Ugreen is widely known in Singapore for producing quality power peripherals at an affordable price, and their 100W GaN Charger is designed with that in mind. The Ugreen 100W GaN Charger has 4 ports, a UK plug, and is currently retailing for S$72.
What is GaN?
GaN is the short for Gallium nitride, which is a new material that’s manufacturers are starting to use for semiconductors in chargers. GaN chargers are special because it produces less heat. Since less heat are produced, manufacturers can put components can be closer together, allowing the size and footprint of the charger to be smaller than the traditional silicon-based chargers.
Design and build quality
As aforementioned, the main perk of a GaN charger is really down to its smaller size. And you can really see it with the Ugreen 100W GaN Charger. It measures a mere 7cm * 5cm *5cm, which is incredibly small for a 100W charger. You can easily hold the charger in one hand. Comparing this to Apple’s 96W USB-C power adapter which is 12.4cm * 12.4cm * 3.1 cm big, and it only has one USB-C port.
The Ugreen 100W GaN Charger is wrapped in a space grey colour plastic that has a nice aluminium finish to it. It feels very solid and well built, and there is a heft to it as well. Despite its small size, it weighs in at 271.5 grams, which is about the same weight as Apple’s 96W USB-C power adapter.
Ports selection
There are a total of 4 ports, 3 USB-C and 1 USB-A. This is extremely useful as you only have to carry around one charger to charge all your devices. Or you can have just one charger taking up one slot on your surge protector. Not all the USB-C ports charges at 100w, only the first two are able to do so.
You can refer to the below table for a quick summary:
| USB-C1 | 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 15V/3A, 20V/5A (100W Max) |
| USB-C2 | 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 15V/3A, 20V/5A (100W Max) |
| USB-C3 | 5V/3A, 9V/2.5A, 12V/1.88A, (22.5W Max) |
| USB-A | 4.5V/5A, 5V/4.5A, 5V/3A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A (22.5W Max) |
Tested charging my MacBook Pro with the different ports and they indeed output the promised wattages.
Performance and safety
Most laptops today can be charged with a USB-C input as long as it supports USB-C Power Delivery. Do note that despite both USB-C1 and USB-C2 being able to output 100W, using both ports simultaneously does not deliver 100W on each port. If you use both USB-C1 and USB-C2, the C1 outputs 65W while the USB-C2 outputs 30W. You can refer to the image below for a quick guide on what power outputs you will get with the different combinations of use:
The Ugreen 100W GaN Charger has safety features such as over-voltage protection and short circuit protection to give you a peace of mind. And if these claims aren’t convincing enough, don’t worry – the Ugreen 100W GaN Charger is also given Safety Mark 211058-11 by the Consumer Product Safety Office of Singapore.
Conclusion
There are many GaN chargers out in the market today, but the Ugreen 100W GaN Charger is a standout simply because of its price. At S$72, it is already considered affordable especially when you compare it to brands like Hyper’s HyperJuice GaN 100W USB-C Charger (S$150). The Ugreen 100W GaN Charger has a compact size and delivers reliable charging performance. The option of 4 USB ports is also a great convenience feature.
Do note that the S$72 price only includes the Ugreen 100W GaN Charger. If you need a USB-C cable, UGreen offers a combo of the charger together with a 2m braided USB-C to USB-C cable for a price of S$77, which means you only pay S$5 for the cable.