The UGREEN Nexode 140W Charger: small but powerful

Tyler Lee
2 years ago

Remember the good old days of the feature phone like the Nokia 3310, where a single charge could last us days on end? These days, smartphones don’t last quite as long and getting more than 2 days on a single charge is quite rare (assuming you don’t use your phone at all).

While there have been many developments regarding battery tech over the years, we’ve yet to see those improvements make it to consumer devices. Instead, what we’re seeing these days is faster charging, where the idea is that even if a phone’s battery is good for a day at most, fast charging will bring it back up to usable levels in a fraction of the time it would normally take.

Now with more handset manufacturers starting to ditch the included chargers in the box, then maybe it’s time to consider third-party alternatives which might actually be better, like UGREEN’s latest charger, the Nexode 140W Charger.

Crazy fast charging

As the name implies, the UGREEN Nexode charger charges at speeds of up to 140W. According to the company, its 140W charger is capable of juicing up computers like Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro from 0-56% in just 30 minutes. This means that in less than an hour, you’ll have a laptop whose battery is now at very usable levels and should be more than enough for you to finish whatever you need to do.

This is useful because sometimes, we don’t really have that much time to sit and wait at a charger, but to get a laptop over 50% in about 30 minutes is very convenient. Go to a cafe like Starbucks, grab a cup of coffee, and you should be good to go.

Size matters

If you take a look at some other high-powered chargers, like those that are typically bundled with laptops, you’ll realize that they can be pretty huge bricks. This is very inconvenient for those on the go because the larger chargers mean less space in your bag and it is also heavier.

With the Nexode 140W Charger, UGREEN has actually managed to make it about 22% smaller compared to other chargers with similar power outputs. This is thanks to the use of GaN technology which we’re starting to see more of these days.

For those unfamiliar, GaN, also known as gallium nitride, is starting to become a more popular alternative to traditional silicon-based components found in many chargers. By utilizing this technology, companies can make chargers that are smaller and also more energy efficient, thus allowing the development of chargers that are small and powerful.

Multiple ports

Speaking of more traditional chargers, most laptop chargers only come with one port and that port is pretty much used to charge your laptop and that’s it. With the Nexode 140W Charger, UGREEN has included a total of three ports. Two of which are USB-C ports, and another is for USB-A for legacy devices that still have a USB-A jack on one end of its cable.

This means that if you need to charge multiple devices on the go, which is usually the case, you don’t need to worry about bringing along multiple chargers. With its triple ports, it should be enough to charge your laptop, your phone, and then an additional device like your wireless headphones, a smartwatch, or a tablet.

There is also an environmental benefit to using the UGREEN Nexode 140W Charger. By supporting multiple devices, it means less chargers need to be produced which ultimately means less electronic waste. Plus like we mentioned earlier, it uses GaN technology which according to UGREEN, produces 4kg less carbon per chip compared to more traditional silicon-based chargers. UGREEN believes that using GaN in its chargers could save as much as 5,503 tons of carbon from going into the atmosphere.

Safety first

One of the concerns of using third-party is safety. We’ve heard and seen so many horror stories of people’s phones exploding or causing electrocutions when using third-party accessories.

But with the UGREEN Nexode 140W Charger, the company has included its Power Dispenser system that can adjust the power output to the device that it is charging. This means that if you have a smaller device that doesn’t support or doesn’t need the full 140W of power, the Nexode charger can adjust the output to protect the battery.

There is also the inclusion of the Thermal Guard system that UGREEN claims will protect the charger from overheating by taking as many as 800 temperature readings every second, thus making sure that its heat never goes beyond the manufacturer’s specifications.

Pricing and availability

If the UGREEN Nexode 140W Charger is something you might be interested in, it’s available on Amazon for $149.99. UGREEN also has several other chargers part of its Nexode series at different power outputs, so if you need something more powerful or less powerful, these are some of the options worth checking out as well:

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