory compliance as an engineer, those documents and numbers change drastically through the development process, and there may be multiple versions of them floating around. The regulatory process evolves right along the design and spec process, so there are no major surprises when a final spec is decided upon, so preliminary or even speculative specs are submitted to see if there would be a regulatory issue with a proposed design, and are given a conditional approval, or sometimes a simple “It looks fine as long as x criteria are met”. Someone would need to do some measurements on exactly what it is doing to know for sure. Maybe I will do just that, so we can know what the real spec is.

      • Kevin Berg - 8 years ago

        Apple designs their chargers to adapt to the voltage required by the device and iPhones are designed to fast charge up to 2.1A, so a 14.5V x 2A charger would be perfectly safe for the iPhone. If you go into the Settings app on the iPad Pro 12.9″ and go to General->About->Legal->Regulatory, you will see the supported power inputs under Mexico. They are 14.5V x 2A (which exactly supports the optional 29W charger) and 5V x 2.4A (which exactly supports the 12W charger it ships with). This information is actually well-documented across the Internet. I have never run across the 5.8A measurement you are working with.

  15. crichton007 - 8 years ago

    Jeff, you sound like a former morning radio DJ in the video. Am I far off?

    • Jeff Benjamin - 8 years ago

      Hahaha. It’s been a while since someone’s told me that. I used to be an intern at a radio station, but nothing beyond that.

  16. srgmac - 8 years ago

    Great article.
    Apple proves yet again that they continue to call their devices “Pro” without including professional-grade features.
    This should have been a no-brainer!

  17. evanw68 - 8 years ago

    I think I’ll stick to my Shield Tablet K1 :D

  18. Would use a cheaper Lightning -> USB-C (Female) short cord on the end of the end of the Lightning -> USB cable that came with the iPad Pro? Those seem to run about $5-9 instead of Apple’s $25 for the 1-meter cable? I travel a lot so I like to keep my cables to a minimum. This would save room and cost compared to buying Apple’s cable.

    Anyone foresee any issues with this idea?

    • RobertJP (@RobertJP) - 8 years ago

      I tried that with an Anker 6in USB-C to A cable and an official lightning cable and it charged at the same rate as the 12w adapter included with the Pro. I used a Kill-A-Watt to see how much it was pulling.

    • Highly unlikely that the normal USB-A to Lightning can carry that kind of power. USB-C is specced to higher power while USB-A is limited to ~12 W.

      There’s a reason that the USB-C cables are lower gauge.

  19. Bob Ballou - 8 years ago

    This USB-C cable connects your iPhone, iPad, or iPod with Lightning connector to your computer’s USB-C port for syncing and charging. You can also use the cable with an Apple 29W USB-C Power Adapter to take advantage of the fast charging feature on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

  20. Martin Nguyen - 8 years ago

    Apple could package the iPad Pro with a USB Type C and cut the need for an adapter.

  21. Robert Wood - 8 years ago

    Going forward, Apple can replace all power adpter shipped inside gadgedts with USB-C instead of just typical USB 2.0. If industry is moving towards USB type C than what’s point of hanging on to older power adapter USB 2,0 or 3.0. I would say Apple should make such change from iphone 7 onwards.

  22. Kurt Ramey - 8 years ago

    Would the Amazon alternatives cut it? I’ve got about $37.50 for the same duo, I believe. Any reason to think it wouldn’t work?

    • friedmud1 - 8 years ago

      You can try. I can tell you that I have no desire to save $35-$40 so that I can fry my $1200 iPP.

      I’m going to be buying the official stuff from Apple. I don’t often run out of battery during the day… but it does happen sometimes and when it does it’s tough to get charged back up again because of the slow rate with the 12W charger.

      It’s actually pretty awesome that this works!

    • andyoooo - 8 years ago

      What Amazon alternatives? I’ve seen some cheap USB-C to Lightning cables on ebay, but I’ve also seen reports that they don’t work with the MacBook charger (people tried as soon as it was found the iPad Pro 12.9 could do 29W charging). As for chargers, the only ones available that I know of are the Chormebok PIxel’s 60W, this Macbook 29W one, and the new Razer Blade Stealth one at 45W. I did snag a 29W Apple for $30 on ebay though, there are several vendors in the US with good ratings. It did come new, but with OEM packaging, and it does work at charging fast. The cable, I did have to buy it from Apple, but I expect third party manufacturers to come out with their own in the future.

