Do You Actually Need the USB-C GaN Charger for Laptop and Phone UK Buyers Keep Raving About?
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Your laptop charger lives in one bag, your phone plug in another, and there is a third for the earbuds. Anker's 100W three-port GaN plug wants to bin all three. We went through the 100 most recent UK reviews to see whether it is the upgrade your desk needs, or power you will never use.
Most of us are still charging a laptop off one fat brick, a phone off a little cube, and a set of earbuds off whatever cable is nearest. Anker's pitch with the 100W 3-Port GaN charger is simple: one plug small enough for a coat pocket that runs all three at once, with a live screen on the front telling you exactly what each device is pulling.
It costs a fair bit more than the no-name GaN plugs and the basic brick that came with your phone, so the real question is whether the extra ports, the extra watts and that display justify the jump. We read the 100 most recent UK reviews, counted the star ratings ourselves, and lined it up against the chargers you probably already own. Here is where it wins, and where a cheaper plug does the same job for less.
One Brick Instead of Three Chargers
Strip away the screen and the marketing, and the case for this charger comes down to consolidation. You get three ports on one plug: two USB-C and one USB-A. The listing images rate the top USB-C port at 100W, the second USB-C at 100W and the USB-A at 33W, so a laptop, a phone and a pair of earbuds can share one brick instead of hogging three separate wall sockets. The USB-A port is the quiet bonus, handy for the older cable you have not replaced yet.
It is the GaN (gallium nitride) internals that let Anker shrink all that into a body measuring 69 x 55 x 34 mm, which the box rates as 30% smaller than their older 96W charger. The three UK pins fold flat for a bag, and a braided USB-C to USB-C cable is included, just over a metre long according to one reviewer, Frosty, who measured it. Anker's images note you need a 100W-rated cable to reach the full 100W, so having a capable one in the box matters more than it sounds.
For plenty of buyers that pocket-friendly, do-everything shape is the entire appeal. Shishkabob takes it on economy long-haul flights to New Zealand to run 'my laptop, iPad, and iPhone simultaneously' from a single seat socket. Others just want their desk back: one plug doing the job of the laptop charger, the phone cube and a spare, with a port left over. Quin runs two devices off it at once and reckons the time it saves charging 'makes it worthwhile'.
The Screen Nobody Else Bothers to Fit
This is where it stops being just another GaN plug. Most rivals, the UGREEN Nexode range and Apple's multi-port bricks included, hand you a blank box and a blinking hope that it is charging. Anker fits a small touch display that shows live wattage on each port, the internal temperature and which socket is doing what. The images count six screens in all, including a temperature and active-cooling view.
It sounds like a gimmick until you plug something in. Enrico found it 'very handy to work out which one of my iPhone charger cables is actually the fastest', and Chaiwat rated it for spotting a duff lead, since the display flags 'if your cable is faulty' when a device pulls less than it should. Christopher Hibberd used it to check whether his phones were hitting their rated speeds. That is the kind of information a plain brick simply cannot give you, and it is the single feature reviewers bring up most.
Two practical notes from buyers. The screen switches off on its own after about a minute, so it will not light up your bedroom at night, which Zeeshan flagged as a plus. On the flip side, GazH wished it 'stayed on whilst actively charging', so if you like watching the numbers tick, be aware it times out. There is also a smiley face that appears when you plug in, which OhMrFry said gives the charger 'a bit of personality'. The whole display can be rotated to any orientation too, so it reads the right way up whether the plug is high on the wall or down by the skirting board, something Scott and Bleek both liked.
Anker 100W USB-C 3-Port GaN Charger
One pocket-sized plug for the laptop, the phone and the earbuds, with a screen that shows exactly what each is pulling.
When 100 Watts Pays Off, and When It Doesn't
Here is the part the marketing will not tell you: most people charging a phone do not need 100W, and two of the 100 reviewers say so outright. Chaiwat put it bluntly: 'If you're only using this to charge your iphone/samsung, this is overkill and you'll be better off with a 40w/60w charger.' GazH agreed it was 'overkill' for phones and tablets, though he kept it for the display. If your daily routine is topping up a handset, a little Anker Nano or the plug already in your drawer does that job, and it is smaller and cheaper.
