Contents
You alone probably don’t need a charger this powerful, but if you work with other creatives in a team, this new GaN charger from UGREEN should probably be on your table for efficient, organized, and safe charging.
Over the past couple of years, UGREEN has released a wide range of both portable and not-so-portable GaN chargers in the market to suit the needs of different consumers and end users. These come in small pocketable forms as well as large desktop chargers for bigger electronics with bigger batteries.
Gallium nitride (GaN) is a semiconductor material that is being used in these new chargers instead of silicon to provide smaller, lighter, and faster charging solutions for different devices. Using GaN chargers provides undeniable benefits such as energy efficiency, fast charging speeds, and various protective features against overheating and damage.
The UGREEN Nexode 500W 6-Port GaN Desktop Charger
The Nexode 500W charger beside a Mac Mini M4
This desktop charger comes in at a whopping 5.74 x 4.51 x 2.39 inches and weighs 1,699 grams. The size is comparable to the usual desktop external HDD hubs but is definitely much heavier. The charger comes in UGREEN’s usual matte metallic gray finish on the sides and a darker matte gray on the front and back panels. The charger stands vertically with all the output ports in the front and a single AC port for 100–240 V input in the back for the supplied 2-meter-long cord.
The front panel has five USB-C ports and a single USB-A port at the bottom. In total, these ports are capable of a maximum of 500 watts output, but the individual ports have different capabilities. The first USB-C port is capable of up to 240 W of output, which can fully power and charge high-power laptops such as the higher-end MacBook Pros or high-power Windows gaming laptops. The second to fifth USB-C ports can simultaneously give out up to 100 W output for less power-hungry laptops, tablets, and phones. Other batteries, such as camera or drone batteries, can also be powered using these ports depending on the compatibility of their specific chargers. The single USB-A port is capable of up to 20 W output for smaller batteries and electronics when needed.
This large desktop GaN charger is equipped with the latest charging protocols such as PD (Power Delivery) 2.0 to 3.1, QC3+, AFC, Apple 5V2.4A, and BCI.2, and provides protection against input over-voltage, output overcurrent and over-voltage, over-temperature, as well as short circuit protection.
Application
This desktop charger would best suit offices or studio workstations where multiple team members work together on multiple devices. This way, users can work without having to bring individual charging bricks and extension cords and keep the workstation tidy. For individual users, this might not be entirely necessary unless they do charge multiple large devices at once. If not, the smaller Nexode 200 W or 300 W chargers might be more than enough for their use.
Package contents
It is important to note, though, that the charger does not come with the high-capacity cables necessary to maximize the ports, so it’s important to double-check the kind of USB-C PD cables being used. Given the large panels on the sides of the charger, it might also be worth considering the addition of charging indicators or even a screen to help users monitor and confirm the power output, as well as be alerted to any charging hazards that might occur.
Altogether, the UGREEN Nexode 500W desktop GaN charger delivers what it promises which is a high-capacity charger and power supply for safe, efficient, and tidy charging.
What I Liked:
-
High-speed, large-output, multi-device charger
-
Capable of simultaneous 100 W charging on 5 ports
-
Tidy and efficient charging
What Can Be Improved:
-
No included optimized cables in the package
-
Possibly add indicator lights or a screen on the side for charging info