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Charging and power

Charging equipment is judged by its standards rather than its shape: the wattage a port can hold, the protocol it negotiates, and whether the strip protects what is plugged into it. Read the fine print on the ports and most of the range eliminates itself.

A charger is a contract about watts. The headline number is the total the unit can deliver, and once a second device is connected that total is shared, so both get less than the label suggests. What matters is what each port can hold on its own.

Power banks and strips have their own limits: what the battery can deliver, and how much energy a surge protector will absorb before it gives up. Both are stated on the label and both are worth reading before the device is trusted with anything expensive.

What actually decides a purchase here

  • The standard behind the socket, whether USB-C Power Delivery or USB-A Quick Charge, because it sets the fastest speed the device can reach.
  • Per-port wattage rather than the total, since the total is shared the moment a second cable goes in.
  • Whether a power bank can charge a laptop, which needs a high-output USB-C port and enough capacity to be worth carrying.
  • Battery chemistry and age: lithium cells lose capacity over a few years, so check whether the battery is replaceable.

Our picks in this category

USB-C charger plugged into a wall socket

Charging and power

Anker GaN USB-C charger, 65 W

A compact supply that charges a laptop from USB-C without a brick the size of the laptop.

Best for
Anyone who carries a laptop and wants one charger for the laptop, the phone and the tablet.
Watch out for
The 65 W total is shared across ports, so a laptop and a phone on one plug both slow down.
Check price and availability
Power bank and cable on a desk

Charging and power

Anker PowerCore USB-C power bank

A pocket battery sized to refill a phone several times or top up a small laptop once.

Best for
Travel, long days away from a socket, and keeping a phone alive at an event.
Watch out for
Airline rules limit the watt-hour rating allowed in hand luggage, and the label states it.
Check price and availability