Chargeasap Zeus 280W: A GaN charger for all of your wants [Review] ★★★★☆ – Uplaza

You could find loads of multiport GaN chargers to assist cost your Apple units on the go. However issues get a bit sophisticated if you would like an influence brick that may quick cost a number of MacBooks directly. Chargeasap solved this downside with its Zeus 280W energy adapter, which the corporate calls the “world’s first and smallest 280W charger.”

So, what makes the Zeus 280W particular? For starters, it might quick cost two 16-inch MacBook Execs directly, a feat that just a few different energy bricks can match. Our assessment will enable you to determine if this 280W powerhouse is value shopping for as a substitute of different GaN chargers.

This publish comprises affiliate hyperlinks. Cult of Mac might earn a fee if you use our hyperlinks to purchase objects.

Chargeasap Zeus 280W charger assessment

Usually, high-end energy adapters can solely put out 100W-plus from one in every of their USB-C ports at a time. As you plug in a number of units, the charger distributes the ability throughout them. The issue with this strategy is if you wish to quick cost units just like the 16-inch MacBook Professional, which requires 140W of energy. Charging at 65W or much less means filling up its battery can take some time. The state of affairs will get much more sophisticated if in case you have a number of MacBooks that you just wish to quick cost directly.

However there’s extra to the Zeus 280W than its spectacular energy output capabilities. Right here’s why I feel the Chargeasap Zeus 280W is the right journey accent and energy brick for professionals.

Desk of contents: Chargeasap Zeus 280W assessment

Design

There’s not a lot to an influence brick’s design. All of them largely look the identical. However when you might have a charger that may crank out energy equal to 4 energy adapters, design performs an essential position. With the Zeus 280W, Chargeasap didn’t reinvent the wheel. As an alternative, it constructed on the design of its improbable Zeus 270W charger — and glued all its weak factors.

Because of its elongated design, the Zeus 280W received’t block different energy sockets subsequent to it. This can be a large annoyance with different large energy bricks, and Chargeasap efficiently circumvented it. Not like the Zeus 270W, the 280W mannequin’s plastic ABS shell has a matte end. This makes it much more grippy, guaranteeing you received’t drop it. Plus, it does a greater job hiding scratches and scuffs, which the charger inevitably will choose up, particularly in the event you take it on the street.

Chargeasap additionally redesigned the charger’s folding prongs and built-in them into the Zeus 280W’s physique. This simplifies the method of attaching (and eradicating) the charger’s journey adapters, that are smaller than earlier than. One other design enchancment: The charging prong now has a panorama orientation, so when inserted into an influence outlet, it received’t seem like the brick is plugged in the other way up.

On the entrance, the Chargeasap Zeus 280W presents three USB-C ports, a USB-A port, and a small OLED display screen that reveals the ability output of every port in use. In comparison with the Zeus 270W, the entrance has been revamped, switching to a panorama orientation for the show. This makes it simple to learn the ability output, particularly because it’s now not a black-and-white panel. Even higher, the show will robotically flip off if there aren’t any units plugged into the Zeus 280W — one other large enchancment over its predecessor.

If you happen to ever used Chargeasap’s earlier energy adapters, you’ll admire these small however essential design refinements. And coming from different multiport energy bricks, you will see that little to complain about. The one draw back is that the charger’s weight elevated to 380 grams versus the Zeus 270W’s 320 grams. That’s nonetheless lighter than carrying 4 energy bricks round, although.

For comparability, Apple’s 140W USB-C charger for the 16-inch MacBook Professional weighs about 277 grams and comes with only one USB-C port. Two of them will simply weigh greater than half a kilogram. So, the Chargeasap energy brick is noticeably smaller and lighter than a pair of Apple chargers, whereas packing extra flexibility and performance.

All the ability you’ll ever want

You could find a number of energy adapters able to fast-charging two laptops directly. However topping up two 16-inch MacBook Execs at full pace concurrently? The Chargeasap’s Zeus 280W is among the many only a few in the marketplace proper now. Its C1 and C2 ports can output energy at 140W individually, with the primary at all times prioritizing full output if greater than two ports are in use.

