Fast charging is becoming increasingly important in consumer electronics. Many manufacturers want to revise the charging concept of their devices. Instead of charging once a day, smartphones, for example, should be charged several times a day. A high charging power then ensures that the battery has reached an appropriate charge level again after just a few minutes. Gadget manufacturer UGREEN has a power supply with impressive performance. UGREEN’s Nexode can charge the batteries of smartphones, tablets and notebooks with an impressive 140 watts via USB-C. Of course, you can count the devices that support this much input power on one hand. However, this sounds very promising when it comes to future-proofing. The energy provider also has a USB-A and another USB-C port. Today, we want to take a closer look at whether the promises pay off in practice in the UGREEN Nexode 140W GaN Charger review.
UGREEN Nexode 140W review: Design and workmanship
Connoisseurs should quickly register that the powerful charger comes from the house of UGREEN. This is not only due to the company logo, which the manufacturer places quite presently in the center of the case. The look of the UGREEN Nexode 140W is clearly reminiscent of the Nexode 200W (test). Here, too, UGREEN relies on a classy anthracite that clearly reminds of the popular “Space Grey” color from the Apple cosmos. You can already tell here that UGREEN would like to be seen in combination with a MacBook. Thanks to the matte surface, you don’t have to worry about ugly fingerprints or scratches.
However, connoisseurs will also quickly notice a clear difference to the Nexode 200W. The power plug is located directly on the case. This is extremely practical, because you don’t have to clear a separate space on the desk. All in all, UGREEN convinces with a high build quality. This underlines the manufacturer’s aspiration to evolve from a former low-budget company to a premium brand in the field of charging technology.
It is also quite suitable for everyday use thanks to its compact dimensions of 76 x 76 x 34.5 mm. After all, you should be able to put this power supply in your backpack or bag without any problems. The low weight of 314 g also prevents back pain. I find it a bit of a shame that the connector is fixed to the case. It would be very practical if the power plug could be removed quickly. After all, the power supply would not only be more compact. On top of that, it would offer less contact surface and reduce the risk of damage to the two charging contacts.
UGREEN Nexode 140W review: connectors
The UGREEN Nexode 140W GaN Charger has a total of three charging ports. On the one hand, there is a classic USB-A port. This offers two modern and popular fast charging technologies with Huawei Super Charge and Quick Charge. You can expect a total of 22.5 watts here. There are also two USB-C ports. They offer Power Delivery (PD) and are thus capable of delivering 100 watts of power – a very good rate. However, one of the two ports goes one step further. UGREEN equipped it with the USB PD 3.1 EPR standard. As a result, up to 140 watts are possible with this one. Of course, you have to know for yourself how significant this is for you as a user. After all, only a few devices support such a large input power.
A well-known example is the current generation MacBook Pro. Apart from that, the 140 watts can actually hardly be exhausted – until now at least. Finally, you can of course just think about the future when buying the Nexode 140W. Sooner or later, other devices that support such a high input power will naturally follow. Since the future of USB-C is likely to be secured for many years to come, you have come to the right place. But even without a current MacBook Pro, you will benefit from 140 watts of power. This is also the maximum power of the power supply. If you connect several devices at the same time, the Nexode 140W outputs a total of up to 140 watts – at least in theory.
If you use both USB-C ports at the same time, for example, you get a maximum of 65 watts of output power via both. According to Adam Riese, a total of 10 watts are lost. The total loss is slightly lower when you use all three ports. While the powerful USB-C port outputs 65 watts, the second USB-C port delivers 45 watts and the USB-A port 22.5 watts. The USB-C performance shrinks considerably, but only 7.5 watts are lost. From our point of view, this is acceptable. If you are not a power user, you should be able to cope with that in any case. For everyone else, UGREEN has suitable alternatives in its portfolio with models like the Nexode 200W.
UGREEN Nexode 140W review: Freedom of choice for your smartphone
If you own a modern smartphone with support for Programmable Power Supply (PPS), the UGREEN Nexode 140W is the perfect choice. This modern charging standard ensures that the charging time is effectively reduced. The reason for this is that the smartphone cannot only choose between fixed voltage levels. Instead, the device has a complete voltage range to choose from.
Here, the smartphone, such as a Samsung Galaxy S22, selects exactly the voltage that just provides the highest charging power. This has a huge potential to save time. If you have a smartphone that does not support PPS, this does not mean that it is incompatible with the Nexode 140W. Here, the device charges normally and decides between the fixed preset voltage levels.
UGREEN Nexode 140W review: hands-on test
I left my Apple power supply in the corner for a week and used the Nexode 140W instead. I used it not only as a power supplier for the notebook of the Californian tech company. From time to time, my smartphone, tablet or Bluetooth speaker also found a place on the power supply. It took up no more space in my backpack than my conventional charger from Apple. I consider that a big plus point. Furthermore, the heat development is on a thoroughly normal level. After running the power supply under full load for several hours, I was able to measure a temperature of about 70°C. This hottest spot was right next to the battery. This hottest spot was directly at the USB-C port.
The power supply also fully convinced me in terms of charging time. It scored particularly well with devices from Apple. No matter if Apple iPad Air, iPhone 12 Mini or MacBook Pro. The power supply shone through and through in terms of charging times. If you own a current model of Samsung’s Galaxy S series, you can look forward to extremely fast charging performance of the smartphone thanks to PPS. However, everyone should know for themselves whether the Nexode 140W has to be bought for that alone. After all, it is mainly power-hungry notebooks that the manufacturer obviously wants to feed with a lot of power here. There are certainly more compact solutions for smartphones.
Conclusion
Following a detailed review of the UGREEN Nexode 140W, it is really hard for me to find any negative aspects. The power supply is simply too well designed for that. This already starts with the dimensions. Although it is about the same size as my Apple MacBook power supply with only one USB-C port, it comes with three ports. It also offers up to 140 watts of power. You can either use the USB-C port equipped with modern PPS alone or the sum of all three ports. The latter is accompanied by a small power loss of just under 10 watts. However, 130 watts should be more than enough for most average users, but it is still a bit annoying. Furthermore, I would have liked to see the power plug in a detachable design. That would have made the power supply even more compact and portable. Apart from the small points of criticism, the Nexode 140W is a real no-brainer for all those who are looking for a practical and powerful power supply. You can currently buy it from Amazon for just under 75 euros.
UGREEN Nexode 140W
Workmanship and design
Hardware
Power
Value for money
92/100
The UGREEN Nexode is an excellent power supply with a small flaw.
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