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Modern charging bricks are little computers of their own, packed with circuitry to protect your devices from issues while charging. If you stick to reputable brands, they should be of good enough quality, and that’s partly why we haven’t done any charger reviews for a while.
Matching specifications to your device’s needs is the least part when looking for a new charger, as certification and protection circuitry are more important now that USB Power Delivery is the dominant standard. And aside from paying attention to specifications, look for actual testing of chargers to find which ones measure up to their marketing.
Not every device charger is worth you plugging it into the wall, let alone into your expensive device. Properly designed chargers will also be properly tested and certified, and will output the wattages they say they do.
Anything else is rolling the dice with your devices and your safety. Cheap chargers can fry your device, or in the worst case, set your home on fire. That’s why I try to avoid no-name chargers, and recommend sticking to name brands and the OEM versions if possible. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way, and I don’t want others to go through the pain of losing devices to shoddy charging methods.
Let’s do away with one charging myth off the bat. Plugging your device into a USB charger that’s rated for more wattage is not going to hurt it. That’s because devices negotiate what they draw, the charger isn’t the part of the equation that’s in charge.
Chargers are specified by voltage (V), current (A), and power (W= V x A). USB-C and most mobile devices use a 5–20V range, while USB Power Delivery 3.1 extends that up to 48V (for 240W charging).
However, overvoltage can kill your devices, and that’s why you want good quality chargers with over-voltage protection (OVP). You also want over-current protection (OCP), short-circuit protection (SCP), over-temperature protection (OTP), and under-voltage protection/lockout (UVP/UVLO). Every one of these should be present in a good quality charger, and cheap units often omit one (or more) from the group.
None of the other specifications matter without certification. You want your charger to be certified to USB-C PD (PD 3.1 if 240W), and also mention Programmable Power Supply (PPS) for the best efficiency and heat management. Treat any charger that says a wattage without PD and PPS with suspicion.
You also want to look for USB-IF certification. That’s the logos like above that say the wattage and data transfer speeds, and are often printed on the charger, or the USB connector on cables. Filtering to look for these, especially above 100W, is the easiest way to avoid buying garbage.
GaN stands for Gallium Nitride, a more efficient semiconductor that switches faster and runs cooler, so you get the same charging power but in a smaller package. It doesn’t instantly mean safer, because other design considerations control that, but sticking to known brands is wise for reliability over time.
Whatever the companies want you to believe, GaN is most meaningful above 65W, where you can make multi-port chargers that are small and portable, perfect for traveling or sticking in your bag to charge a PC gaming console and your phone. 15–30W GaN chargers are barely an improvement over the older type, but they might end up being the more affordable option depending on timing.
One of the most important things to watch out for is the specs for total and per-port wattage. This is the one that consistently trips me up, because you might have a 100W charger like the one pictured above, but it’s only 100W if you use one port, while if you use both ports you get 45W each.
Then it’s a case of looking for supported protocols, like the PD version, PPS, etc; safety protections, and certifications from USB-IF (if for USB charger), and regional safety marks like UL.
Anything buzzword-y like random claims of x times faster or AI charging are mostly fluff, and GaN chargers at a small wattage (45W or less) where size and heat were never the limiting factor can be ignored. GaN comes into its own above 65W, where size matters.
The Asus ROG Ally X supports 100W charging speeds, and this 140W USB-C GaN charger realizes that potential.
While you can conceivably use the same USB-PD charger for every one of your devices, it’s good to know the specifics of each category if you want to better match their needs. Having one or two higher power chargers with multiple ports is great for traveling, but limits your charging to a single area when at home, and I like having multiple chargers for everything in case one goes missing.
For laptop chargers, it depends if your laptop uses USB-C or a proprietary connector. If the latter, stick to the OEM charger and buy a spare. I’ve literally been burned by third party ones, and I won’t suggest them anymore.
Other than that, match (or preferably exceed) the wattage of the laptop’s spec. That gives it some headroom in case of power draw spikes and lets the charger work less, creating less heat.
It also needs to support the correct PD/EPR profile for your desired wattage. for example, 20V at 5A for a total of 100W, or 28-48V profiles for 140-240W PD 3.1. And above 100W, the cable choice matters. It must be a 5A e-marked cable rated for 240W, otherwise you could cause damage.
Generally, you want USB-C PD with PPS, to give you the largest compatibility and fast-charging behavior that’s controlled. Qualcomm QC is pretty much phased out of the market, but you might have an older device that needs this one.
If you have a OnePlus or other device with proprietary fast charging, stick to the OEM chargers. Otherwise, you can get almost any charger with 20–45W of capacity per port. Most USB-C cables will be fine under 15W, but for anything higher you’ll want e-marked, properly rated cables.
PC gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck (45W) and ROG Xbox Ally X (65W) are essentially small laptops, and should be treated the same for charging needs. Use PD-compliant chargers and you’ll be fine. Game controllers and headsets are fine with any USB-A or USB-C 5V port from decent chargers.
If you’ve got a Nintendo Switch, stick to the official chargers or ones that are specifically mentioned as compatible, because the charging spec on the first console is a little different to the normal for USB-C. The Nintendo Switch 2 is different, and you can use any charger that follows PD rules correctly.
Speed up slow laptop charging with these tips! Optimize settings, manage apps, and maintain battery health for faster, more efficient charging.
I’m going to repeat this again, cheap chargers aren’t worth it. Stick to brands with good reputations that show real USB-IF logos for higher-power chargers. Anything less, and you run the risk of it coming without essential protection circuits. Size your charger to around 30% to 40% higher than your max power draw, so for a 65W laptop you’d use a 100W charger. This improves reliability and reduces thermal stress.
Cables are another thing to watch out for. We’ve all got a drawer full of old USB cables, and it’s time to throw them out. Especially any that seem to have visible damage or kinks, but starting fresh is probably safer. Stick to decent branded cables for anything under 60W, but for 100W+, you want e-marked 5A cables with visible 100-240W or 240W logos, and they should be from known brands.
While charging, the charging brick is fine if it gets warm. If you can’t touch it because of the heat, or you smell anything funky, unplug it and throw it out. Keep the charger visible while charging, and if you see anything weird like charging dropping out, hear buzzing noises, or anything else, it’s time to replace that charger.
Look, we all love a bargain. Sometimes, that deal comes with strings attached, and buying cheap chargers is one of those times. At best, you’ll get inconsistent charging because it won’t supply the correct amount of power to your device. At worst, it could damage your device or start a fire. It’s not worth the stress. Stick to well-known brands, check for all the safety marks that prove they were tested, and charge things safely even then, because manufacturing processes aren’t infallable.