My son got his first job recently, and one thing he wanted to get for himself is an Apple Watch. So I helped him pick one out and we got it delivered a couple of days ago.
And that means another step into proprietary charging designs. I was aware that the Watch used inductive charging, so that’s not that big a deal. But it won’t charge on the same inductive chargers we use for our iPhones. Of course not. It’s Apple. It needs to be bespoke to Apple.
And it did come with a charger, so that’s kind of OK. But whats on the other end of that charger? USB C. We don’t have any USB C devices - not on that end anyway. I’ve got a camera that uses USB C, but that’s USB C on the camera side and USB A on the wall wart side. None of my computers have USB C. The MacBook is too old.
Why does a watch need USB C? It’s not like it needs the higher charging rates available with USB C. I don’t think the watch can use more than the 5 amps you can run through USB A. Our iPhones charge up just fine through USB A. And they take a lot more power than a Watch. I suppose the connector is smaller. And it’s reversible. As if smaller matters when you need to plug it in to a wall wart anyway. And the whole world knows how to plug in a USB A connector by now. It’s not like the extra 2 seconds it takes to check the direction of the USB A connector is going to change my life.
So now I have to run out and get a USB C wall wart, just to charge this watch. I have half a dozen USB A wall warts - several of which came with iPhones over the years.
Apple watches can charge just fine on a USB A charger. Apple sells one. USB A chargers max out at 12W. Apple’s USB C charger is 29W, and the spec goes up to 240W.
The benefit of more power is faster charging. Apparently the demand for fast charging is big.
Right. But how much of that extra power can a Watch actually use? I’ve tried looking, but my googlefu is failing me on this one.
I can certainly see the benefit of a USB C charger for an iPad or even a MacBook. But then again, if you’re going to push things up to the 200W range, you’re going to need to plug into a wall. At that point, you may as well get back to the old solution of coaxial power plugs. A device that needs that much power is likely going to be physically large enough to accommodate the extra port. And having separate ports for power and data allows you to use both at the same time.
Like I said, mostly an annoyance that I have to go out and buy another power adapter after spending a few hundred on a watch.
I added a powered USB splitter on my desk, use one of the ports for the Watch charger, found a little rubbery holder so it sets vertical while charging… Another charger we leave loose for tripping, along with various inductive chargers on desk, nightstand, just have to check, be sure they are rented enough to charge. So travel means a bag of cables, chargers, various blocks, some Apple, some others, the only problem we seem to have found was sometimes maybe older worn outlets where the charger doesn’t connect… Seemingly bad cords check out OK in another charger… Little mysteries… Many solutions via Amazon… the longer braid covered cords have worked best… weco
I have exactly the opposite problem. My Apple Watch Series 6 came with a charger that has a USB-A connector. I have a newer MacBook Pro which only has USB-C. I want to charge my Watch from the MacBook Pro. So I bought an adapter.
So, eBay? Sell your charger and buy one like mine. I suppose I should take my own advice and make a similar move, but what I’m doing is working fine for me.
I have the 7 series watch with the magnetic charger and the end that plugs into the wall has the USB C connection so I just bought the block with the USB C plug. I noticed that there is a block with both the old USB plug and the USB C plug in it which would allow me to charge both my watch and phone on one block…doc