Have always been jealous of how the prongs on US adapters can fold in.
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Apple's 40W Dynamic Power Adapter Expands to New Countries
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The Anker has three ports (two USB-C and one USB Classic). How many ports does the iCharger have?
It looks like it's actually on sale for $29 at Worst Buy and other retailers. The wart sticks out a bit far from the wall, but the overall size isn't bad, and it has three ports. It has a folding plug (I'd rather it didn't, since that is the first thing to fail on chargers). It fits neatly into the case I have for my MBA, along with a 10' USB-C cord, a Lightning cable, and my AirPods.
If my Earth-pin to body-height ratio calculation’s right, the new 40-60W plug’s about 41mm tall compared to 30mm on the 20W.
The white shell thickness and grey-area around the pins is slightly different too but hard to accurately compare with the differing perspectives.
The ‘20W’ marking was hidden in the Earth pin valley on the 20w adapter whereas the 40W ~60W marking’s much clearer and out in the open by the Neutral pin.
20W Type G (October 2020)
40-60W Type G (November 2025)
The white shell thickness and grey-area around the pins is slightly different too but hard to accurately compare with the differing perspectives.
The ‘20W’ marking was hidden in the Earth pin valley on the 20w adapter whereas the 40W ~60W marking’s much clearer and out in the open by the Neutral pin.
20W Type G (October 2020)
40-60W Type G (November 2025)
Oh, sorry, I’m not a “fan” of chargers like that. I’m sure the Anker is quite nice. It just won’t charge an iPhone any faster than Apple’s solution.
One has to appreciate how Apple managed to elevate poor thermal management to a feature. They can't sustain 60W, so they call it "dynamic".
Hmm - the new charger certainly is bigger (sticks out from the wall more) than the 20W version. I've got a couple of those (maybe more?) but they're not great for travelling - if I'm headed off for Europe or anywhere else that doesn't use type G plugs then I just take the UK version of the dual adapter plus the relevant removable socket type to swap out when I reach my destination. I might also stick a bigger brick (70w or more) into my hold bag for the MacBook Pro.
Anyone purchasing this is insane - when Anker products exist that are 1/2 the cost and twice the output.
The U.K.-style outlet is the best outlet design in the world. Though it prioritizes functionality > style.
I had no idea so many other countries were blighted with our huge plugs. Apologies to them all. 🙏
From the size of it, thermal issues and also the lack of other ports it most likely does not have GaN technology. Im honestly shocked that Apple has not gone all in on GaN materials for their chargers yet (only the large ones so far).
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...for 79USD (and 79GBP)! Because twice as many ports – or even watts in the case of the new charger – must mean twice the production costs, yes...?
All Anker chargers use GaN so will charge a bit faster and cleaner, as well as charge your ipad pro and apple watch in the same manner at full speed all in a compact, cool cube. The Apple chargers are high quality though, so understandable why customers would prefer them.
I’m from Europe, so I don’t even use these plugs myself, but there’s no doubt they’re the best-designed power plugs out there. See for yourself why:
There are lots of plug types in Europe, 3 countries in Europe use the Type G so the phrase “I’m from Europe” doesn’t automatically mean you won’t use it.
They're the safest and most solid ones but that's something entirely different than best-designed. I would call them overengineered for the purpose.
Mainland Europe basically all has the same except for Switserland and Italy (but those sockets also work with standard 2-pin Europlugs)
Compatibility aside, I still maintain being “European” doesn’t mean you don’t use one of the European standards, even if it’s one of the less common ones. To me it makes as much sense as saying “I’m European so I don’t speak Dutch”
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GaN semiconductors do not, on their own, charge either faster nor “cleaner”. A 40W charger, for example, charges at the same speed no matter which technology it uses.
The advantage of using GaN is improved efficiency, which means less heat is generated, allowing more compact designs for a given power output. (A good standard charger is around 80-85% efficient, where as GaN chargers get to 90%+)
A well-designed non-GaN charger can charge just as fast, it’s just that it will emit a bit more heat doing so and might need to be bigger in order to effectively dissipate that heat.
There are lots of socket types in Europe, but there is a standard 2-pin plug used by Apple and every other electronics company that fits in all of them. (Except UK/Ireland which use a completely different plug with square pins.)