Intro
USB-C products are in full swing so far in 2019. Today I have the Aukey USB-C PD charger capable of 18W from this very small cube. Thanks to Aukey for sending it to me to take a closer look at.
Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/5g0ZhkU
YouTube version of this Review:
Specs
- Ports: USB-C x1
- USB-C Output: 5V @ 3A, 9V @ 2A, 12V @ 1.5A
- Power Input: 100V–240V, 50/60Hz
- Size: 1.42 x 1.42 x 1.26 inches
- Weight: 1.5 oz
Packaging
Packaging was very minimal on this charger. It’s a cardboard box with the name and a picture printed on it and it’s literally just protection for the charger, as it’s very small. Inside there isn’t any documentation or anything like that, it’s a charger you don’t need one. One thing worth mentioning is there isn’t a cable included with this charger at all.
Construction
The charger is made from hard gloss plastic. My example here is in black but there is a white model as well. Front edges are 90 degrees but the sides are rounded over. One nice thing to see here are the folding prongs. Not all chargers in this small category feature that. It makes travel easier.
Power
Use Chargerlabs Z-Meter software to show screenshot of power stability and it was pretty good. It varied a little bit at the top end but all within about 0.010 volts. I was able to pull a little over on amperage for short times, but the charger was happiest sticking in the ranges it was designed for. I charged my Aukey powerbank which supports PD and with the killowatt measure 20W easily. My USB-C testing equipment here I am getting figured out, a lot of the manuals and interface are all in Chinese yet so it’s hard to operate. In all this worked out pretty well for charging PD devices under 20W.
Conclusion
While the Aukey USB-C PD 18W charger for me performed well, it’s not the latest and greatest technology on the market or the highest output for it’s size. I would have like to see Aukey use Gallium Nitride technology to increase the power and efficiency on this while reducing the size. Don’t get me wrong this is plenty small and 18W out of this small size is pretty good, especially for the price. This would be a good charger to get if your were looking to replace the stock charger that came with your smartphone or tablet but not expecting a large upgrade, or wanting a more budget friendly pick. You will probably need a higher wattage charger to charge your laptop but if it can trickle charge (Some apple products can) then this will do that too, just expect it to take overnight. In my opinion it would make a good second charger, or office/desk charger to use with most devices.
I have reservations about recommending it for a travel charger because it does only have 1 port, and most people have more than one device when traveling, but it does have folding prongs which some other chargers of this size don’t. So what you gain with folding prongs you lose with overall power.
That said this is a good charger and I think it’s worth considering especially if there happens to be a sale on it at the time. It should work well for phones, Nintendo Switch, iPad, and most powerbanks.
Aukey 18W USB-C Charger pick it up on Amazon https://amzn.to/2F76OGB