All I need from a charger is for it to work once I plug one thing into it and for it to be handy in order that it matches with my life-style. Once I obtained Anker’s new Prime Charger units, I wasn’t certain at first whether or not any would actually match into my life-style, however I used to be improper.
As soon as I began testing one out, I found it was precisely what my front room was lacking.
Multiport charging
I’m speaking about Anker’s new Supercharged Multi-port Desktop Charging Station, a part of its newest Prime charger vary. It’s a comparatively small, however chunky GaN dock with six USB ports set in a piano black panel and surrounded by a ridged plastic physique. On the underside are 4 rubber toes to maintain it from slipping round, and on the again is a critically thick detachable AC energy lead resulting in the wall plug.
I cost plenty of totally different units usually and have, till now, made do with wall chargers plugged into extension leads and frequently unwrapped nests of USB cables that string throughout the ground whereas frequently forgetting which charger charged which system the quickest. The Anker Prime charging station solved this. It takes up a single plug within the extension lead, however has six ports of various capacity on the opposite finish, with a complete of 200W charging energy unfold throughout them.
There are two USB-A ports and 4 USB-C ports, all with Anker’s ActiveSheild 3.0 energy and temperature protections and its PowerIQ 3.0 expertise. This implies it helps a number of USB charging requirements, together with Qualcomm’s Fast Cost, Samsung’s Quick Cost, and Apple’s quick charging. I can cost a person system at as much as 100 watts. The specification is spectacular, however the motive I warmed to it’s extra about its comfort than its capacity.
Life on the shelf
Extension leads are a ache. They slide round on the ground, they usually imply cables are all the time snaking their means across the room. Mine are additionally inconveniently bundled down by the aspect of my sofa. The Anker charger’s primary energy lead is greater than a meter lengthy, and I’ve discovered a handy piece of shelf area for it in my front room, the place it has modified the whole lot. After I plugged it in, there have been no extra cables on the ground, and I now not needed to crawl round to both discover the proper cable, plug a brand new one in, or tidy them up.
It sits there, taking on little or no area. It’s heavy at 561 grams, although, so it wants a sturdy shelf. I can instantly see what cables are plugged in, which ports can be found, and if the system I need is on cost or not. Resulting from its big energy, I can cost the whole lot I need from it, and it appears to ship the quickest obtainable speeds, too. It expenses my Apple M1 MacBook Air and not using a downside, for instance, which means I don’t need to rely solely on the Apple charging block — I solely personal one — anymore.
Charging requirements are complicated, and I wasn’t certain if the Anker charging station’s PowerIQ expertise would deal with Samsung’s quickest charging system, however the Galaxy Z Flip 6 reveals “Tremendous Quick Charging” on the display screen when plugged into it, indicating it’s utilizing essentially the most quantity of obtainable vitality. I’ve examined this with an older 100W Anker USB-C cable and its new 240W USB-C cable, and each activate Samsung’s quickest charging. It’s the identical with the proprietary charging puck that comes with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, and I do know the charging station works with Motorola’s TurboPower quick charging, as I additionally tried it with the Edge 50 Pro.
Different new Anker Prime merchandise
The Supercharged Multi-port Desktop Charging Station isn’t the one new Anker Prime product popping out. I’ve additionally tried the brand new Prime Wall Charger, which delivers 100W charging throughout a pair of USB-C ports and a single USB-A port. Its folding wall socket prongs and handy dimension make it helpful for journey. Just like the Charging Station, it prompts Samsung’s Quick Charging and Motorola’s TurboPower.
The Anker 14-in-1 Workstation Dock is a much more difficult piece of {hardware} to combine into your life, not like the charging station and wall charger. It’s prone to be a kind of merchandise that immediately solves an issue you might be totally conscious of slightly than fixing one you didn’t know you had within the first place.
Sitting vertically on the desk, the Workstation has two 10Gbps USB-C ports, a single 10Gbps USB-A port, and two 480Mbps USB-A ports, together with two 4K HDMI ports, an Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the prime of the piano black entrance panel is a display screen displaying particulars on what port is charging, how a lot energy is getting used, and the information switch speeds, with screens modified by urgent the top-mounted energy button. The viewing angles are good, and it’s brilliant sufficient to be seen in a well-lit room.
Worth and availability
When can you purchase the brand new Anker Prime charging merchandise, and the way a lot do they price? Let’s begin with the Charging Station, which has been my private favourite and prices $80, or 80 British kilos. It’s expensive for a charger, however contemplating the variety of ports and the facility obtainable, it’s a good worth. The 100W Wall Charger is $85, or 85 kilos, whereas the brand new 240W USB-C cable prices $30 for a 3-foot model or $35 for the 6-foot cable. The 14-in-1 Workstation is a hefty piece of {hardware} for a hefty worth, as it can set you again $250, or 200 kilos.
There’s one other new product within the Anker’s Prime vary that I haven’t seen but. It’s the 250W Prime Charging Station (seen within the picture above), which is sort of a hybrid of the Charging Station and Workstation. It has 4 USB-C ports on the entrance and two USB-A ports on the aspect, with a complete energy output of 250W. On the entrance is a display screen displaying charging speeds and energy outputs, and a knob on the aspect helps you to change between totally different data panels. It prices $170, or 170 kilos. All of Anker’s new Prime charging merchandise can be found on Amazon beginning at the moment.
Downside solvers
Anker’s new Prime {hardware} has one other widespread theme working throughout all of them, and that’s the standard really feel. Every product I’ve tried feels very substantial, with loads of reassuring weight and hard-wearing plastic, together with stable cable connections for confidence. The 24-month guarantee solely provides to this sense of getting a superb product that the corporate believes in.
Chargers and workstations aren’t all that thrilling, however for me, the Charging Station has simply match into my life and solved an issue I hadn’t actually considered till now. It turned a state of affairs I took as a right as “the best way it’s” and made it much less of a ache, and since the {hardware} isn’t ugly or low cost, I can fortunately reside with it on present in my front room.
I’ll take that form of comfort over pleasure, and I’m now considering methods to make good use of the much more technically spectacular Workstation after this success.
