At a glance
Expert rating
Benefits
- Cables dangle
- 140W PD 3.1
- Bendable pins (US and UK)
Our verdict
This is a good charger with a different approach to port placement that will appeal to those for whom the impact of technology on a home or work environment is important.
Price when reviewed
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Best price today
Price when reviewed
$89.99
Best prices today: Anker 140W 4-port PD 3.1 charger
$89.99
USB-C wall chargers get smaller and cuter every year, but insert a cable into one and it becomes an eyesore sticking out at the opposite end of the wall.
Anker makes many of these mini chargers and a few not-so-mini ones, but its latest creation bucks the trend of ugly, sticky cables by elegantly locating the ports underneath the charger.
The Anker 140W 4-Port PD 3.1 Charger doesn't have a catchy name but solves the aesthetic challenge of the charger cable with its close configuration.
Simon Jary / Foundry
Ports
The bottom four ports are:
- 2x USB-C: 140W PD 3.1
- 1x USB-C: 40W
- 1x USB-A: 33W
Each of the 140W USB-C ports can be used to quickly charge even the high-end 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro and is rated at PD 3.1.
Since the maximum power is 140W, you can't charge two at the same time at that rate. Note that the maximum power is reduced to 134W when charging four devices. Use all four ports at once and you could get 65W from one of the PD 3.1 ports and 45W from the other, plus 12W from the remaining USB-C port and 12W from USB-A.
That's enough for a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air or iPhone and a few other low-power devices.
Find out how it compares to other options in our best iPhone chargers and the best USB-C charger for your MacBook.
Used alone, the older USB-A port packs an impressive 33W of power. While the power is theoretically enough to quickly charge an iPhone, Apple insists that you use a 20W+ USB-C charging port (we recommend 30W+).
Simon Jary / Foundry
Design
The bottom location of the ports is clever, although a little more complicated to insert when the charger is connected vertically to the power outlet.
If your power outlet is on a desk rather than a wall, the ports are located on one side and therefore don't stick out from the top like most chargers. This is once again more pleasing to the eye.
Anker
Constructed from gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor material, the charger is small for a four-port model, but not as small as a single-port tiddler. It's available in silver or gray, and the US and UK models feature bendable plug prongs.
Anker's closest rival would be the Ugreen Nexode Pro 160W 4-Port GaN Charger, with ports on the traditional end.
The Ugreen charger measures 2.76 x 2.76 x 1.3 inches (7 x 7 x 3.3 cm) and weighs 10.7 ounces (303 g). The Anker is very slightly smaller but a bit wider at 2.72 x 2.72 x 1.42 inches (6.9 x 6.9 x 3.6 cm) and weighs less at 9.7 oz (275 g). The UK model is wider due to the larger teeth and therefore a little heavier at 10.4 oz (295 g).
There's little in it, and the Ugreen charger can produce 160W instead of 140W, plus 65W output from two of its ports at the same time, leaving 15W to share between the other two.
The Ugreen charger doesn't have a smart color display like Anker's, which shows a detailed view of charging status, temperature, and port details.
Anker
Price
The Anker 140W 4-Port Charger (PD 3.1) is priced at $89.99/£89.99 and is also available from Amazon and Amazon UK. The rival 160W Ugreen Nexode Pro costs $119.99/£99, so the Anker wins on price.
Should you buy the Anker 140W 4-Port Charger (PD 3.1)?
Choosing between the Anker 4-Port 140W Charger and the Ugreen 160W Nexode Pro will depend on your desire for differently placed ports and perhaps the smart display, unless dual 65W charging is a more powerful attraction .
Once you see Anker's sleek port layout, it's almost overwhelming to see chargers with ports sticking out on one end. To be fair, the old port placement is easier to use if you plug and unplug more frequently, but if you leave the cables in place most of the time, it's an undeniably better-looking charging solution.
This is a good charger with a different approach to port placement that will appeal to those for whom the impact of technology on a home or work environment is important.
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