UGREEN Nexode 500W 6-Port GaN Desktop Quick Charger assessment: A beast

I’ve examined numerous USB-C chargers this 12 months, and whereas there are many nice choices, some nonetheless have a compromise or two. With a tangled mess of protocols and energy ranges, discovering a charger that powers the whole lot optimally remains to be tougher than it needs to be. Attempting to match my Pixel 9 Professional XL’s finicky 37W PPS necessities, or my laptop-grade plug dropping energy the second I wish to recharge my mouse, are simply two of my newest gripes.

In my lengthy search to bypass these fixed pet peeves, I’ve come throughout one other nice entry to think about on your desk — UGREEN’s mammoth new Nexode 6-port 500W. You learn that proper, this factor packs as a lot energy as a washer, certainly way over virtually anybody realistically wants for on a regular basis charging?

Whereas 500W of energy sounds vastly spectacular, can UGREEN’s princely $249 brick again up its energy claims by charging completely the whole lot I can throw at it? I grabbed my trusty USB charger testing tools and a bunch of devices to seek out out.

Nicely, the specs on the again of this breeze block look good to begin with. You’ll discover USB Energy Supply assist at 240W (48V/5A) on the highest USB-C port and 100W (20V/5A) on the opposite 4 USB-C ports — there are not any weak ports right here. Your complete setup will cap at 500W most, although, so you’ll be able to’t run the whole lot at max abruptly. Nonetheless, that’s loads to cost just a few laptops without delay, although I don’t personal sufficient of them to check that.

Extra importantly, different key charging protocols are supported regardless of not being listed on the again. USB PD PPS is the massive one right here, with voltage scaling as much as 20V, which is sufficient to please outlier handsets just like the Google Pixel 9 Professional XL. It’ll fortunately cost no matter iPhone or Galaxy cellphone you throw at it with most energy as properly. In brief: each port right here is beefy, with no low-power throwaways.

UGREEN’s 500W behemoth doesn’t cease there. It helps China’s Common Quick Charging Specification (UFCS) specification at as much as 63W, together with all variations of Qualcomm’s Fast Cost, that means that it might quick cost a a lot wider vary of smartphones and tablets as properly. I hit 45W on the OnePlus 13 — not fairly SuperVOOC territory, however far faster than the 27W or 18W caps on my different plugs. China’s proprietary requirements aren’t supported right here, however UFCS is shortly making them out of date and bringing Chinese language manufacturers nearer to Western mainstays.

You’ll additionally discover Fast Cost, Samsung, Huawei, and Apple quick charging protocols supported on the USB-A port at as much as 20W, guaranteeing that legacy devices high up moderately shortly too.

With six ports in whole, scorching swapping is a typical Achilles heel, however once more, UGREEN handles this properly. After some investigation, it seems that the highest 240W USB-C and USB-A ports are on their very own energy rings, with the 4 100W USB-C ports sharing their very own circuitry. As such, you’ll be able to plug and unplug from the highest, backside, or one of many 100W USB-C ports with out inflicting different connections to drop energy — a small however essential win. If in case you have a number of gadgets linked to the 100W USB-C ports, they may cease and begin when gadgets are linked to different 100W ports, however that is fairly regular habits, and the handshake occasions are fairly fast. No points right here both, then, and the implementation is healthier than some others. It’s a small engineering element, however not having my laptop computer’s energy disrupted simply because I unplugged my cellphone is a large quality-of-life win.

I don’t have sufficient laptops mendacity round to push the Nexode 6-port to hit its 500W restrict. I’d in all probability should borrow half the workplace’s laptops to hit that ceiling. Nonetheless, I’ve no points quick charging a 100W laptop computer, a 40W pill, and 4 flagship smartphones without delay — a exceptional, if not altogether overkill feat. Whereas there are too many ports to hotswap each doable mixture, I didn’t see any energy drops when connecting a number of USB Energy Supply gadgets without delay — the whole lot appears to cost as shortly as it might.

UGREEN’s Nexode 6-port 500W energy brick is the actual deal, then, however there are some caveats to think about. It’s huge, for one, measuring roughly 150 x 119 x 61mm. It’s heavy too. Whereas this isn’t an issue for a piece desk, it’s actually not a conveyable journey companion and would possibly even be too cumbersome for a lounge setup. You don’t wish to put this ingot anyplace youngsters or pets would possibly knock it over, though it claims to have a tip-over detection mechanism to maintain energy and temperatures working safely in such an occasion.

Aside from the sheer dimension and heft, it’s an impressively feature-complete charging setup. No shiny LED lights (although perhaps an on gentle or grasp swap can be good), pleasantly grippy rubber toes, and the removable wall plug are all good touches. Maybe its greatest downside is that eye-watering $250 price ticket. That is actually costly for a charger, even for desktop-bound ones. The Satechi 165W ($119.99 at Amazon), our present finest decide on your desk, prices half as a lot, however you’re additionally getting lower than half the facility and fewer ports. Fortunately, UGREEN has been working some reductions, so in the event you bide your time you’ll be able to decide one up for ~$220 (which is what it’s on the time of me scripting this).

In the event you’re searching for one thing extra compact or inexpensive, UGREEN’s newest fashions have all carried out exceptionally properly in our testing, too. Starting from the cheap Nexode RG 30W ($18.19 at Amazon) proper as much as the Nexode Professional 160W ($119.99 at Amazon), there may be an more and more good vary of choices on the market to assist energy all of your devices with out resorting to this absolute Goliath.

I think UGREEN’s newest desk buddy might be overkill for nearly everybody, together with me. Even with my laptop computer digital camera, pill, and a few telephones on the go day-after-day, I nonetheless haven’t discovered myself needing so many ports and fairly a lot energy abruptly. Nonetheless, it’s arguably the head of what USB-C energy will be and solves loads of my recurring ache factors with the one-size-fits-all connector. Even for a gadget junkie like me, the Nexode 6-port 500W is extra energy than I’ll ever want — nevertheless it’s additionally the final word reply to my long-running USB-C complications, and whereas $250 is loads of change, it is perhaps the final desktop charger you’ll want to purchase for a lot of, a few years to come back.