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Is Apple's USB wall adapter really worth $29?
While Apple is getting more competitive on system pricing, the company's accessories still seem wildly overpriced. For instance, the iOS USB power adapter costs $29, while generic units are readily available through Amazon for under as little as a dollar or two with free shipping. If you needed a new wall adapter for your iPhone, you'd undoubtedly consider evading the infamous "Apple tax." After all, a charger's a charger, right?
Wrong, according to electronics technician Ken Shirriff, who recently dissected Apple's charger alongside some cheaper alternatives. Shirriff's teardowns offer an incredible amount of detail -- much of which is admittedly over our heads -- but the important takeaway is clear enough: Apple's device is of a notably higher quality than off-brand components. This is true in many ways and cheaping out could have very real consequences.
Apple's charger has extra parts and/or design elements that reduce interference with the touchscreen and audio playback, in addition to improving safety. Shirriff said there are strict rules governing the separation of dangerous line voltage and safe output voltage. There's supposed to be 3-4mm of "creepage" and "clearance." Apple's charger exceeds that requirement at 6mm, while the off-brand device has less than 1mm.
"I wondered how this [knock-off] power supply could have met the UL standards," Shirriff said. "It didn't list any safety certifications, or even a manufacturer. I suddenly realized that purchasing the cheapest possible charger on eBay from an unknown manufacturer in China could actually be a safety hazard. Note that this sub-millimeter gap is all that's protecting you and your phone from potentially-lethal 340 volts," he warned.
Apple's adapter is also sturdier. In 2008, the company recalled iPhone chargers with a defect that caused the AC prongs to fall off in the wall outlet. This prompted a redesign that makes the prongs virtually impossible to remove from the charger without destroying it. By comparison, Shirriff used pliers to easily remove the no-name adapter's prongs, noting that they were only held in with friction, and seemingly little friction at that.
Despite the higher quality of Apple's charger, Shirriff acknowledged that its steep price is largely profit. He noted that a very similar Samsung cube charger uses about $1 less in components and retails for as little as $6. Although you'll sacrifice a little quality (more EMI interference and weaker, though perfectly safe prongs) Samsung's offering seems like a great compromise if you can't justify the full $30 for Apple's solution.
Charger component pricing per 1,000 units (Shirriff believes Apple gets even better rates)
- 0402 SMD resistor $0.002
- 0805 SMD capacitor $0.007
- SMD transistor $0.02
- fusible resistor $0.03
- 1A 600V (1J) diode $0.06
- thermistor $0.07
- Y capacitor $0.08
- 3.3uF 400V electrolytic capacitor $0.10
- TL431 $0.10
- 1.5uH inductor $0.12
- SCD 34 diode $0.13
- 2801 optocoupler $0.16
- 1HNK60 transistor $0.22
- USB jack $0.33
- 100uF tantalum capacitor $0.34
- L6565 IC $0.55
- 330uF tantalum polymer capacitor (Sanyo POSCAP) $0.98
- flyback transformer $1.36
- Estimated BOM: $4.66
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User Comments: 38
Got something to say? Post a comment-
Well heck yes it is worth it. 29 is BETTER than 5 bucks online. the 29 dollar one works 24 dollars better! And it has that apple logo, that alone is worth it.
LOL. Fool, meet money, you will both be parted soon.
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for something that I plugged into the wall all the time, a little price to pay is justifiable, especially if you have seen the internals of 2$ china usb chargers. however, genuine usb adapters from htc, samsung, lg, nokia, motorola can be bought for about half the price of apple ones and I believe they're not two times inferior.
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Fool, meet money, you will both be parted soon.
There sure must be a lot of fools out there. Every last one of us will be parted from their money when they are dearly departed. Relative to how long there has been "life" on this planet, this "soon" is a mere blink of the eye.
Wealth is pervasive but the blind mind is oblivious.
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<p>Hard to believe when the "New iPad" had a <a href="http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/pages/New-i</p>
ad-32-GB-4G-Carries-364-35-Bill-of-Materials.aspx" target="_blank" class="externalLink" rel="nofollow">bom of $365</a> at launch and retails for $729, nice margins there...<p><br /></p>
<p>The 16GB one has a BOM of $316 compared to the retail price of $499, that's extremely reasonable when you consider the $316 doesn't include R&D, marketing, licensing, software, wages, support, shipping, etc. Anyway looking at the BOM breakdown isn't even valid most of the time, if you used that analysis on Windows 7 then that should be selling for $5. Relative to the competition, the new iPad blows every other $500 tablet out of the water. Whether $500 is a reasonable amount to spend on a non-essential gadget is another question, but the actual hardware is very reasonably priced. Like I said, it's the memory upgrades and accessories that they milk people on.</p>
Ha
I was going to respond the exact same way.
I got my new ipad for $499. That's a pretty sweet deal in my books!
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I find it quite amusing to see how the Apple brand is connected to its clients ego.
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People should realize that things like EMI are completely ridiculous to talk about when all you are doing is charging a USB device.
All the thing is doing is providing +5VDC over one of the USB pins. That...is....it.
