As consumers, most of us should be aware that buying official chargers and accessories is more about general safety as they protect the well-being of our devices. Using counterfeit ones can affect the integrity of your device’s battery, but as we’ve seen in incidents before, it can also damage property and endanger life. A hands-on inspection of a fake iPad charger by one expert explains precisely why one should proceed with such caution. The main fact is that your official Apple charger is properly insulated, which is integral in ensuring that each component and part runs efficiently and without issue. The counterfeit one, as you may notice, doesn’t offer any proper insulation at all, which leaves it susceptible to burning and other issues. Another fact: the fake one only manages to pump out 5.9W compared to the genuine’s ability for 10W, This means that picking up a cheaper option will result in your iPad taking twice as long to charge to capacity. In all photos below, the genuine charger is on the left, while the counterfeit one is on the right.
Recently Apple seems to be putting the general safety of its consumers over profit, which is surprising it wasn’t seen before for a such a large multi-national tech company. Doing this to mainly combat the overwhelmingly common market of these cheap and nasty products, Apple launched the “USB Power Adaptor Takeback Program” last year. Apple will safely dispose of any charging cable you feel may present safety issues, while also allowing you to pick up an official unit for a fraction of the usual retail price. Good, right? But even though the Takeback Program has been in effect for almost a year now, not all consumers are aware of it. If you don’t want to risk any safety issues popping up in the limits of your own house, you are very much encouraged to take advantage of Apple’s generous offer and grab an official, properly-made connector. More details on the Takeback program can be found on Apple’s official website. More details on the counterfeit charger can be found on Ken Shirriff’s blog. Also be sure to check out Apple’s guide for tips on how to spot fake chargers. The guide is in Chinese, but does offer useful images on spotting fake ones.
