In a fresh development, i just realized that I do, and it’s a habit I need to break. Do you still bring your laptop charger with you on business trips?
The report highlights that likewise, a USB-C hub gives me extra ports. But thirty years of covering tech has me treating my laptop charger as an absolute necessity — how else will I get power? I have the option of carrying a mouse, though I can use my laptop’s touchpad for navigation.
As part of the ongoing story, you still need a laptop charger on the road. You just need a better one. That line of thinking is sort of outdated.
The report highlights that i’ve purchased these chargers for my sons as backup chargers, but their real strength is their versatility. They have enough juice to keep laptops, phones, and even a tablet all powered up at the same time. Even if the laptop comes with a proprietary barrel charger (like Lenovo’s most recent IdeaPad does), the vast majority can also charge via USB-C. I recently recapped ten travel gadgets that I either bring on business trips or recommend to others, including this $65 Ugreen 160W Nexode Pro GaN charger.
The report highlights that it’s a little like 2019, when you stopped needing to pay for a third-party antivirus solution, when Microsoft Defender became good enough to protect your PC on its own. Until then, buying an annual antivirus or antimalware subscription wasn’t just a habit, but a necessity. It’s not now. Increasingly, the idea that you need to bring your laptop charger feels like a myth ready to be busted.
As part of the ongoing story, tech industry laptops can be charged via USB-C, but not at the power levels needed to keep the CPU and GPU running at full power during a prolonged tech industry session. I can’t guarantee that even a 240W GaN charger powering a laptop’s 240W Thunderbolt 5 port will be enough to sustain a high-end laptop at peak performance. At that point, you’ll be pulling power from both the charger and the laptop’s battery, slowly draining it. To be fair, there are some cases where you’ll absolutely need to stuff your laptop’s power brick in your bag.
Industry observers note that as a security blanket? Maybe. But it’s just extra weight, and a multipurpose GaN charger simply does more. Still, I’m having trouble justifying why I keep bringing the OEM charger along.
In a fresh development, gaN chargers are basically a “wall-wart” transformer with a plug directly attached, plopping down like a big, ungainly bar of soap on a power strip or wall socket. There’s still one reason I keep a travel power strip handy: the cord length.
Industry observers note that i keep both on hand, so I can take advantage of the power strip’s long cord. I’d also encourage you to consider a GaN charger with a short cord attached, like this $23.99 model. Unlike Ugreen’s charger, I haven’t personally used it, but it might be a superior choice. Add a few cables sprouting from the GaN USB-C charger, and you might end up with a rat’s nest of cables snaking behind a bed or desk.
In a fresh development, a GaN charger offers more power and more ports than your laptop’s included charger, allowing you to keep your laptop, a tablet, and a phone or two running at the same time. Your laptop’s charger is designed to send power to a single device: your laptop.
Industry observers note that yes, your laptop’s charger is free. But in this case, you’re replacing three or four chargers with just one. I recommend Ugreen’s 160W Nexode Pro charger, along with your choice of cables from our list of recommended USB-C cables.
As part of the ongoing story, now, all I need to do is let go and leave that laptop charger at home, where it belongs.
The report highlights that he has authored over 3,500 articles for PCWorld alone, covering PC microprocessors, peripherals, and Microsoft Windows, among other topics. Mark has written for publications including PC Magazine, Byte, eWEEK, Highly adopted Science and Electronic Buyers' News, where he shared a Jesse H. Neal Award for breaking news. He recently handed over a collection of several dozen Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs because his office simply has no more room. Mark has written for PCWorld for the last decade, with 30 years of experience covering technology.