Snippet: Inside Apple’s Charger and a Risky Phony ☇

Ken Shirriff (via John Gruber):

One safety difference is obvious: the Apple charger has much more insulation. The upper (high-voltage) half is wrapped in yellow insulating tape. Some components are encased in shrink tubing, there are plastic insulators between some components, and some wires have extra insulation. The counterfeit charger only has minimal insulation.

The build quality of the Apple charger is much higher. In the counterfeit charger, some components are visibly crooked or askew. While this doesn’t affect the circuit electrically, it indicates a lack of care in construction.

Although people complain about the cost of Apple’s AC adapters, I’m more than happy paying a little more to not burn my house down. Apple’s USB Power Adapter Takeback Program should also help for those who do have cheap, questionable adapters.