Apple’s MacBook Neo doesn’t support fast charging…or does it?

Apple’s MacBook Neo doesn’t officially support fast charging, which is disappointing. With a 20W charging adapter in the box (except in Europe; more on that later), charging times can be quite long.

There is good news for potential buyers, however: if you use a more powerful charging adapter, the MacBook Neo will charge much faster.

Macworld put this to the test by charging the MacBook Neo for 30 minutes with Apple’s 20W USB-C power adapter and with a 96W power adapter. When charged with the more powerful adapter, the MacBook Neo had 30% battery life, compared to just 15% with the weaker 20W brick.

So why doesn’t Apple list the MacBook Neo as having fast charging? This may have to do with marketing, as the company may not want the Neo to cannibalize too many MacBook Air sales. Additionally, Apple defines fast charging as getting 50% of battery life in half an hour, something the Neo is not capable of doing with any charger.

This is great news though, as it means that using a more powerful AC adapter will charge the Neo much faster. Note that the Neo can’t charge faster than around 24 watts, so it doesn’t make sense to go too far with a super-powerful charger.

So what about users in Europe? Well, Apple ships the Neo without a charger in the box (partly because of European Union regulations, and partly because it’s simply cheaper for Apple to do so). This means EU buyers should probably opt for something a little more powerful than a 20W power adapter to get the most out of their MacBook Neo.

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