Meanwhile, as one of the rare 140-watt power adapters on the market, Apple’s brick is very fast and does the expected good job of recharging the MacBook Pro. However, I have to say that the only power brick in this segment comes with a single port, which feels like a missed opportunity for the Apple ecosystem. For those who need more flexibility, wireless charging options should be considered, although they may not offer the same speeds as wired connectors.
So for anyone looking for a charger that can quickly charge a portable laptop while still having juice left, I choose Razer’s 130-watt GaN adapter. The best charger in this category, and the smallest and most expensive at $180. In addition, it comes with two international wall adapters (for UK and EU stores) and a 100-watt USB-C braided cable, all of which you won’t find on any of the others in this category. If you need a reliable power bank or fast charger on the go, this would be a good investment.
Finish it
Obviously, there are more than just 14 fast chargers on the market, and sadly I don’t have time to test them all. These days, charging a phone from 100 percent to death can take over 15 hours, so depending on the device, I might only test one USB phone charger per day. Just collecting all this data took the better part of two months. And unfortunately, while I was doing this test, Anker came out with a new generation of power adapters that I haven’t had a chance to test yet.
That means there are still other important things to take away. First, to ensure the correct charging speed, you must pay attention to the charging standards of your phone and the fast charger; make sure your charger can provide the right amount of power. Manufacturers often list the device’s maximum charging speeds, while power adapters clearly label their USB types and outputs. And if you are in doubt, you can look at the fine print on the charger itself, although you may have to do some math. Just remember, watts equals volts times amps. In addition, in the case of adapters with multiple ports, you will check to see how their total current is divided when connected to multiple devices.
Then there are other factors like size and weight that you’ll want to consider, with newer gallium nitride (GaN) adapters often having more compact designs and better power efficiency. And if you’re really in doubt, you can simply choose a fast charger made by the same company as your Android phone, iPhone, laptop or other gadgets, something that’s especially true for devices like the OnePlus 10T that include proprietary fast charging. protocols.
How we tested fast chargers
The methodology of my fast charging test is intended to be as straightforward as possible. I drained each device from 10 percent battery, plugged in a power brick and recorded the amount of charge added every 10 minutes per hour. Each adapter was plugged directly into a standard 120-volt outlet (without using a power strip or any extension cords), and if I happened to use the cord that came with the battery charger or made by the same manufacturer as the charger. device. If that wasn’t an option, I used certified 100-watt USB-C cables made by Anker, Apple and others.
Because the charging rate of devices varies depending on how much juice you have, I wanted to measure how well each adapter can match the charging speed of each gadget. Typically, charging is slow between zero percent and 20 percent before the speed increases until the battery reaches 80 percent, at which point things slow down again to protect and maintain the life and longevity of the power cell. For charging stations with multiple ports, I always chose the port with the highest output power when I don’t have multiple devices connected.
As for the devices themselves, I chose Apple iPhone 13, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, Nintendo Switch (launch model from 2017), Dell XPS 13 2021 and 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro. This assortment has been chosen to cover a wide range of specs and power draw from 20 watts (iPhone 13) up to 140 watts (M1 Max MBP). Also, the entire system was tested while idle (i.e. no additional applications or games running) to ensure consistent results.
One important thing to note is that although the USB Implementers Forum has approved support for USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) charging up to 240 watts, adapters that support that power output are not yet available. Additionally, while there are a few cables that can handle more than 100 watts of juice, they are rare or difficult to find.
What is GaN?
If you are looking for chargers, you may see that some are marked as GaN, which means gallium nitride. This is an important difference because, compared to the old adapters that use silicon switches, GaN-based devices support efficient power and output performance, which allows manufacturers to create more compact chargers that work cooler and support higher wattages. Depending on the specific power output, GaN chargers can be 30 to 50 percent smaller and lighter than silicon-based alternatives. That may not sound like much, but when they’re sitting in a bag next to a laptop, phone or any other accessories you may have, reducing bulk and weight can go a long way.
Fast chargers we’ve tested
With so many different chargers of various power outputs to be tested, I’ve divided things into three categories. There are 30-watt chargers and less, designed mainly for cell phones and other small mobile devices. Then we move to 45- to 65-watt chargers (give or take a watt or two) that can handle things like phones and a number of small and light laptops. Finally, we have chargers that put out 100 watts or more, which are perfect for anything but big and power-hungry laptops. Many of these higher wattage adapters also include multiple ports, so you can charge more devices at full speed. However, because not all power bricks support multi-device charging, I didn’t include that as a test metric.
You can see the full list of chargers we tested below:
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