The 100W matters the moment a laptop joins in. Andrzej charges a MacBook Pro 'fully in about an hour', drijackson bought it specifically because his new laptop 'requires a 100W charger', and fahad picked it for his Xbox Ally X because the standard 60W adapter is 'bulky'. That is the dividing line: a modern USB-C laptop, a gaming handheld or a power-hungry tablet is where the headroom pays off. A phone on its own is not. For frequent travellers there is a second payoff: it collapses a bag full of bricks into one, which is why Julian Griffiths-Searle calls it 'the only charger I need when travelling around the UK or on long intercity train journeys'.
A few numbers set expectations. GazH read his Samsung gear off the screen at 20W for tablets, 12W for phones and 2W for a watch, so even 'fast' phone charging rarely troubles a 100W ceiling. The sensible way to buy is around your worst day, a laptop plus a phone plus something else, not your average one. If that worst day is still just a phone, keep your money.
What Happens When You Fill All Three Ports
Three ports rated at 100W, 100W and 33W does not add up to 233W on tap. The total budget is shared, and Anker's own screen mock-up shows a three-device split of 60W, 20W and 18W landing at 98W. Plug in a single laptop and it takes the full amount; plug in two hungry devices and they divide it between them.
Reviewers have mapped this out for you. Bleek warns that 'the 1st usb c socket has more power than the 2nd when using both at the same time', so it pays to know which port is which. Vicky J found two high-end phones together could get 'locked at 15w' until she pulled one, and her tip is to 'always use first usb c for the device you want to charge quick'. Christopher Hibberd noticed the slowdown only really bites on 'a 50/50 power draw from both devices'. For a laptop, a phone and earbuds together, most report no drama at all.
Anker's answer to the earbuds problem is a low-current mode. The images show it holding a laptop at 95W while trickling 5W to a low-draw device, switching over automatically once a port sits at or below 5W for a minute. In plain terms, a set of earbuds on the third port will not quietly rob your laptop of charge. It is one of the smarter touches at this end of the market, and not something the cheap plugs bother with.
The Snags Worth Knowing First
It is not flawless, and the 100 recent reviews are candid about where it slips. Heat is the one to watch, though it crops up less than you might fear: two of the 100 flagged it running warm, including ant, whose laptop 'keeps cutting out ever 10mins or so' at 100W, and Tony Wong, who simply said it 'got very hot'. Set against that, Aamir reported 'no heating issues' charging a MacBook Pro and phone together, and Andrzej ran it in 35 degree weather without trouble. Anker's ActiveShield system monitors temperature constantly, according to the listing images.
Weight is the other recurring note. Several buyers call it heavy for its size, and McLaren went further: at three stars, he says it is 'so heavy it almost falls out of the plug socket'. Anker counters with thick, spring-loaded pins meant to grip, shown across its stability images, but if your wall sockets are on the loose side it is worth bearing in mind. One more quirk to log: Kieran cautioned that just after unplugging you should not touch the metal pins while folding them, as 'an electric shock is possible', the sort of static plenty of plugs can throw.
Two smaller gripes round it out. Mark bought the 3-port expecting it to charge his laptop the way his older single-port Anker does, and found it 'wont charge my laptop' with the same lead, so check compatibility if a specific laptop is the reason you are buying. And dcch had a frustrating time registering the 18-month warranty online, with the form rejecting his Amazon order number. Neither is common in the sample, but both are worth knowing before you commit.
So, Should It Be Your Next Charger?
Time for the call. Across the 100 most recent UK reviews the average comes out at 4.83 by our count, with 91 of those 100 at five stars, 96 of 100 at four or five, and only three buyers dropping to two stars or below. That sits right on top of the 4.8 lifetime average across 455 ratings, so the charger being sold today is the same one that built the reputation. We score it 4.5 out of 5.
What keeps it off full marks is not a fault, it is fit: this is more charger than a lot of people need. If a phone is all you ever plug in, an Anker Nano or the cube in your drawer will do it for less. Against a no-name GaN plug, the safety monitoring and that live display are the reasons to pay more. Against Apple's own multi-port brick, OhMrFry sums up the sample neatly, calling it 'far more versatile than the equivalent Apple charger' and 'noticeably cheaper' with it.
Buy it if you charge a laptop, run several devices at once, or travel light and want a single plug for the lot. It is telling that Robin liked his enough to 'immediately bought a second one'. Give it a miss if a phone is the only thing you charge. For everyone in the first camp, this is one of the easiest recommendations in its class right now. You can check the current Amazon listing to see where the price lands today.
Anker 100W USB-C 3-Port GaN Charger
One pocket-sized plug for the laptop, the phone and the earbuds, with a screen that shows exactly what each is pulling.