Satechi USB-C Power Meter shows power usage of devices connected to MacBook ports

Satechi has launched its USB-C Power Meter, a device that aims to protect MacBooks from potential damage caused through unsafe cables and accessories, by providing users with accurate readings of power drawn through the connection.

The USB-C Power Meter is a pass-through accessory, with one end plugging into the USB Type-C port on the host MacBook or 2016 MacBook Pro, while the opposite end offers another port used for plugging in the cable, charger, or accessory the user wishes to monitor. On one side is a display that automatically turns on once current is detected, providing details of power transfers between the connected devices.

The display offers users four bits of information about the connection the meter is monitoring. Realtime measurements for voltage and current reveal how much power is being used for the connection, as well as the direction of flow, while the current over time shows how much power has been transferred since the connection was established.

With the data, users can decide for themselves if connected accessories are drawing too much power from the MacBook, and if they are working within manufacturer's expected parameters. This could also be used as a way to find out if a suspect device is counterfeit, if its power usage is wildly outside what the genuine manufacturer claims.

Data is not passed through the Satechi USB-C Power Meter.

While there may not be much in the way of difference between cheap cables and more expensive equivalents, the USB-C Power Meter may assist those wary of using ineffective or potentially dangerous USB Type-C cables with a MacBook. For example, Google engineer Benson Leung discovered as part of his USB-C cable reviews that some manufacturers may not have stringent quality controls, with one miswired $10 cable destroying his Chromebook Pixel.

The Satechi USB-C Power Meter is available to buy from the manufacturer priced at $30.

10 Comments

etowey 1 comment · 9 Years

About 7 years ago

It is available for $5 less on Amazon.

ireland 17435 comments · 18 Years

MB and MBP should really have a sensible way to display battery charge % during charging when lid is closed. How best to show is on a closed computer is anyone's guess, but it's technically possible and imo needed. At the very least they should a tiny light visible only when on, which is amber during charge and green when charged.

r00fus1 65 comments · 8 Years

> 70 percent of the monthly subscription fee, divided based on customer use How would this work? By downloads? Initial downloads? App usage?

ireland said:

MB and MBP should really have a sensible way to display battery charge % during charging when lid is closed. How best to show is on a closed computer is anyone's guess, but it's technically possible and imo needed. At the very least they should a tiny light visible only when on, which is amber during charge and green when charged.

Hear, hear. I miss my old "unibody" MBP which had a button which would show your how many "dots" the battery had. Also the greenlight on the magsafe was pretty useful too.

dcgoo 284 comments · 13 Years

So this device can NOT pass data? So it is useless if the power source is a Display. That makes no sense to me.

macxpress 5910 comments · 16 Years

ireland said:

MB and MBP should really have a sensible way to display battery charge % during charging when lid is closed. How best to show is on a closed computer is anyone's guess, but it's technically possible and imo needed. At the very least they should a tiny light visible only when on, which is amber during charge and green when charged.

Yes they could just do something similar to an iOS device where it just displays a battery in the center of the screen with it filled in depending on how much the battery was charged. It makes the sound now like an iOS device when you plug it in, why not display the battery life on the screen for a few seconds when the lid is opened.

OR

Put a light on the USB C cable and have it blink spending on the charge (and of course it turns amber when its charging and green when charged). They should be able to do something like blink once for 0-25%, twice for 26-50%, three times for 51-75% and four times for 76-100%. Just something so you have some sort of idea how much battery is left.

This would especially be handy for someone like me who never turns their 12" MacBook off. All I do is log out, close the lid and put it in my bag.