This 160W Ugreen charger is smarter than I anticipated [Review]

There isn’t a scarcity of multiport USB-C chargers with 140W or greater output, however Ugreen’s newest Nexode Professional 160W stands out with its built-in customizable show, compact design (for the ability it could possibly ship), and talent to cost as much as 4 gadgets without delay.

As if that’s not sufficient, the charger even packs Wi-Fi connectivity and helps firmware updates — options I by no means anticipated to speak about in an influence adapter.

Ugreen Nexode Professional 160W: A wiser charging setup

Charging a MacBook Professional, iPhone and iPad from one adapter is handy, but it surely additionally means retaining monitor of how a lot energy every gadget will get. That’s the place a charger’s show can turn out to be useful. The Nexode Professional 160W caught my consideration as a result of it pairs that visibility with a retractable cable — two additions that appear extra helpful day-to-day than Wi-Fi or firmware updates.

Ugreen Nexode Professional 160W Charger with Retractable Cable, 4-Port

Change a number of energy adapters with this four-device charger. It combines a retractable USB-C cable, two USB-C ports and one USB-A port with 160W whole output. A wise touchscreen shows charging info, whereas app assist provides distant controls and firmware updates.

Execs:

• Retractable USB-C cable
• Helpful sensible show
• 160W whole energy output

Cons:

• Throttles after round half-hour of heavy use
• Uneven weight distribution results in sagging

A built-in cable that may energy your MacBook Professional

With a complete energy output of 160W, the Ugreen Nexode Professional 160W can cost as much as 4 gadgets without delay. Its built-in USB-C cable can put out as much as 140W of energy.

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That retractable cable is a boon, because it means you don’t essentially want to hold a separate cable to cost your power-hungry gadgets. Plus, it’s highly effective sufficient to fast-charge a suitable 16-inch MacBook Professional from empty to 50% in round half-hour.

The built-in cable extends to about 27.5 inches (70 centimeters). That’s an honest size, and I didn’t actually have any points with it.

I additionally admire the foldable prongs on the Ugreen Nexode Professional 160W. Regardless of the usage of GaN expertise, it is a comparatively massive charger, particularly with three ports and an built-in retractable cable. The folding prongs make it barely extra compact and simpler to pack.

Contemplating the ability output, built-in cable and display screen, there’s little doubt that Ugreen managed to suit a number of energy and tech into this charger.

A show price having, plus an optionally available app

In actuality, built-in shows on chargers serve no sensible goal. But I nonetheless like them as a result of they present stay energy output, together with the voltage and present. The show on the Ugreen Nexode Professional 160W goes a step additional.

The show isn’t a touchscreen. As a substitute, a small capacitive button under it, above the USB-C2 port, enables you to cycle via the completely different screens, allow Wi-Fi and toggle Bluetooth.

You may customise the display screen with a picture of your alternative. However to do this, it’s good to use the UgreenConnect cell app. The charger helps Bluetooth and a couple of.4GHz Wi-Fi — sure, that is nonetheless a wall charger we’re speaking about.

From there, moreover tweaking the show settings, you may customise energy allocation throughout the ports and select from completely different charging modes. Ugreen even says that the charger can obtain over-the-air updates.

The UgreenConnect app additionally enables you to toggle particular person charging protocols on or off, together with Adjustable Voltage Provide (AVS), which Apple makes use of for quick charging the iPhone 18 Professional.

Is all this tech even essential in a charger? In all probability not. Do I prefer it? Sure.

How the 160W energy output is cut up

Because the title suggests, the Ugreen Nexode Professional 160W can pump out 160 watts of energy. Nonetheless, particular person ports have completely different limits, and connecting extra gadgets means sharing that energy amongst them.

The retractable cable and USB-C1 port every assist as much as 140W of energy output, whereas USB-C2 tops out at 100W. The USB-A port is able to supplying as much as 22.5W of energy.

Right here’s a breakdown of the way it all works:

When all 4 outputs are in use, the retractable cable can present a most of 80W of energy. 

There’s one limitation price highlighting: Utilizing USB-C2 and USB-A collectively limits every port to only 7.5W. To keep away from this, depend on the USB-C1 and the retractable cable to cost your power-hungry gadgets.

In my testing, the Nexode Professional was capable of put out 140W of energy from its principal USB-C outputs. Nonetheless, I did discover the ability output dropping to round 120W after about 25 minutes of steady use. This seems to be thermal throttling to assist hold temperatures in test throughout sustained use.

Whereas this doesn’t have an effect on my use case, it may be a problem if you happen to plan to make use of the Nexode Professional to cost power-hungry gadgets for prolonged intervals.

One small annoyance

My solely grievance with the Ugreen Nexode Professional 160W is the uneven weight distribution. A lot of the heft feels concentrated towards the underside, which causes the charger to sag barely when plugged right into a wall outlet. It’s notably noticeable as a result of the charger already extends fairly a bit from the socket.

I’d want a extra balanced design that sits securely towards the wall, particularly after I pull out the retractable cable.

This minor annoyance apart, I like what the Ugreen Nexode Professional 160W presents. The retractable cable and the show are each sensible and handy to have, whereas the folding prongs make it simple to pack and carry round. The app controls are a bonus, although I discover the concept of updating my charger’s firmware amusing 

Ugreen Nexode Professional 160W Charger with Retractable Cable, 4-Port

Change a number of energy adapters with this four-device charger. It combines a retractable USB-C cable, two USB-C ports and one USB-A port with 160W whole output. A wise touchscreen shows charging info, whereas app assist provides distant controls and firmware updates.

Execs:

• Retractable USB-C cable
• Helpful sensible show
• 160W whole energy output

Cons:

• Throttles after round half-hour of heavy use
• Uneven weight distribution results in sagging

Ugreen offered Cult of Mac with a unit for this text. See our opinions coverage, and take a look at extra in-depth opinions of Apple-related gadgets.

Rajesh has been writing about client expertise for over a decade, with a robust deal with iPhones, Macs and Apple’s ecosystem. He enjoys digging into Apple software program updates, {hardware} adjustments, and discovering new Mac apps that make work quicker and extra satisfying.

You may attain out to him at mail[at]rajeshpandey.me.