14 DAY TRIAL // Tests carried out on Apple’s newest breed of MacBook Pro computers have revealed that they can charge an iPad about as fast as the tablet’s own wall charger, whereas older systems take longer to replenish its battery, or don’t charge it at all.
According to a post by 9to5mac, the previous generation of MacBook Pro laptops shows 500mA as available with another 500mA “Extra Operating Current”.
The new range of notebooks show 500mA as available with an additional 1600mA, which combine to make 2100mA of power - almost the same as the power adapter of the iPad.
Sucking juice from the USB port of your new-generation MacBook Pro will result in less work done with the notebook, but it is reassuring to know that you can charge your iPad any time, any place, in case of an emergency, if you’re not carrying the tablet’s adapter with you.
Over at the Support section of Apple’s website, a few charging tips are dished out for owners of an iPad.
Apple stresses that the fastest way to charge your tablet PC is with the included 10W USB Power Adapter.
The Mac maker assures customers that the iPad will also charge when attached to a computer with a high-power USB port (many recent Mac computers), and even with an iPhone Power Adapter, although more slowly.
“When attached to a computer via a standard USB port (most PCs or older Mac computers) iPad will charge, but only when it's in sleep mode,” says Apple.
“Make sure your computer is on while charging iPad via USB,” reads the tip. “If iPad is connected to a computer that’s turned off or is in sleep or standby mode, the iPad battery will continue to drain.”
Users must also ensure the computer used to charge the iPad is plugged into power and not in standby, sleep, or hibernation mode.
“iPad does not charge when connected to an older accessory that only supports FireWire charging,” Apple outlines.
In such cases, iPad will display an alert: “Charging is not supported with this accessory," the company explains.