REVIEW – It can be a challenge to daily charge my phone and watch, sometimes my iPad and / or headphones, as well as the occasional charging of a power bank. While this is a lot easier now that most things charge with USB-C, it can take a handful of bricks and a bunch of cables. While the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger does not solve the cable problem, it most definitely solves the brick problem. Read on as I reveal some of the real-world advantages of the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger.
What is it?
The VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger uses GaN technology to provide a single 240-Watt USB power brick, which provides 4 USB-C ports and 2 USB-A ports for the powering / charging of a sea of USB-powered electronic devices.
What’s included?
- VOLTME 240 Desktop Charger – In black, available also in white
- A/C Power Cable
- 100 W 1.2 Meter USB-C Cable
- Storage Pouch
- User Manual
The best way to describe the packaging of the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger is to simply say that it is Applesque, if that is an actual word. Lots of color in the packaging and clever presentation of each item of the product.
Design and features
It probably makes the most sense to start with the main feature of the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger, and aside from the ability to deliver 240-Watts of power, it is that it has been designed on the tried-and-true GaN (Gallium Nitride) platform. There are a handful of advantages to using GaN over Silicon, primarily reduced size and weight, better efficiency, support for faster charging and increased durability and longevity afforded by the increased robustness and heat-resistance compared to the silicon-based counterpart.
The VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger provides 4 USB-C ports, which are interchangeable, in that any USB-C port can deliver 140W via PD 3.1, if you have a cable that can handle that and a device capable of accepting it.
In addition, the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger has two USB-A ports capable of delivering 18W each.
There is, for lack of a better phrase, a Power Distribution Matrix, illustrated in the product’s packaging and repeated here for convenience.
As one can see, the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger is very flexible in how it can deliver power up to a maximum of 6 connected devices.
While the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger does not ship with a 140W USB-C cable, it does ship with a 100W USB-C cable. This cable is a very nice, high-quality feeling cable as it is braided and has a tiny green LED which illuminates when the cable is plugged in and delivering power to whatever device it is connected to.
Finally, the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger ships with a nice pouch which provides a clean way to take the entire kit on the road with you on your travels. While I would have preferred to have a black or dark gray pouch, the soft, light gray-lined white pouch, kind of resembling an unused diaper, gets the job done just fine.
Performance
So how does the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger perform? In short, remarkable.
Considering that I do not have access to the newest M4 based MacBook Pros, I only have access to one device that can accept a lot of USB-C power, and that is the Anker Solix C300 DC Portable Power Station, capable of accepting 280W total in its two 140W input/output USB-C ports. The Anker Solix thankfully ships with a 140W USB-C cable, while again the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger only ships with a 100W USB-C cable.
So, since the Anker Solix can accept up to 140W into one of the two USB-C input/output ports, I began my testing at this point. Using Anker Solix’s 140W USB-C cable, I plugged it into the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger, and using the Anker Solix’s front panel display, I observed 134W being delivered to the device. Now, the only way to get 280W into the Solix is to utilize both of its USB-C input/output ports. One might think that since the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger can deliver 240W, it could provide all those precious Watts to the Solix, but in fact, once you plug in a second USB-C cable, the combined output is throttled down to 200W, 100W per USB-C port, resulting in 189W being delivered to the Solix which is still very good. If you studied the power distribution matrix above, this should not come as a surprise to you. The reason for this seems to be that 36W are allocated for both USB-A ports, each capable of delivering 18 Watts per port.
Finally, when plugged in, the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger has a single white LED on top of the unit. While I like the fact that one can see if the device is being powered or not, it would be cool if there was a display which displayed the power being delivered out of each port. Some of these multi-USB-port devices have power output displays.
What I like about the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger
- Overall power delivering capability
- Clean design
What needs to be improved?
- Inclusion of a Display
- Include 140W Cable
Final thoughts
There is a lot to like about the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger. I like that I can plug one of those 3-in-1 wireless MagSafe, chargers into just one USB-C port, providing the necessary 30W and still have 5 ports left over for anything else that needs an overnight charging.
Here is something interesting I stumbled on. If I plug in the Anker Solix first, I get 134W delivered to the device as was mentioned above. If I then plug in my wireless MagSafe charging device into another USB-C port, the Anker Solix continues to receive the 134W. However, if I switch the order in which I plug the devices in, the Anker Solix only receives 100W. If you are familiar with any of Peak Design’s video Pro-Tips, here is a Gadgeteer Pro-Tip for the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger. Plug in the higher Wattage device first to ensure that you get the highest rating out of that first USB-C connection.
Finally, combine the travel-friendly VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger with the portable-powered Anker Solix, and one has access to two devices which can provide plenty of power at home and on the road, realizing that a discharged Anker Solix can be reasonably charged in most coffee shops in a little over an hour with the VOLTME 240W 6-Port USB Charger, using two high-wattage USB-C cables.
Price: $99.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by VOLTME. VOLTME did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
