I don't need another USB-C charger.
I know this.
There are chargers beside my bed. Chargers near the sofa. Chargers on my desk. Chargers inside bags. I'm fairly certain there's at least one hiding in a drawer that I haven't opened for months.
And yet, show me a smaller 100W GaN charger with three USB-C ports and suddenly I'm interested.
This makes absolutely no sense.
Welcome to being a gadget geek.
USB-C Was Supposed to Solve This
I remember when charging gadgets was considerably more annoying.
Different phones had different connectors. Cameras had their own chargers. Laptops came with massive power bricks. Buy a new device and there was a good chance you'd add another cable and charger to the collection.
USB-C was supposed to bring order to all of this.
And to be fair, it mostly has.
My phone can use USB-C. My tablet uses it. My Nintendo Switch uses it. Cameras increasingly use it. Power banks use it. Even laptops that once required proprietary power bricks can now often charge over USB-C.
One good charger can potentially power half the gadgets I travel with.
Brilliant.
So why do I own so many chargers?
Because Chargers Became Gadgets
That's my theory.
The humble charger used to be something you didn't think about. It came in the box, you plugged it into the wall, and that was basically the end of the relationship.
Now I actually compare them.
How many watts?
How many ports?
USB-C only, or does it still have USB-A?
Does it support USB Power Delivery?
PPS?
How does it divide power when three devices are connected?
And perhaps the most dangerous phrase for people like me:
GaN charger.
Gallium nitride helped manufacturers make powerful chargers significantly smaller.
Suddenly a charger capable of powering a laptop doesn't necessarily need to look like a brick.
That's when chargers stopped being boring.
65W Was Enough. Then I Wanted 100W.
This is how it happens.
You buy a compact 30W charger for your phone.
Then you realise 65W would also charge your laptop.
Excellent.
One charger instead of two.
Then you discover a 100W charger with multiple ports.
Now you can charge the laptop, phone and power bank together.
Obviously that's better.
Then somebody releases an even smaller one.
Or one with better power distribution.
Or a tiny display showing exactly how much power your devices are drawing.
Do I need to know that my laptop is currently pulling 63 watts?
No.
Do I want to know?
Apparently yes.
The Best Charger Is the One That Makes Me Carry Less
These days, that's really how I judge them.
I'm less impressed by enormous wattage numbers than I am by whether one charger can replace three others in my bag.
For travelling, that's genuinely useful.
A good multi-port USB-C charger means I can potentially leave the phone charger, tablet charger and laptop power brick at home.
Add a couple of decent USB-C cables and suddenly the entire charging setup becomes much simpler.
That's the part of modern charging technology I genuinely appreciate.
The irony, of course, is that I've bought several chargers while searching for the perfect charger that means I won't need several chargers.
Nobody said being a gadget geek had to be financially logical.
USB-C Still Isn't Quite as Simple as It Looks
There's also a reason I hesitate when someone says, "USB-C is USB-C."
The connector might look identical.
The capabilities aren't.
Different cables can support different charging speeds. Devices negotiate different power levels. Some chargers divide their available power differently depending on which ports you're using.
Plug the wrong cable into the right charger and you might wonder why your expensive new gadget isn't charging as quickly as expected.
The universal connector solved one problem.
Behind that connector, things can still get surprisingly geeky.
And perhaps that's why I keep finding chargers interesting.
MY TAKE
I already own enough USB-C chargers to survive a minor electrical emergency.
I don't need another one.
But I also know exactly what's going to happen.
Someone will release a charger that's smaller than mine, delivers more power, handles multiple devices better and somehow weighs 30 grams less.
I'll look at the charger I already own.
I'll look at the new one.
Then I'll say the sentence every gadget enthusiast has used at some point:
"This one is actually better."
And that's probably how another USB-C charger ends up in my drawer.