Jin Daily Tech Trivia: Did you know most high-power chargers actually lie about their output?

Jin Daily Tech Trivia: Did you know most high-power chargers actually lie about their output?

People often say Apple chargers are overpriced because they usually have only 1 or 2 ports, while third-party brands pack more ports into a smaller design — and claim the same power output.

But is that really true? Turns out, most of these chargers blatantly mislead you. Those cheap 100W USB-PD GaN chargers with 3 ports can’t actually sustain 100W. In fact, many can’t even hit 100W at all. They overheat quickly and throttle down to 40W — or even as low as 25W — after just a few minutes.

So far, only Apple’s own chargers consistently deliver what they claim. Apple recently released a compact high-power charger for the new iPhone 17, and some people have already received theirs since shipping started early.

The new “40W Dynamic Power Adapter (60W Max)” actually performs really well — it can hold a full 60W charge for nearly 20 minutes before hitting about 62°C and throttling to 40W. In comparison, the Ugreen 65W charger I tested couldn’t even last 3 minutes at 60W before becoming too hot to touch.

Other brands would probably market Apple’s performance as a “65W” or even “100W” charger.

Hopefully, Apple’s new charger and naming scheme will help clean up the intentional confusion in this industry and bring us back to a safer, more honest charging environment.

I hope you learn something new today!! See Ya!!