ONE of the realities of being a modern gaming household is that there are never enough power points, and never enough USB chargers available.
The Mophie Speedport 120 4-port Gallium Nitride (GaN) Wall Charger offers an attractive solution to that issue, being at is heart a 240v to four USB port charger. It offers three USB-C ports and a USB-A port, for a combined power output of 120w.
The top two USB-C ports are rated for 100w each and can run a PC laptop or MacBook, while the one below it is rated for 20w and the USB-A plug is rated for 12w.
Galliun Nitride (GaN) is a new charging technology which uses that material rather than silicon in its construction – resulting in a smaller charger which is more efficient, recharges devices faster, and is simpler to construct.
The practical version is that in something like this, you have a device capable of charging four devices simultaneously in a respectable time, and it’s about the same size as a pat of butter (it measures 8cm high x 8cm deep x 3.6cm wide).
I’ve been testing the SpeedPort 120 with an Apple iPad Pro, an Apple iPhone 13, a Nintendo Switch, an Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650 gaming laptop (review coming soon!), and countless other assorted devices throughout the house from charging banks to electric lamps to smartwatches, and it hasn’t missed a beat.
In addition to the compact size and four USB ports, I also liked the fact it used a figure-eight cable to connect to the power point, as this game me extra versatility on where to locate it, instead of having it awkwardly sticking out of a wall socket or powerboard “as is”.
100W is enough to power and charge a gaming laptop for normal work/internet stuff via USB-C PD, but it’s not enough to keep the battery charged or run a gaming laptop at full spec for gaming. That is not the fault of the charger; though – gaming laptops typically need about 200-300w for use while gaming, which is why the batteries in them don’t typically have more than 90-120 minutes of playtime when doing that.
I have absolutely no complaints at all about the Mophie SpeedPort 120 GaN charger – it works very well, it’s small, it’s incredibly useful, and it’s essentially replaced four USB charger power points in my house with a single device (which only needs one power point).
It would also be extraordinarily useful for travel, being able to provide charging for a laptop, phone, and other small travel gadgets – it’s small enough to easily fit into carry-on baggage and hardly weighs anything.
While the price tag (around AUD$159.95 from Apple, but you can get them a bit cheaper with some shopping around) seems a touch high, it really is a quality, well-made and useful product which I think is worth the outlay – especially if space (or power points) are at a premium for you.
