The USB promoter group the latest specification published from Power Delivery in May last year, but accessory manufacturers are only now supplying products that support it. And it was about time, because 16-inch MacBook Pro users who swear by fast charging are stuck with the included non-travel-friendly brick that only has one USB-C port. Now you can get one with multiple ports, giving you the flexibility to share all that power with a phone, tablet, or even another laptop along with the MacBook Pro.
We haven’t tested these yet, but some USB PD 3.1 multiport charger options include the HyperJuice 140W for $129.99 and the Ugreen Nexode 140W for $149.99. Both chargers have two USB-C ports and one USB-A port for greater flexibility, but only support the max 140W from one specific port and up to 100W from the second, separately. For the USB-A ports, the Nexode can handle up to 22.5W, while the Hyper can handle 30W.
The HyperJuice and the Nexode otherwise seem similar products (even though the Nexode costs $20 more), but they actually behave differently when more devices are connected. For example, if you connect two laptops to the HyperJuice, it can deliver up to 100W to the first device, but only 20W to the second. However, the Nexode distributes the power equally, giving each laptop up to 65W of power.
When all three ports are occupied, the HyperJuice will still push 100W out of the first port, but then the second USB-C and USB-A port will now share the same small 20W pool. That’s fine if your second and third devices are lower-power tablets, phones, or accessories, but if, like me, you’re using an iPhone MagSafe charging puck and an old Apple Watch charger, my iPhone may not be able to fast-charge wirelessly.
Ugreen’s charger distributes the joules in three ways: 65W to the powerful USB-C, 45W to the second and up to 22.5W from the USB-A port. This is certainly a more versatile split, but if your main laptop uses more power, the HyperJuice option might make more sense.
Anker also makes a 140W USB PD 3.1 charger, but like Apple’s, it only has one USB-C port to offer. It also costs the same price as buying the official one at an Apple Store for $100, but the Anker 717 is at least a bit more compact, even if it doesn’t use the company’s slightly more efficient GaNPrime technology. There’s also Anker’s PowerCore 24K portable battery bank that can squeeze up to 140W of power from its cells, although it can’t be plugged into a wall and draws AC power on its own.
This is just the beginning of a new era of compact multiport chargers. They will keep getting smaller and more powerful – but only as we get more devices that require the power. The 2.1 revision of the USB-C PD 3.1 spec (yes, it’s kinda confusing) is capable of delivering up to 240W of power, so maybe power-hungry gaming laptops are the next devices to push that limit.
