Carrying a charger wherever you go for each and every device can be a bit clumsy. You might wonder whether a single charging brick and cable can be used for all the devices you are carrying.
MacBook Pro is quite a large-sized laptop from Apple and if you are on the go, you might have to use a charger with it. At the same time, if you are using other Apple products like the iPad, it will be difficult to carry a second charger.
In this article, we shall discuss the possibilities of charging a MacBook Pro using an iPad charger so that you can reduce your luggage.
Can you charge MacBook Pro with iPad charger?
Yes, you can charge your MacBook Pro (MBP) with an iPad charger and it will not damage the device in any way. But it may take a lot of time to complete the charge and your charger may also slightly heat up. MacBook Pro has a large battery and it requires a 60W charger to quickly recharge it. While the iPad batteries are charged using a 15W charger, it will take more time to completely charge the MacBook Pro.
If we understand how these chargers work and the charging process of these devices, you can know why you can use an iPad charger for your MacBook Pro.
How does charging work?
All the devices we are using have the technology for charging. Both the charging brick and the device work hand in hand to recharge the device’s battery.
The device you are charging holds a rechargeable battery which must be supplied with certain power to recharge.
But supplying a large amount of current continuously will ruin the battery soon. So, there is a technology that governs the charging cycle of the device and uses a particular method to recharge the device’s battery.
The charging brick used will also have a certain power rating and has the potential to supply the rated power when plugged in.
So, here the device needs a certain amount of power to charge the battery and the charging brick can provide its rated power.
When the brick is connected to the device, the charging technology in the device will start drawing the necessary power from the charging brick. And it is the device that takes care of the whole charging process and the charger is not responsible.
So, even if the charger has mismatched power ratings, the device can draw the required amount of power and complete the charging.
What happens when you plug in the iPad charger to MacBook Pro?
We know that MacBook has a higher power requirement. To charge an MacBook Pro, you need 60W of power and the original charging adapter can provide it easily.
On the other hand, the iPad charger can only provide up to 15W of power. Here a mismatch has occurred. But since the Laptop is going to govern the charging, it will try to get 60W of power from it.
Unfortunately, the charger is just 15W and can produce only that much power. So, the Pro will only be able to use the 15W of power to recharge its huge battery.
Due to this, the charger may slightly heat up and takes a lot of time to complete the charging process.
If you use the recommended charging adaptor, it will take only 1.5 to 2hrs. But if you are using a 15W charger, it will take more than 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs.
Therefore, you can use an iPad charger to charge your MacBook Pro, but you must consider the time delay happening to complete the full charging cycle.
Read: Can you charge MacBook with any USB C?
Pros and cons of charging MacBook Pro with iPad Charger
Pros
- You can take with you a single charger for all your Apple products including your MacBook Pro and iPad.
- It will not ruin the battery life and you can comfortably use a single charger
- It is easy to carry around a single charger for both devices and you can avoid having a large bag wherever you go.
- You don’t have to buy a new charger or at least use the iPad charger until you can get a new charger for your MacBook Pro.
Cons
- First of all, using an iPad charger will take a lot of time to finish charging the device to a 100%
- It is not the best practice to use another charger since it may ruin the charging adapter. You can experience the heating up of the charging adaptor when using the MacBook Pro.
- If any issues occurred with the device, it may not be covered by the warranty due to charging with other device adapters.
- The charging cycle may get delayed and you have to keep on plugging it in till it completes.
- It ruins the portability of the MacBook Pro since you have to keep the charger plugged in for hours till it gets completely recharged.
Read: How do I extend my MacBook Air M1 to 2 monitors?
Is it recommended to charge MacBook Pro with any charger?
It is not recommended to use any charger with MacBook Pro because if any damage happens, it may not cover under the warranty.
Another thing is that using the recommended wattage charger or the official charger of the device will prevent any unexpected damages. It can have a small impact on the battery life.
Using a proper charger can quickly recharge the laptop and you can carry it around easily everywhere you go.
Instead of using an iPad charger with your MacBook Pro, you can use the MacBook Pro charger for all other Apple devices since it can provide the necessary wattage to all of them.
Even if you are carrying multiple devices, you can simply make use of the Mac charger for it and it is better in terms of efficiency and life.
Read: How do I start my MacBook Pro with a dead battery?
Conclusion
If you are owning a bunch of Apple products that use the same interface and want to reduce the number of chargers you are carrying, you can go with an MacBook Pro charger. It can help you charge your MacBook Pro faster and any other Apple device with quick charging. There is nothing wrong with using a single charger for all devices.
