Delete comment from: Ken Shirriff's blog
Ks. said ... Another area I always wonder about is the need for wall warts vs. building in the adapter into the device itself. The Apple TV, Mac Mini etc., don't have wall wart power supplies but you plug them into 110/220v supply directly. However most other comparable devices (Intel NUC, for example) have wall wart supplies. Why is this?
The products that have an internal supply - Mac Mini, better monitors with a NEMA Plug input, etc. having line voltage input, and a metal case, etc., it must then meet more stringent standards, of: CE, FCC, UL, CSA, etc. which costs tens of thousands of dollars, or multiples of tens of thousands... to be tested and verified that they meet CE, FCC, UL, CSA, etc. standards. Having a jack for a Wall Wart (WW) costs almost nothing in comparison, and while the WW if it is a switcher supply, does need to be certified, usually the cost is borne by another company - the one making the WW. So sets with external WW supplies can be made for half the price or less than that of a set like the Mac Mini. Got it?
Ken great job on the teardown and all that, very interesting! -Steven L. Bender
Oct 24, 2015, 3:14:00 AM
Posted to Apple iPhone charger teardown: quality in a tiny expensive package