Feb 10, 2019, 10:52 am
Last edit by: cheltzel
If you want to use USB C for more than charging, then these two posts are useful: 1 2.
When planning your charger loadout, do note the charger your laptop shipped with is not a requirement, a lower one will be fine. For example, https://9to5mac.com/2018/09/25/60w-u...-all-macbooks/ says
On the other hand, most laptops are not built to use higher wattage even if available. It won't hurt your laptop, though.
Buy chargers on Amazon at your own risk, they are known to commingle stock from every third party sellers. But, the chargers here do not have fakes (yet?) so even Amazon might be safe.
The smallest USB C chargers:
Cabling wise, AmazomBasics and Monoprice is your friend. Do not use female USB C to USB A / micro USB adapters, these are explicitly forbidden by the USB C standard. Male USB C to USB A / micro USB is fine.
When planning your charger loadout, do note the charger your laptop shipped with is not a requirement, a lower one will be fine. For example, https://9to5mac.com/2018/09/25/60w-u...-all-macbooks/ says
the 87W charger filled up my 15-inch MacBook Pro battery more quickly than the 60W charger, but not by very much. After an hour and a half, the 87W charger added 76% battery while the 60W charger added 72%.
Buy chargers on Amazon at your own risk, they are known to commingle stock from every third party sellers. But, the chargers here do not have fakes (yet?) so even Amazon might be safe.
The smallest USB C chargers:
- Mu One. 45W. Comes with UK, US, EU folding plugs. 96 x 55 x 14mm, 82g with the UK plug attached. 3.78 x 2.17 x 0.55 inch, 2.89oz. Manufacturer shop, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N1PK1RP https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07N1PK1RP
- RAVPower GaN 45W : 72 x 54 x 14.9mm / 2.83 x 2.12 x 0.59inch, 75g / 2.65oz. This is a similar charger to Mu One only without the nifty plug heads. It is marginally cheaper, but without the unique multi-region folding plugs it isn't as good of an option for international travelers. Manufacturer shop, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H9WMW6N
- Innergie 60C (nee 55CC): 65W 60 x 30 x 30mm / 2.3 x 1.2 x 1.2 inch, 85g. While much thicker than the previous two, when the socket is hidden in a recess this has a much better chance to fit. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GBYVF4Q Also, a cable is available to charge legacy laptops https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GBYL5KZ only compatible with the Innergie 60C. This makes the Finsix Dart fully obsolete, it started as a legacy laptop charger and a USB C cable was planned and reviewed two years ago but never shipped.
- Satechi 75W: USB C 60W, USB C 18W, two USB A share 12W. 4" x 2.63" x 1", 11.14 oz. Manufacturer shop https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078864F15
- LVSUN LS-PD87-2C sold as Hyperjuice 87W charger: two USB C and one USB A all three share 87W. 4.33" x 3.86" x 0.79", 8.32oz Aliexpress Hyper https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KLWDY9C
- Hyperjuice battery: 27000 mAh USB C 100W, USB C 60W, USB A 18W. 7.2" x 3" x 0.84" / 183.2 x 77.1 x 21.3 mm Manufacturer shop (although it goes through indiegogo, it is not crowdfunding, it's just a shop)
- Maru & Masa Kickstarter: Maru is a 82mm/3.23" diameter bagel, 28mm/1.1" thick, 7.4oz, USB C 45W, USB C 18W, two USB A share 15W, three international AC sockets, nifty interchangeable international plugs. Masa is a battery 80 x 80 x 28 / 3.15" x 3.15" x 1.1" , 11.3oz 18000 mAh, USB C 45W, USB C 15W, Qi 7.5W, kickstand. Promised shipping: April 2019 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...e-yet-powerful
- SuperTank & SuperPort 4 Kickstarter: SuperPort 4 is a 114 x 100 x 24 / 4.5" x 3.95" x .95" charger, weight not disclosed, USB C 100W, USB C 18W, two USB ports share 18W. SuperTank is a 27000 mAh battery w/ lots of features, 4.7" x 2.8" x 1.6", 17oz USB C 100W, USB C 60W, USB A 18W, USB A 15W all ports share 138W Promised shipping: May 2019 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ek-recharge-in
- AlsterPlus Kickstarter: 7.4" x 3.28" x 0.85", 20oz / 568gr, 27000mAh battery with 2 x 100W USB-C + 2x 18W USB-A, lots of features. All ports share 156W.
- Anker Atom PD4. Two USB C, two USB A all share 100W, USB A per port is 12W max. 4.1" x 3.3" x 1.3", 13.5oz. https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Chargin.../dp/B07VSMK849
- MagicFox PD180. This is a DC-DC unit, it takes 12-28V 180W via a 5.5mm x 2.5mm jack or 100W max via USB- C input and provides three ports: USB C 100W, USB C 40W, USB A 40W. Size 3.15" x 2.76" x 0.53", 3.44oz. Possible interesting AC-DC choices: Lenovo 4X20Q88542 at 135W either from Encompass with very long ship times or from Japan via Rakuten, Lenovo-to-5.5mm plug adapter here. 4.65" x 3" x .83", 15.24oz. If that's not enough Razer has a 180W which, AFAIK has the right plug. Notably light at 14.82oz, 5.98" / 152mm x 2.87" / 73mm x 0.93" / 23.5mm. The MagicFox PD180 itself is, so far, China only, I had good experiences with Superbuy as proxy so https://www.superbuy.com/en/page/buy...832086035.html While the MagicFox PD180 itself is cheap, high wattage, quality, lightweight AC-DC adapters are anything but.
Cabling wise, AmazomBasics and Monoprice is your friend. Do not use female USB C to USB A / micro USB adapters, these are explicitly forbidden by the USB C standard. Male USB C to USB A / micro USB is fine.