Beneath is how the Zeus 280W distributes energy throughout its 4 ports:

• C1 or C2 = 140W
• C3 = 100W
• A1 = 65W
• C1 + C2 = 140W + 140W
• C1 or C2 + C3 = 140W + 100W
• C1 or C2 + A1 = 140W + 65W
• C3 + A1 = 15W
• C1 + C2 + C3 = 140W + 65W + 65W
• C1 + C2 + A1 = 140W + 65W + 65W
• C2 + C3 + A1 = 100W + 15W + 15W
• C1 + C2 + C3 + A1 = 140W + 65W + 12W + 15W

As you’ll be able to see, the Chargeasap 280W can output 140W individually from its C1 and C2 USB-C ports. When all three USB-C ports are in use concurrently, solely the primary one places out 140W of energy. On the opposite ports, energy drops to 65W. That’s nonetheless adequate to quick cost your MacBook,  iPhone and iPad directly!

The charger is even able to charging a 16-inch MacBook Professional and two different 14-inch MacBooks concurrently, all at virtually full pace.

Observe that the Zeus 280W doesn’t ship with a bundled 140W USB 3.1 cable. So, to quick cost your 16-inch MacBook Professional, you could use the USB-C-to-MagSafe cable that shipped together with your laptop computer. An everyday USB-C cable helps 100W energy switch.

One other key improve on the Zeus 280W is the bump within the USB-A port’s energy output to 65W, up from 36W on Charegeasap’s Zeus 270W GaN charger. It additionally helps proprietary quick charging requirements from Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus, although the max output is restricted to a paltry 22.5W. Extra importantly, it lacks assist for Xiaomi’s quick charging tech, which, aside from OnePlus, has an even bigger worldwide model presence.

You probably have a Samsung cellphone, the Zeus 280W charger helps PPS, so it might quick cost your Galaxy machine.

I seen the Zeus 280W has no calibration lag in every day use when utilizing C1 and C2 ports. With the C3 and A1 ports, the ability redistribution takes round a second, which is healthier than most different multiport energy bricks. I did discover the charger calibrating the C3 port a number of occasions after I left a cable plugged into the A1 port, nevertheless it was not in use.

Whereas some might dismiss the Zeus 280W’s OLED display screen as a gimmick, it’s one in every of my favourite points of the charger. A fast take a look at the display screen will present you the ability consumption of every linked machine and their charging speeds. And since Chargeasap makes use of a coloration show, it’s simpler to differentiate between the ability output of every port.

Given its compact kind issue and the quantity of energy it might switch, I anticipated the Zeus to get heat. Nevertheless it did worse than my expectations. The charger will get actually sizzling when three or 4 ports are in use. In my testing, temperatures surrounding the OLED display screen reached as excessive as 129 levels Fahrenheit (54C). That’s uncomfortably sizzling, and one thing you may want to bear in mind in the event you stay in a sizzling space.

Pricing

The Chargeasap Zeus 280W prices $219 in america. Whereas costly, that’s solely about 20% greater than shopping for two of Apple’s $99 140W USB-C energy adapters. And with the Zeus, you acquire extra flexibility due to the additional ports. Plus, it’s smaller and lighter, which makes it definitely worth the cash in the event you’re touring.

You received’t discover a higher or comparable providing in the marketplace that may cost two 16-inch MacBook Execs at full pace. So, in case your use case requires topping up a number of USB-C units directly, and also you wish to keep away from utilizing a number of charging bricks, the Chargeasap Zeus 280W is a superb purchase.

Its excessive operating temperature is actually a problem, although, and one thing you should be cautious of when utilizing it in areas with excessive ambient temperatures. The surplus warmth might trigger the charger to fail quite rapidly after extended use.

★★★★☆

Purchase from: Amazon

Chargeasap offered Cult of Mac with a assessment unit for this text. See our critiques coverage, and take a look at different in-depth critiques of Apple-related objects.