Four years ago, the first gallium nitride (GaN) chargers hit the market, delivering 30 watts of power in a plug slightly larger than the 5-watt cubes that Apple used to include with their iPhones, and up to three times faster charging times. Today, Anker announced the third generation of these tiny, powerful chargers with its line of multi-port GaNPrime chargers. Not only will you find higher-watt multi-device chargers than the last generation, but they also now have Anker’s PowerIQ 4.0 built-in, which gives them the ability to dynamically distribute charging capability to the device that needs power the most.
Anker 737 120-watt charger
The ability to distribute power has become increasingly important as more smartphone and laptop manufacturers have started to build in fast-charge capabilities. For instance, you can charge a MacBook Air at 30 watts, but fast charge at 37 watts. And, you can charge a OnePlus 9 Pro smartphone at 18 watts and fast charge at 65 watts. A 65-watt multi-port charger has enough juice to charge both devices, but not enough for both at high speed. This is where Anker’s new GaNPrime chargers with PowerIQ 4.0 make a big difference. If your MacBook Air is at 80 percent and your OnePlus 9 Pro phone is at five percent, the charger knows which one has the lower battery life and will prioritize charging your phone over your laptop. Every three minutes the charger checks in and can readjust power distribution between USB-C ports as needed.
Anker’s GaNPrime line consists of six multi-port products:
- Anker 735 65-watt Charger ($59.99) – 2 USB-C ports (65-watt max port output), 1 USB-A port
- Anker 737 120-watt Charger ($94.99) – 2 USB-C ports (100-watt max port output), 1 USB-A port
- Anker 747 150-watt Charger ($109.99) – 3 USB-C ports (100-watt max port output), 1 USB-A port
- Anker 733 Power Bank ($99.99) – built-in 65-watt charger with 2 USB-C ports (65-watt max port output plugged in, 30-watt max port output on battery), 1 USB-A port, built-in wall-plug and 5,000 mAh battery
- Anker 615 USB Power Strip ($69.99) – built-in 65-watt charger with 2 USB-C ports (65-watt max port output), 1 USB-A port, and one grounded outlet
- Anker 727 Charging Station ($94.99) – built-in 100-watt charger with 2 USB-C ports (100-watt max port output), 2 USB-A ports, and 2 grounded outlets
While 150 watts of charging power may seem like overkill now, you can expect smartphones to continue to support higher-watt chargers. Already, we're starting to see phones capable of charging at 120 watts, like the Xiaomi 12 Pro that can fully recharge in just 18 minutes. And you can bet that companies like Apple and Samsung will continue to leave chargers out of the box, making these high-watt chargers an essential phone accessory.
[Image credit: Techlicious]
For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.