    • mjlavelle - 8 years ago

      No. Only the Apple USB-C to Lightning cable will work. It has to do with the MFI chip, and the other vendors, even ones who sell Apple certified cables do not have the correct chip to handle the higher current. I was told this by an engineer at a vendor who I bought a cable from, and the cable burned out. He said that Apple has not made enough of the chips to sell to their vendors yet. Trust me, I burned out 3 cables from 3 different brands.

  23. My USB-C power block arrived on Tuesday, the actual (2m) cable arrives on Tuesday of next week. Feeling a little ripped off, but also not feeling like I will need to use my Pro at a lower level anymore to conserve battery life (especially while charging.)

    • Elmore Leonard - 8 years ago

      I don’t understand? You pay $800 – $1200 for a device, yet balk about spending $65 – $84 for a charging set that will allow you to charge it faster? When I bought my BMW I realized that I would be paying premium prices for parts, service, and, yes, gas. It’s the same bewilderment I get when someone pays $650 – $850 for and iPhone and put a $5 case on it. It’s just part of the deal. Premium items require premium accessories.

      • Kevin Berg - 8 years ago

        Normally I would agree with you, but in this case, I would say that your analogy would be like BMW selling you a new car and not telling you that the gas tank fills 4x slower than the previous model and wanting you to pay extra later when they develop an add-on that will make it fill at normal speed.

        I’m not going to stop buying Apple products just because of this, but I do think it would have been nice for them to be upfront about this charging issue.

  24. mytawalbeh - 8 years ago

    Will these “accessories of fast charging” work with the new iPad Pro 9.7″?

    • James Wages - 8 years ago

      Ditto. I’d like to see a follow-up article showing what benefits the 29W charger would have on the 9.7″ iPad Pro.

    • Kevin Berg - 8 years ago

      They will “work” on the iPad Pro 9.7″, but they won’t charge it any faster than the 12W charger, I don’t think. The smaller iPad Pro still only supports USB 2.0 whereas the larger one supports USB 3.0 which I think is required to support the fast charging.

      • James Wages - 8 years ago

        Thank you for the info, Kevin!

    • mjlavelle - 8 years ago

      No. It does not need the additional current, because it uses the same battery as the other iPads, so it would be a waste of money.

  25. Kevin Berg - 8 years ago

    Can anyone tell me if the USB-C to Lightning Cable used in conjunction with a car charger that supports QuickCharge/RapidCharge via USB-C would work? I know it would only be like 15W-18W, but that would make up for the 2W-3W deficit I’m seeing now when I use my iPad Pro.

    Before anyone gets snarky about using the iPad Pro in the car, I actually have mine mounted to my power wheelchair and have rigged a cigarette lighter to the batteries on the chair and that currently powers a nice Anker 4-Port 48W charger. I use my iPad Pro for work, play, and communication, so it’s on 12-18 hours a day (I don’t sleep much). When I had an iPad Air 2, I could let the battery drain for the first half of the day if I wanted to and then turn on the charger and it would be at 100%a few hours later even while using it at 100% brightness. With the 12.9″ iPad Pro (love the bigger screen), though, I don’t even turn the charger off and the battery on the device slowly drains throughout the day. It does charge back up when I go to sleep, but there are some nights where I don’t go to bed, so using it two days straight can cause it to really drain.

    Anyhow, I’m just looking for a solution to this.

    • andyoooo - 8 years ago

      I had the same idea, unfortunately the iPad Pro appears to draw the same 2.1 or so amps when connected to a type C 3A charger. I tried it with this cable and with the Nexus 6P charger and an Anker type C chargers, from about 25% they charged at about the same rate as the iPad charger, like 11% in a half hour.

      • Kevin Berg - 8 years ago

        Was that with the screen off or were you using it at the same time?

      • andyoooo - 8 years ago

        @Kevin,

        It was always with the screen off, and always starting at about 25% just in case cause I don’t know at what point it charges slower as it fills up. The “2.1 or so” amps number I got from a USB power meter, it was both with Anker’s Power IQ chargers and with the iPad Pro original charger, with the original cable.

