Ugreen’s Nexode 140W charger is for 16-inch MacBook Professional trekkers | Digital Noch

These days, I’ve had this concept to construct separate ready-to-go tech backpacks that make me really feel ready for any gadgety scenario. A kind of luggage could be my light-weight pack containing a laptop computer and small Nintendo Swap equipment, minimal cables, a battery financial institution, a mini toolkit, and crucially, one charging brick that may energy any gadget I throw at it.

Ugreen’s 140-watt Nexode charger is a powerful candidate to be that one charging brick. It’s a three-port GaN charger with flip-out prongs and as much as 140W charging for a single USB-C system. Its capability to cost one system at that pace is because of help for the comparatively new Energy Supply 3.1 protocol (or PD 3.1).

The Nexode doesn’t help the tremendous cutting-edge PD 3.2, however Ugreen is sort sufficient to incorporate a 1.5-meter braided USB-C cable that helps future 240W units. However the Nexode does help virtually each different USB-C protocol you’ll be able to swing at it, together with the largely Samsung fast-charging-friendly PPS, Qualcomm’s Fast Cost 4.0 Plus (and three.0 / 2.0), and even Huawei’s SuperCharge (SCP and FCP).

That makes it a very good match for my light-weight backpack as a result of it ought to help virtually any system I would run into on the workplace or elsewhere and be capable to cost a number of units concurrently. I additionally want it to help Apple’s latest 16-inch MacBook Professional, which is considered one of only a few units in the marketplace that helps 140W charging — although you would wish to make use of Apple’s MagSafe 3 to USB-C cable to get that pace.

When it comes to portability, Ugreen says the Nexode is “20 p.c smaller” than Apple’s 140W charger, and it actually appears that method, because the Nexode is nearer to the scale of Apple’s 60 / 61 / 67W bricks. The Nexode is about 3 by 3 by 1.4 inches and weighs about 14 ounces, whereas the 140W Apple charger is greater however lighter, at about 3.8 by 3 by 1.1 inches and about 9.8 ounces.

I examined out the Nexode at full pace with the 16-inch MacBook Professional. Beginning a cost at 33 p.c, it estimated a full cost in 1 hour and 20 minutes. After 31 minutes, the MacBook Professional elevated to 91 p.c and up to date its estimate to 29 minutes till a full cost. The Nexode is quick.

However the pace of the Nexode unlocked one other type of vitality: warmth. This brick obtained virtually uncomfortably scorching. Even our resident laptop computer reviewer Monica Chin was shocked at how heat it felt — and he or she has dealt with a complete lot of charging bricks. I may scent the Nexode — that’s how heat it obtained.

On a second 140W charging check, I discovered the Nexode to get as heat as 124 levels Fahrenheit utilizing an infrared thermometer — and didn’t scent a lot that point. I took the temperature of Apple’s 140W charger, too, which can also be GaN based mostly, and it solely obtained as heat as 99 levels.

Throughout common multi-port use, although, the Nexode didn’t really feel practically as heat. The complete 140W single-device charging is barely attainable when plugging in simply the MacBook Professional (or any PD 3.1 system). Roger Wan, Ugreen’s PR supervisor, informed me that the Nexode is designed to scale back energy to keep away from overheating when the temperature reaches 95 levels Celsius (203 levels Fahrenheit) — and can resume charging as soon as it returns to under 75 levels Celsius (167 levels Fahrenheit).

With a MacBook Professional plugged into port C1 (the one one which helps 140W), I plugged in a pair of AirPods Max into the USB-A port. The MacBook Professional then reported it was charging at 100W, down from 140W. I then plugged in a USB-C Apple Watch charger (the newer technology) and positioned a Sequence 7 Apple Watch on it — which is when the MacBook Professional reported it was right down to 65W charging. I’ve additionally seen when plugging / unplugging units into the charger, that there’s a delay of about 5 to seven seconds earlier than the Nexode redistributes energy.

The extremely energy consumer / video editor would most likely must have a devoted energy brick that doesn’t get interrupted by further units like their smartphone. For my wants, the Nexode serves me nicely. It may possibly even energy a Nintendo Swap dock for TV mode whereas concurrently charging two professional controllers — although it could make the TV display screen go black for as much as 10 seconds when plugging / unplugging.

At Ugreen’s listing value of $149, the Nexode is on the expensive aspect. That sum may get you Satechi’s 200W charger that has twice the quantity of ports in comparison with the Nexode and might help 140W charging with none energy drop-off, alongside with a second 20W system hooked up. (Although we now have not examined this but.) Or you can purchase an additional 140W charger from Apple for $99, which leaves you some cash to purchase a pair extra bricks in your different units.

However as is commonly the case with these sorts of merchandise, the listing value is never what it’s a must to pay to get one. On the time of writing, Amazon is promoting the Nexode for about $90, a way more interesting value that’s additionally cheaper than Anker’s single-port 140W charger. And if the aim is to hold mild with the massive 16-inch MacBook Professional, Ugreen’s obtained a fairly good possibility right here with the Nexode.

Pictures by Umar Shakir / The Verge