It's easy to silkscreen 600W on the product, but can the product live up to the hype? Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
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I test dozens of chargers every year. Some are excellent, while others fall short. Here on ZDNET, I only feature the cream of the crop -- the best of the best. However, I occasionally receive requests from readers asking for my thoughts or opinions on specific products.
Lately, one product that's been generating a lot of buzz is this 600W GaN charger.
Also: This wall charger replaced all of my Bluetooth trackers - and why I'll never travel without it
So, I bought a couple for testing. At $99, they're not exactly cheap, but compared to the Ugreen Nexode 300W unit, which costs $140, they seemed like a bargain. After all, this is an 8-port, 600W charger versus a 5-port, 300W unit.
8 ports -- has to be cool, right? Wrong! Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Red flags
The first red flag for me was the no-name brand -- a generic name I'd never heard of before. Why does this company have 600W chargers on the market, while the big names -- Anker, Ugreen, Belkin, Baseus, and others -- don't? I've heard of and dealt with these companies extensively, and they've built reputations for quality and reliability.
But things went downhill the moment I plugged it in.
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