Review: Anker's 30W 'Atom' USB-C Charger is Tiny, Affordable, and Perfect for Charging iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks

[w_aldo]

Is fast charging an iPhone with this PowerPort Atom PD 1bad for the battery? Device looks good. I'm tempted.

The faster the battery charges, the warmer it gets. A warmer battery wears faster, so yes it is “worse” for the battery, but not in any significant way. Personally I charge 5w overnight and then 12w when I need the battery to be charged quickly (I don’t feel the extra ~£50 is worth it for the 30w chargers)

 

[aimbdd]

Is fast charging an iPhone with this PowerPort Atom PD 1bad for the battery? Device looks good. I'm tempted.

Yes, the more you fast charge the faster you will degrade your battery over time. I would definitely not use it for a bed stand.

 

[bflowers]

I can’t imagine it not straining the batter more than a slow (normal charge) but I’d like to know more as well.

So cut your battery’s capacity in half and keep yourself in a state of perpetual “battery anxiety”? Okay. Not a bad trade. If that’s what my battery wants, that’s whatbill give it (having lives through the battery “throttling” and replacing batteries and going crazy...).

You do a minuscule amount of damage by charging overnight. The phone won't let you fast charge all the way full to prevent more significant wear and tear on the battery. Personally, I figure losing a couple week's worth of battery lifespan over three years is worth the risk for the convenience of charging every night and having a full battery each day.

 

[boshii]

I have a Powerline+ USB C to USB C cable that I've been using for over a year and it still looks and works as new.

I don't expect these to be any different.

 

[Ronlap]

Considering the prongs are not retractable, it doesn’t seem to save much space over the Apple chargers.

Agree. I have the Aukey PA-Y18 which has 18W output and foldable prongs in a package just under 2 cubic inches.

I do have to ask if the Anker USB-C to Lightning cables will fast charge. At one time, Apple kept that to themselves.

 

[RevTEG]

I can’t imagine it not straining the batter more than a slow (normal charge) but I’d like to know more as well.
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So cut your battery’s capacity in half and keep yourself in a state of perpetual “battery anxiety”? Okay. Not a bad trade. If that’s what my battery wants, that’s whatbill give it (having lives through the battery “throttling” and replacing batteries and going crazy...).
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I’ve noticed a difference. It’s hard to quantify, but even not paying close attention I can tell it move a lot quicker.
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I got tired of waiting for the Atom (was it called) and spent $5 less on the same thing—but with a USB A port too, that’s slightly bigger. ‍♂️

I’ve heard that the USB-A doesn’t allow the same wattage transfer at the USB-C. Please let me know how it works out for you.

 

[Lucky736]

The reviews say there are issues using this if you use any adapters in between such as the Apple Digital Multiport Adapter.

I was excited until I read this.

Can anyone here share their experiences?

 

[mikeray]

Personally, I figure losing a couple week's worth of battery lifespan over three years is worth the risk for the convenience of charging every night and having a full battery each day.

Actually fast charging is way more useful during the day when you are “on the go” and have limited time to charge your phone.

If you are charging your phone overnight then normal charging will do as that would take around three hours.

 

[FairlyKors]

I’ve heard that the USB-A doesn’t allow the same wattage transfer at the USB-C. Please let me know how it works out for you.

Not sure what the point of merging posts here is after the second one. And how about a mobile version of this site that works well with iPhones? This 2008-era website is such a pain on both the iPhone and iPad. lol

Anyway, the Anker PD 30W charger I bought (it’s not this “small” cube) delivers a quick charge to my iPad 11” using the USB-C to USB-C with that came with the iPad. I tried a USB-C to USB-A converter in the Anker PD slot just to see if anything would catch on fire, and it seems to charge my Xr at whatever the fastest “PD rate” is for my iPhone. The 18W? charger that came with my iPad is faster than the charger that came with my iPhone—and that charger is a little faster than my induction charging pad.

It might work in Apple’s favor to let their marketing team explain to consumers what’s what. Because on my iPhone alone, I seem to have 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X, and 5X charging rates (not linearly rakes, of course, but ranked in that order).

 

[littyboy]

Is fast charging an iPhone with this PowerPort Atom PD 1bad for the battery? Device looks good. I'm tempted.

In general fast charging depreciates a battery's ability to hold a full charge faster. A lot of people don’t care since they swap out their phones yearly but if you plan to keep yours more than that, just an fyi.

 

[RevTEG]

Woke up to a notification from Amazon that my Anker Atom's Feb 6 delivery has been pushed out to Feb 16. Either there's a massive demand for these or Anker hasn't done a good job manufacturing them.