      • andyoooo - 8 years ago

        By the way, Qualcomm’s QC wouldn’t work, as it requires Qualcomm’s chip. The USB-C 3A charger of the new Nexus phones had a chance to work though, since it’s also USB-PD specfication. I guess the iPad only requests around 2.1A when it’s at 5V.

    • mjlavelle - 8 years ago

      It would depend on the current that the charger allows. The 29W charger uses 5.8 amps, versus the 2.1 or so that every other iPad and iPhone uses.mi would guess that it does not. If you can find a car charger that allows anything over 3 amps or so, it would help. But you would need to use the Apple USB-C to lightning cable, and not any other brand. The USB-C cable uses an MFI chip that can handle the 5.8 amps, and only Apple has them right now. The delay in developing that chip is the reason why they did not offer the 29W adapter with the iPad Pro in the first place, and I suspect that they will start including it in the future.

  26. Paul Rubin - 8 years ago

    I have been disappointed with the charging speed from day 1 and find that the iPad Pro loses too much power when sleeping compared to all other iPads. Not enough to be a major problem. Just enough to be noticeable. So the moment I saw this stuff I raced to the Apple web site and ordered two chargers and both size cables (for home and work) figuring I’d want an extra charger floating around when Apple brings its MacBook 2nd gen up to I’d say MacBook Air 2014 speeds from the current 2011 speeds, hopefully soon. But I have a few questions?
    1. Any potential damage to using this with any other iPads or iPhones? Any advantages? Using the larger iPad charger does tend to charge an iPhone faster. Not double but faster. Might this charge it faster yet? And perhaps will the iPhone 7 take advantage of faster charging speeds using the very same setup? Otherwise releasing it in white is a problem cause now I’d have to paint it or put electrical tape on it. As it is, I’ll likely have to do that anyway to make sure I put this heavier duty charger in the Pro.
    2. Are there are devices similar to the Anker multi usb chargers that I’ve used that can generate enough power to work with more than one of these cables. I love that thing. One outlet now charges up to 10 USB devices in my house though I rarely have more than 3 or 4 plugged in. But this sounds like such a device would have to be much beefier.
    3. Has anyone tested this with a MacBook to see if wired syncing happens faster? With 128GB iPad Pro, let alone a like 256GB next version, wired syncing speed has pretty much restricting me to doing it maybe once every 5-6 months and then a day or two before I bring a new iOS device into the fold if I’m thinking of a doing a restore. Downloading 50-60 gigs of apps and data via iCloud simply isn’t realistic even with a very faster connection at home.

  27. Jake Olson (@OlsonJake) - 8 years ago

    I think that’s the worst idea ever, how about for people that still connect to their computer? I’d love to know what percentage of consumer computers offer USB type C because otherwise people would need adapters…and Apple would be screwed there because that would be another “money grab”.

  28. Anhanry HU - 8 years ago

    it’s not unfortunately, it’s because Apple intend to sell additional humpback for $99

  29. bedrone - 8 years ago

    $80? I’m fed up with Apple. My Apple loving days are over.

  30. yojimbo007 - 8 years ago

    Video movies and episodes etc should not be mixed with Apple Music…
    Only Video music should…. Apple music is for music and music related content only
    Or we are headed towards the same mess as itunes is now.

  31. charleypick2013 - 8 years ago

    With the new cable and charger I was able to charge my iPad Pro from the red battery indicator to 100% in 2.5 hours. Charging slows as you get towards the end, but that happens with any charger. Nice its charging 2x as fast!

  32. pdixon1986 - 8 years ago

    um…putting usb-C on the ipad and having a usb-c to usb-c would have been ideal… then you could have shared the cable with the macbook (if you have that) and also get faster charging

    I dream of a day when eventually all mobile devices will have one cable — currently it’s lightning to usb, micro usb to usb, usb-c to usb-c, usb-c to usb…and now usb-c to lightning… for the love of God just make it usb-c to usb-c

  33. chopingman - 8 years ago

    Apple should be handing this out for free to anyone that bought an iPad Pro.