It is unfortunate that people have been duped into believing that its "worth it" because the Apple product has better EMI. That's like saying you would pay $1,000,000 for a carrot because it has fewer green leafs on it. EMI would be a relevant parameter to talk about if the device was supposed to exchange information with a target (rather than just supply it power). The writer has drank the kool-aid.
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I have been using Apple products since I was 3. When I was 20 and had a black MacBook Pro and everyone I knew harassed and made fun of me and my computer...
Then came OS 10 (X). Now my computer had the strongest, most powerful operating system in the world. Unhackable at the time and still the strongest OS available. The PC market is crumbling and you pricks are still trashing Apple.
Apple builds the highest quality consumer products on the market. They pour millions of dollars into R&D and analyze every fine detail that goes into a product. They create industries... Like the smartphone industry, the digital music industry, the tablet industry. All the while you PC Nerd's follow. Do you have a touchscreen phone? Thank Apple for it. Does it have apps? Thank Apple for them. People buy Apple products because they are simple to use and work, everytime. I understand that you PC users are all about complexity in the operating system. You like a challenge... Nobody cares. I spend my free time going on dates and hanging with cute girls. I go drinking with my friends and I make money. Seriously, stop talking shit and get out of the house.
I own nearly every Apple product. They work seamlessly and have never failed me. Not once. Can any of you PC people tell me that you can say the same thing? If it isn't an Apple product, then it is a garbage cheap knock-off of real ingenuity?
I get it. Someone writes a story and people try to be funny or show a little e-attitude by talking sh1t... If you own more than one Apple mobile device, then you already have too many chargers lying around. Apple gives these things away with all mobile products. They cahrge 29$ to off-set the costs of giving them away. You say it costs 6 dollars to make, but I guarantee for every charger they sell, they give away 10,000.
Show me one original idea by another company... Just one and I'll concede. I won't hold my breath though.
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apple created the smartphone industry? LAWL dude give me a break... Palm created the smartphone industry, apple comes along years later and claims innovation Meh... the iphone was nothing more than an iPod touch with a cellular radio and a mic added to it GTFOH fanboi!
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None of that rant had anything to do with justifying spending 29 dollars for a USB charger. Its full of made up numbers and assumptions. The only number that is concrete is the cost of the charger, which is absurd by any measure. You deserve to lose your money to Apple if you believe it's worth it. I'll take the money I saved by and go on "dates with chicks," lol.
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The people buying the $29 Apple charger are just as foolish as the people buying the $2 knockoff and expecting to get a quality product.
If you want to overpay and buy the Apple charger, no one's forcing you to overpay, so go ahead and waste your money. If you want to skimp out and buy the $2 knockoff, no one's going to feel sorry for you when it fries your device.
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Arris said:
Show me one original idea by another company... Just one and I'll concede. I won't hold my breath though.
I'm sure this is taking it a little out of context but this makes it look like you believe Apple are responsible for everything on the planet. Even in technological circles they aren't that big a contributer.
Mouse - Apple took engineers and mouse idea from PARC.
Ipad - Better software and better marketing than the original tablet PCs that came out from Microsoft years before.
Apps - Marketing gone wild (not as entertaining as Girls Gone Wild). Programs installed on a computing device. REVOLUTIONARY!!!!
Iphone - PocketPC/Palm PDA with phone built into it. Reworked concept with better software and marketing. For years I've watched HTC and other companies devices have better hardware and features than the IPhone. Only recently have they stepped up their game. As with any industry if there is little competition there is no need to improve things massively. Just stick and S or G on the end and hope your fans run out and buy almost the same hardware again.
Ipod - This one I actually can't fault. Have owned several myself as well as Sony MP3 players. Even purchased them as gifts for people. Great product, well put together.
Macs - For their specifications they are pricey but having quite a few friends that love them I know that the Apple Care can be good, and the OS is something they like so much more than Windows. Then again another friend who even worked as a Apple mac repairer for a while and owned many of their computers over the years now swears off them, even had a court case against them for not fixing an issue with Geforce graphics cards that were faulty and they sent out in Macbooks (some did, others didn't get them fixed - [link] ). Another friend in videography business recently replaced a mac with a custom built PC as the prices for CS5 certified Macs were many times more expensive for lesser specification hardware. Going to have lovers and haters of anything, regardless how good or bad it is.
I have to say that Apple are an amazing company, both in the quality, style and design of their products. But not so amazing in other areas (patent wars, some crazy markup on products, rubber bumper fix to iphone aeriel, every misleading advert using the excuse of "sequence shortened"
. Not a company that I myself will consider making any major purchase from. -
Iphone - PocketPC/Palm PDA with phone built into it. Reworked concept with better software and marketing.
Apple started development of their Newton platform in 1987, first official release in 1993. Didn't look up Palm/Handspring/PocketPC but I'm guessing they were done after.
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Arris said:Apple started development of their Newton platform in 1987, first official release in 1993. Didn't look up Palm/Handspring/PocketPC but I'm guessing they were done after.
Good point, I had over looked the Newton ("Some electronic engineering and the manufacture of Apple's Newton devices was done by Motorola"
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