I’m going to buy some new charging bricks. I have a bunch of cables that are usbc and usba , my kids have iPads and I’m looking for something to charge an iPad and use both cables. Can anyone recommend one? I saw some no name ones on Amazon that have great reviews, some of them have more than two ports.
I guess I’m also trying to justify buying them. They’re not that expensive. But do I need them? Seems like everything is being charged by USBC now.
Do people buy bricks with more the one port?
I use both the pricey Apple 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter and
Ankor’s, some of which have USB A and C.
The Apple chaergers (the regular and and smaller one) are faster but I’m not in a hurry.
I recommend the Minix multi charge adaptors.
There are smaller models too
Both come with US pins plus adaptors for the UK and EU so work well for travel.
Anker are on my list of recommendations too.
Cheap is not good. Buy quality
For wall chargers, I’m a big fan of the Anker Nano II. 2x USB-C, 1x USB-A, 65W total output. Because I have a few things which, despite having USB-C ports for charging, will only charge on a USB-A port (using at USB-A to USB-C cable).
When I’m out of the house and size/weight isn’t a concern, this Anker power block. FAA-compliant, 2 built-in USB-C cables, one USB-C port and one USB-A. It’ll charge everything I own, including my Thinkpad.
If weight/size is an issue, I have an Anker PowerCore III. 1x USB-C and 1xUSB-A, plus wireless charging.
I don’t mess around with “no name” items here because the consequences of something being poorly constructed or using uncertified/shady components are dangerous.
Some multi-port adaptors will only give full power on one port when more than one port is used.
Don’t necessarily shy aways from designs with legacy USB-A charging ports especially when you already have boat-loads of cables that go from USB-A to whatever else you need (i.e. legacy lightning or micro-usb or USB-C) or especially when you have (legacy) devices that require USB-A to charge.
Decide whether you want the wall-socket prongs to be permanent or retractable. Some chargers with retractable prongs are less stable (more fragile) than others. But of course no one wants to carry a non-retractable prong charger that could poke a hole in the pouch inside their travel bag.
–
JJW
On a related note, I like using a bunch of these to actually see what is happening with USB-C charging.
They are very inexpensive, and the tiny indicator will change as a device finishes charging.
Maybe it is placebo effect, but It sure seems to reassure me that a device is connected and charging more than the built-in indicator in the ipad or phone or other device itself.
I have used a MINIX charger for travel for several years, both domestically and one trip to London. It has worked great. I got it because of a recommendation on the Cortex podcast, where one of the hosts (Grey, I think) said they has used one for many trips. This made me confident in its reliability and safety.
Other than that, I would only go with Apple, Anker, or Belkin chargers. Cheaper ones often skimp on parts; I think David has put up posts or links about scary fire hazard assemblies. A family in our town lost their house because a cheap charger caught on fire. Super-rare? Probably. But super-catastrophic.
Safe and happy charging!
-Eric
Pretty cool. I’m going to get this