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How Well USB Power Delivery Works Over Thunderbolt 3 for the Apple 15" MacBook Pro (Late 2016) with the Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station with Power Delivery

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To get the fastest charging experience, make sure you connect the Apple 15" MacBook Pro (Late 2016 to the Thunderbolt 3 port on the Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station with Power Delivery that is labeled with the computer symbol.  

To see how fast the Mac charges with this Thunderbolt 3 port, we used the Granite River Labs GRL-USB-PD-A1 test analyzer to record how the Mac charges while the Mac is 32% charged.

As observed after the first few Vendor Defined Messages, the Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station with Power Delivery starts USB Power Delivery negotiations to declare only a single 15 watts (5 volts @ 3 amps) power profile.

Even with the Mac's first request of 0 watts (5 volts @ 0 amps), it still also gets accepted by the Plugable charger.

As the Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station with Power Delivery offers another different power profile of 7.5 watts (5 volts @ 1.5 amps), the Apple 15" MacBook Pro (Late 2016) again decides not to pull any current which the charger also complies. This subsequently leads to the charger communicating Source and Sink Capabilities with the Mac. 

After going through several Vendor Defined Messages of Discover Identity, SVIDs, and Discover and Enter Modes to name a few, we again see repeated power cycle with yet no actual power requested by the Mac.   

This further triggers upon Vendor Defined Messages to adjust voltage and current, resulting in the Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station with Power Delivery to finally offer its full source capabilities of 27 watts (9 volts @ 3 amps), 45 watts (15 volts @ 3 amps), and 60 watts (20 volts @ 3 amps), on top of the initial 15 watts (5 volts @ 3 amps).

Interestingly instead of a proper request, the Apple 15" MacBook Pro (Late 2016) merely implies 'Position=4' which we assume is referring to 60 watts (20 volts @ 3 amps). After accepting this, the Plugable charger can be seen to again request Sink Capabilities which the Mac eventually complies.  

Here we actually verify that the Apple 15" MacBook Pro (Late 2016) only starts pulling current from the first 10 seconds to eventually achieve around 60 watts (20 volts @ 3 amps) of charging starting from a 32% battery level when initially plugged in and switched on.

It's good to see that the Apple 15" MacBook Pro (Late 2016) supports USB Power Delivery well to enjoy the fastest charging with the Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station with Power Delivery through its Thunderbolt 3 host charging port. 

If you want to see how the Mac charges using the dock's other Thunderbolt 3 port (that doesn't have the computer symbol on top), check out this review.

Note the Apple 87W USB-C Power Adapter will still provide the Apple 15" MacBook Pro (Late 2016) with a higher charging level as observed previously.

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