  34. davefoster (@davefoster) - 8 years ago

    This charging solution is definitely superior to the in-the-box solution. Clearly the charging process is faster and I suspect that the 100% reached after an overnight charge is somehow “higher”; I watched my normal news videos (Reuter TV, pretty good) this morning and instead of taking the iPad Pro down to 90-92%, it still registered 99% when I was finished. I’ve not seen that before… I agree with the poster (SKR Imaging) who says if the FCC regulatory document specifies a 29W power requirement, then that’s what Apple should provide in the box. If you are going to buy this (and I do recommend it), get the 2 meter cord. The 1 meter cord will disappoint you.

  35. Arnab Ganguly - 8 years ago

    Can I use it for baby iPad pro?

    • mjlavelle - 8 years ago

      You can, but it will not make a difference. The baby Pro uses the same batteries as the rest of the iPads and iPhones, and can not handle the higher current that the Pro is able to use. Save your money.

  36. confluxnz - 8 years ago

    Went to the Apple Store and bought the charger & USB-C to lightning cable yesterday. All I have to say is, thank you Jeff!

    This is an epic charging hack and well worth the ~$100 investment. My iPad Air 2 charged from 0 to 100% in just under 4 hours last night; less than half the time it’d usually take.

  37. Rob Loomis - 8 years ago

    Just got off the phone with Apple asking them about this solution and they said “We do not support that option nor do we recommend it.” Just to make sure I didn’t get a random answer, I called back and got the same answer – “A lot of people are doing that but it’s not supported nor recommend”.

    My question is WHY?!

    • James Wages - 8 years ago

      That would be because Apple doesn’t want their customers deriving too much pleasure from their products. You see, if you are too pleased with your purchase, you will be less inclined to upgrade when the new version comes out next year with that improved feature. (I wish I was kidding, but I am not. I’m disheartened by this truth. I say this as a Mac user since 1984.) But let’s face it, electrically speaking there is nothing wrong with using a beefier adapter. I liken it to putting 1333MHz RAM into an iMac 9,1 (2009) that was designed only for 1067MHz RAM. Apple doesn’t support 1333MHz RAM in that iMac model and therefore neither does online RAM seller OWC, but after reading reports of it working I tried it and found it does work. I use that iMac all the time, and it’s been running fine for all the years I’ve had the RAM in it. So the 12W adapter situation is similar. Apple only supports that silly, underpowered adapter, but that doesn’t mean it is unsafe to use the larger and BETTER adapter. If anyone here has the 12″ iPad Pro, just buy the better adapter and don’t second guess yourself because of Apple’s scary talk. Using it won’t void your warranty and you’ll get faster charging too. Use it an enjoy life. I only wish I could use it on my new iPad Pro 9.7″.

    • mjlavelle - 8 years ago

      I suspect that it has not been announced to the stores yet. This was just announced as an “Oh, by the way….” Item at the Apple WWDC event in June, so it will take a while for it to trickle down. I have been using it since I heard it at the conference, and I can promise that it works, it is extremely fast (Faster charging than any other iPad, and I have had every model), and it does not harm anything. Be sure you buy the Apple cable though. The issue is the MFI chip, and they had to develop one that could handle the 5+ Amps that the 12.9 Pro draws with the 29W adapter. Only Apple has the new high current chip now, and no vendors do. They will use the 2.1 amp chip, and it will burn out. I went through 3 of them before an engineer from one of the companies explained the issue to me.

  38. Francis Guidera - 8 years ago

    Can I use the official Apple USB-C to USB (full size) adaptor and my normal lightning cable instead of having to buy the USB-C to Lightning cable?

    • Kevin Berg - 8 years ago

      It might “work,” but you wouldn’t get the faster charging since the standard cable doesn’t support USB 3.0 or USB-PD.

    • mjlavelle - 8 years ago

      No. The issue is the MFI chip, the one that certifies that it is an Apple licensed or genuine cable. It is wired into the power lines, and it can only handle 1.5 amps. The new USB-C to Lightning cable has a MFI chip that can handle the 5+amps that the Pro will draw. Apple is the only one with these new, high amperage chips, so don’t buy a 3rd party vendor cable. I went through 3 of them before I got an explanation from an engineer at one company. I bought the Apple cable, and have not had an issue since June. It is worth every penny though. You can get a full charge in about 1 hour or less. You can get a full charge from zero to 99% while using the iPad the entire time in about 1.5 hours. Mine died 30 minutes ago. I plugged it in and have been commenting on here for 30 minutes straight, and I am up to 48% already. You can’t do that with the 12W adapter!