Outfitting your travel kit for USB-C
Apr 30, 2019, 10:42 pm
#181
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Android Auto worked equally over both USB-A and USB-C ports. Both ports appears to provide the same charging power. Perhaps I'm missing something, but I don't see how using the USB-C port would be beneficial when using Android Auto?
May 1, 2019, 8:08 am
#182
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Thank you for the clarification. I guess I was under the assumption that since it wasn't PD, you were just going to use a regular PD charger to charge your phone in lieu of using Android Auto.
May 8, 2019, 3:46 pm
#183
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,324
Anker released a new usb-c 45W usb-a 15W charger with PD & QC. GaN and 1.2 oz lighter than the Atom 2. Nice if you still need both port types.
https://community.anker.com/t/new-re...eriq-3-0/68915
I did pick up a XCentz USB-C PD 5000 mAh power bank. The usb-c plug is a bit recessed and short allowing a slight wobble/play at the usb-c port. I also find the battery indicator goes from 4-full to 1-low a little too quickly, seeming to bypass 3 and 2 dots. It auto-starts when a device starts to draw current vs an on-off button which means low power devices (ie small LED usb flashlight) will turn off if they don't draw enough current.
Here's hoping Anker releases a light usb-c PD PowerIQ 3.0 power bank.
https://community.anker.com/t/new-re...eriq-3-0/68915
I did pick up a XCentz USB-C PD 5000 mAh power bank. The usb-c plug is a bit recessed and short allowing a slight wobble/play at the usb-c port. I also find the battery indicator goes from 4-full to 1-low a little too quickly, seeming to bypass 3 and 2 dots. It auto-starts when a device starts to draw current vs an on-off button which means low power devices (ie small LED usb flashlight) will turn off if they don't draw enough current.
Here's hoping Anker releases a light usb-c PD PowerIQ 3.0 power bank.
May 22, 2019, 3:39 pm
#184
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https://www.gearmo.com/shop/usb-c-pd...r-hdmi-dongle/ two USB C ports, two USB A ports and also an HDMI port; it's not just charging it's also a USB C hub. Very neat. Uses a "figure 8" socket, add Apple duckhead or similar to avoid a cable.
Jun 10, 2019, 3:44 pm
#186
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https://www.gearmo.com/shop/usb-c-pd...r-hdmi-dongle/ two USB C ports, two USB A ports and also an HDMI port; it's not just charging it's also a USB C hub. Very neat. Uses a "figure 8" socket, add Apple duckhead or similar to avoid a cable.
Sep 8, 2019, 7:34 am
#187
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A startup kit, offering a bundle of 45 and 65W GaN chargers for $66:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/s...iant=control#/
One thing I'd like to know is if any of these chargers would have US power plug prongs which can fricking stay in on theoutlets in planes. Or to plug adapters for US to Europe power plugs.
Do they make the prongs on these chargers extra thin or something? Doesn't help that they fold in when you want them to stay in place.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/s...iant=control#/
One thing I'd like to know is if any of these chargers would have US power plug prongs which can fricking stay in on theoutlets in planes. Or to plug adapters for US to Europe power plugs.
Do they make the prongs on these chargers extra thin or something? Doesn't help that they fold in when you want them to stay in place.
Sep 8, 2019, 10:10 am
#188
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Sep 8, 2019, 10:38 pm
#189
Join Date: Jan 2015
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The grounding prong also helps. I never have problems with plugs which have a third prong. With two prongs, they usually fall out. I've been trying to avoid using a plug adapter as it tends to stick into the area between seats and can easily be bent or broken by my seatmate trying to get out.
Sep 9, 2019, 2:35 pm
#191
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,459
Questionable reliability/reviews though
Almost all of the portable USB type-C hubs, the included female typeC port is strictly for charging, doesn't passthrough data
Sep 9, 2019, 8:18 pm
#192
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A startup kit, offering a bundle of 45 and 65W GaN chargers for $66:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/s...iant=control#/
One thing I'd like to know is if any of these chargers would have US power plug prongs which can fricking stay in on theoutlets in planes. Or to plug adapters for US to Europe power plugs.
Do they make the prongs on these chargers extra thin or something? Doesn't help that they fold in when you want them to stay in place.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/s...iant=control#/
One thing I'd like to know is if any of these chargers would have US power plug prongs which can fricking stay in on theoutlets in planes. Or to plug adapters for US to Europe power plugs.
Do they make the prongs on these chargers extra thin or something? Doesn't help that they fold in when you want them to stay in place.
Sep 10, 2019, 6:28 pm
#193
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A startup kit, offering a bundle of 45 and 65W GaN chargers for $66:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/s...iant=control#/
One thing I'd like to know is if any of these chargers would have US power plug prongs which can fricking stay in on theoutlets in planes. Or to plug adapters for US to Europe power plugs.
Do they make the prongs on these chargers extra thin or something? Doesn't help that they fold in when you want them to stay in place.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/s...iant=control#/
One thing I'd like to know is if any of these chargers would have US power plug prongs which can fricking stay in on theoutlets in planes. Or to plug adapters for US to Europe power plugs.
Do they make the prongs on these chargers extra thin or something? Doesn't help that they fold in when you want them to stay in place.
Sep 10, 2019, 11:40 pm
#194
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My Anker charger with folding plug doesn’t stay in on my type C plug adapter either. It reliably charges but the charger drops down because the plugs are not snug.
Sep 10, 2019, 11:42 pm
#195
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Hmm I don’t know if I can charge my 15 inch HP Spectre via the USB-C. It came with a huge brick so that small charger would be great if it worked.