Having lived in Australia for almost 40 years, it is hard to imagine not having a car to get around. Particularly with work and kids, getting around in time for all the various activities. It is little surprise that I am always mindful of where I can keep my devices charged up. With the Ugreen 130W USB C Car Charger, I think I just solved one of my biggest problems.
First Impressions
Car chargers are fairly standard looking affairs in general. I have previously reviewed one that is a bit different but much of the push is to go low profile.
The Ugreen is far from the smallest one around. When it is packing three charging ports – 2 x USB-C and 1 USB-A and provides up to 130W of power, you can overlook the little extra bulk.
It’s made of polycarbonate material and feels sturdy. A closer inspection shows plenty of cooling vents near the base where it plugs into the socket.
A blue ring of light goes around the face to show that it is power up. Each port also has a ring of blue light.
Each port is also clearly labelled – a USB-C, USB-A in the middle, then the USB-C 100W at the bottom.
Ugreen has also included a 1m 100W USB-C cable was part of the offering.
In Use
It’s a car charger. It goes into the plug where in another lifetime, a cigarette lighter lives. There is a bit of protrusion out of the socket, and it is to be expected given the power capacity and the need to keep the device cool. The vents I mention earlier are situated just outside of the socket itself.
How did I find the Ugreen 130W USB C Car Charger? It was game changing.
There is always an element of anxiety scheduling my work against the amount of battery life I have on various devices. Planning when and where I can plug in and charge up would be akin to taking a Tesla on a long drive. I am acutely aware of my traveling timing and where power would be available to me.
I frequently carry multiple laptops, and the Ugreen 100W PD port kept me going hours after hours of working on the road. It is not unusual to find me working in the car, or sitting in the open boot if the weather is nice, my office being anywhere that my schedule needs me to be. I can either charge my devices (laptop and two phones as needed) in transit, or in a pinch, idle the car while waiting to keep thing ticking along. The provision of three ports makes things it just that much more useful to me.
When the family is out socially, we have the option to charge three devices at the same time. It certainly stops the kids from complaining when their devices are low on juice.
I mentioned that the USB ports have blue indicators on them. This is immensely helpful to locate the ports in the dark. In my car, the socket is located deep inside the center storage compartment. There is no need to fumble around, or pull the entire unit out just to plug in a cable.
For full disclosure, I did not time how long it took to charge my varies devices, I was actually flat out like a lizard drinking when I was testing the car charger live on some huge workdays and I didn’t have the option of being at a desk. My phone reported it was charging quickly, and my laptop was getting juiced up from 8 to 5.
I threw a bunch of gadgets at it, namely a Pixel 7 Pro, a Pixel 5, a Pixel 2XL, Motorola Thinkphone, as well as a Lenovo X1 and a Dell Latitude and none encountered any issues.
There are some limitations to the output depending on which ports are in use. These are best summarised by the following picture from Ugreen.
Gripes
There’s nothing to complain about, the Ugreen 130W USB C Car Charger is simple, no fuss and just works.
My only little whinge would be that I wish the bundle came with the 90 degree angled USB-C cables instead. It would minimise the potential damage to a standard straight end with a laptop plugged in and a moving car.
Conclusions
My car is 8 years old now, with the typical USB ports of the era that would have just coped with the phones of that era. Now it is almost entirely useless to try charge a modern phone. Rather than throwing the baby out with the bath water, the Ugreen 130W USB C Car Charger is exactly what I needed.
The indicator lights on each port is a nice touch that really highlights their attention to detail.
The Ugreen 130W USB C Car Charger has a RRP of $39.99 from their website, with a 5% discount at time of publishing. It was available on Amazon slightly cheaper at one point.
It is a cheap way to modernise a key requirement in your car and as I said earlier, it has been a game changer for me. Even if you don’t have the same demands I have with working on the road, who doesn’t like being able to fast charge your phone?
DRN would like to thank Ugreen for providing the review unit.
Specifications
Connector Type: USB Type C, USB Type A
Compatible Devices: Tablets, Dashcams, Laptops, Radar Detectors and other car electric appliances, Cellular Phones
Compatible Phone Models: iPhone 14/iPhone 14 Pro/iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 13/13 Mini/13 Pro/13 Pro Max, iPhone 12/12 Mini/12 Pro/12 Pro Max, iPhone 11/11 Pro/11 Pro Max, iPhone SE 3/2/1, iPhone X/XR/Xs/Xs Max, iPhone 8/iPhone 8 plus; iPad, iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad Mini; AirPods Series; MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, MacBook 12-inch; Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra/S22+/S22/S21Ultra/S21+/S21/S20Ultra/S20+/S20/S10/9/8/7/6/5/4, Z Flip 3/Z Fold 3, Note 20/10/9/8, A20/A10e /A52/A51/A50/A70/A71/A80; Huawei Mate Xs/40/30,P40/P30/P20; Google Pixel 6a/6Pro/6/5a/5/4a/4XL/4/3aXL/3a/3/2XL/2/XL/1; Moto G6 G7; Xiaomi 11/10/9/8/MIX FOLD/MIX 4; Surface Go; Nintendo Switch; GoPro 7/6/5; GPS;
Dash camera; Driving recorder; Portable power bank; Car vacuum cleaner and other car electric appliances.
Included Components: 1 x User Manual, 1 x 130W USB C Car Charger, 1 x 1m 100W USB C Cable
Special Feature: With A 3.3 FT 100W USB C Cable, Laptop Charging Compatible, Three Ports PD 100W & PD30W & SCP22.5W/QC18W Car Charger Adapter, Hi-Power 130W USB C Car Charger, USB C Car Charger Fast Charging
Input Voltage: 24 Volts
Product Dimensions 7.77 x 2.39 x 3.56 cm, 45 grams