  39. David C. Fein - 8 years ago

    I have a bigger issue and question here. The iPad Pro 12.9″ model is the ONLY iOS device that states it has a USB 3 interface instead of USB 2. I purchased the 256GB model, and want USB 3 speed. Well guess what. Apple says there is no cable, nor way to get USB 3 speed… So how about false advertising… And note that the 9.7″ says it only has USB 2. Now… With that said…

    Has anyone tried the USB-C to lightning cable on a MacBook, and does it transfer at USB 3 speeds? Apple claims there is no cable, which again makes me question how they can claim USB 3 without delivering any way to use it.

    Simply stated, there is no way in hell that the iPad Pro will truly stand up to the surface pro who it takes hours to transfer media to it for professional video editing or other work. 256GB and USB 2… I’m frustrated.

  40. Matthew Lavelle - 8 years ago

    I can confirm that this works extremely well, and this is from someone who uses my iPad 10+ hours a day. There is one critical catch here – you have to use the Apple branded USB C to Lightning cable. I went through 3 separate brands of cables, all of which burned out in days. I was contacted by one of the manufacturers after I left some not great feedback on Amazon, and they said that they had never intended for the cables to carry the full 29W / 5.8 amp capacity, because no other Lightning charged device can pull that much current, while the iPad Pro is capable of that and more. I finally bought a genuine Apple cable, and I have had no more issues. It has not burned out, and it charges rapidly, and has already exceeded the lifespan of the other 3 combined by 12X. So to call it critical is an understatement. I also need to point out that none of the other cables burned out completely. It was more of a brown out. They seemed to carry full current for a few days, and then dropped in efficiency almost to the level of the 12W adapter. It his should have been standard issue with the Pro. the engineer I spoke with from one manufacturer actually confirmed that this was probably accurate because of the MFI chip, which would lose current carrying capacity after a few days at such high levels (5.8 amps), but it would not be enough to completely burn through the traces, just reduce their functional size to the point of them only being able to carry 1.0 amps or so.
    tl;dr – only use the Genuine Apple USB-C to Lightning cable, because most brands of aftermarket cables can not handle 5.8 amps for more than a short time.

  41. Brodie Thomas - 8 years ago

    I bought the 30w iClever adapter for $20 and it works just as well as the Apple one.

  42. iosser - 8 years ago

    Laughing at all these super-entitled people. My guess is that the reasons Apple has done what it did are as follows:

    Apple loves consistency and simplicity above all else, and for most people, the convenience of not using two different chargers for their Apple products is worth putting up with slower charging for their biggest iPad. The cost of including a faster charger would have increased the price of the full size iPad Pro for everyone, and many people would have just used their standard chargers instead anyway.

    The way lithum battery chemistry works is that there is an optimal window of charging time. Much too slow and the battery longevity will suffer. And similar for charging that is too quick, but the upper level is also dependent on ambient temperature, as in a hot climate, the battery is more likely to get to a damaging temperature.

    So the reason why they chose not to allow this fast charging for the smaller iPad Pro is probably because it would have been too fast for the smaller battery. And the reason Apple do not officially support fast charging on the large iPad is probably because at the high ambient temperatures in some of their markets, the battery would degrade too fast, as 2.5 hours is on the fast side.

    So the bottom line is that if it’s hot, don’t let your iPad Pro charge fast, otherwise you are degrading your battery. The same principle applies to iPhones which can charge at 2.4A, which is pretty fast for a small battery. Why does this speed principle not apply for the Apple Pencil? Good question, and I’m glad you asked it. My guess is that they put in an oversized battery and we only get to use a small part of it; and they did that because charging speed for the Apple Pencil is paramount for it to be usable, and the battery life when it is showing 100% is “good enough”.

    I haven’t got a 29W charger yet, but I may well do, as I sometimes find I need to take my iPad out with me at short notice, and want it to be charged quickly first. But for me, overnight is mostly “good enough”.

    • mjlavelle - 8 years ago

      Nice theory….. Until you got to the part about it not being officially supported by Apple. They announced it in June at the WWDC. This did not come out of thin air. Also, the delay was to develop an MFI chip capable of handling the higher current. The current ones handle about 1.5 amps. The Pro with the 29W adapter is theoretically capable of 5.8 amps, but it is actually drawing 5 amps. Only Apple has this chip so far, and it has not been developed in the aftermarket yet. If you buy a MFI certified USB-C to Lightning cable from a 3rd party vendor, it will have the standard 1.5 amp MFI chip, and it will burn up in a day or two. I went through 3 cables by 3 different vendors before I got an explanation. I bought the Apple cable, and I have had no issues. It is also wicked fast, faster than any model of iPad or iPhone before now. It seems that it was developed to be charged this way, and that there was a delay in the development of the high current MFI chip, so they just used the largest adapter they could that would be less than 1.5 amps. I suspect that the USB-C charger will be standard or optional with the Pro when the new products are announced in the fall.
      Also, if they had released it with the USB-C, then everyone would be screaming about Apple making all of their cables and 3rd party chargers obsolete, and how they did so because they are greedy, because the concept that USB-A is not capable of delivering that much power would be over their heads. It was a no win situation for Apple, and they chose the one least likely to cause an uproar. Personally, I don’t give a shit, and am glad to have the super fast charging option, and could care less about the cost. There were less complaints about the slow charging than there have been about them announcing the fast charge option. Go figure.
      Finally, I can assure you that Apple does not have a department or a person who is responsible for deciding how to “rip off” their customers. What they do have is great products and a loyal customer base of people who are willing to pay for that quality and the organic end to end delivery of media and integration, which used to be the biggest wish ever for tech fans back in the 90’s. Once Apple delivered it, most jumped on board, and the rest started complaining about the lack of freedom and the locked down ecosystem (which has prevented the proliferation of malware and spyware that the Android App Store is absolutely riddled with. For all of the complaints on here, about 70% of them are Android fanboys trying to stir the pot, and the other 30% are Apple buyers who will continue to buy Apple for the foreseeable future. Maybe 3-5% of those will defect to Android. Every company in the world would sell their soul to get the customer base that Apple has. There are numerous studies and economists and University dissertations dedicated to that very subject. You do not get a customer base that loyal by finding ways to “Stick it to the customers”. Some of their items are overpriced, but they have supported and allowed an open market compete with. Them on all of their accessories. They also found a way to get a small piece of that market through the MFI chip that makes it officially Apple compliant. If they wanted to profit off of sales of chargers and cables, they could have locked that down. In this particular case, the aftermarket did not do their homework and study the Pro’s charging circuitry and realize that there was room for so much more. Now that Apple has announced it, we are simply in a position where Apple is the only vendor that has the accessories we need. In 6 months, this will be a non-issue. Of course, that is assuming that the aftermarket decides that there is enough of a market to do the development needed for something that only works on the iPad Pro 12.9 inch model. There may not be enough to make it worthwhile.

  43. John Willam Fletcher - 7 years ago

    Can you use a iPhone charger on iPad Pro in case you lose your adapter I was told yes and no but only sometimes because it messes up your iPad Pro 9.7 is this true

  44. Kevin Weber - 6 years ago

    Can you use the 29 W Power Adapter and USB-C to Lightning Cable to just plug into a regular iPad (not Pro) and an iPhone 7 phone. I don’t wan to always be unplugging and plugging in devices. Want to know if this will work with older products if I buy it for IPad Pro.

    • mjlavelle - 6 years ago

      Sure, it will work. It may speed up the charging a bit on them, but nothing as dramatic as the change on the iPad Pro 12.9. The other devices just can’t make use of the higher current.

  45. anthotam - 6 years ago

    At this rate, you might as well get a Macbook.

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Avatar for Jeff Benjamin Jeff Benjamin

Jeff is the head of video content production for 9to5. He initially joined 9to5Mac in 2016, producing videos, walkthroughs, how-tos, written tutorials, and reviews. He takes pride in explaining things simply, clearly, and concisely. Jeff’s videos have been watched hundreds of millions of times by people seeking to learn more about today’s tech. Subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube to catch Jeff’s latest videos.