Review: Anker's 250W Prime desktop charger is just too much for me

24 Nov 2024, 23:00 by Dominic Preston · Android Police

One unanticipated consequence of working as a tech reviewer is the unending proliferation of chargers and cables around my home. That’s part of why I was keen to test Anker’s new Prime desktop charger, with its promise of clearing clutter — offering a single, reliable spot to charge my, well, everything. It’s achieved at least half that promise. After all, a charger can only reduce clutter so much when you need to keep a clutch of cables around, dashing my dreams of a truly minimalist desk setup.

Anker Prime Charger (250W, 6 Ports, GaNPrime)

6.5 / 10

The Anker Prime 250W desktop charger is an overkill solution for most users, with six ports, 250W total output, and 140W peak output from a single port. That's just to start; there's smart power optimization, an LCD, and even Wi-Fi connectivity. It fulfills its purpose very well, but you should ask yourself if you really need it all.

Pros

High 250W total power output
Up to 140W from a single USB-C port, and 100W from the others
Attractive, slick design

Cons

Seriously expensive
Wi-Fi support is an unnecessary upsell

$170 at Amazon $170 at Anker

Price, availability, and specs

The Anker Prime Desktop Charger is available now from Anker or Amazon for $170. If that sounds steep, the good news is that the company also offers a much cheaper 200W model for $70, which drops the max charging speed slightly and ditches a few of this model’s fancier features. That may well offer everything you need.

Specifications

Input
100-240V~, 3.5A, 50-60Hz
Output Power
250W total, 140W single port
Charging Ports
4 x USB-C, 2 x USB-A
Weight
640g
Dimension
106.2 × 40.2 × 92.5mm
Manufacturer
Anker
Expand

What’s good about the Anker Prime 250W desktop charger?

Pure performance

Well, one of the obvious strong points is in the name: 250W output. Now, hold your horses, you can’t get 250W at once from a single port. That’s the maximum multi-port output — but it’s still an awful lot.

The most that a single port can offer is 140W, which is still fast enough to get a MacBook Pro to 50% battery in less than half an hour, according to Anker. This is the perfect port for getting a laptop or Steam Deck topped up ASAP and running at full throttle.

Read our review

Steam Deck review: 18 months in, this is the handheld for me

The Steam Deck made handheld gaming PCs affordable

The 140W speed is limited to the first of the USB-C ports on the charger, while the other three — all placed along the front — cap at 100W each. That’s still actually really fast; fast enough to outpace even the fastest fast charging on any phone available in the US.

Finally, two more USB-A ports are found hidden along the right-hand side, each capable of delivering up to 22.5W at once. All in all, there’s a lot of power spread over a lot of ports. I can’t really imagine a situation where I ran out of either ports or power output, so this delivers in abundance on that front.

By default, the charger runs on AI power mode — the "AI" is definitely an oversell. Basically, this means it’ll detect the voltage of connected devices and adjust power distribution between the ports to charge everything as efficiently as possible, with an LCD screen on the front delivering real-time info on power across each port.

If you’d rather take control of the situation, you can disable this and use the rounded knob on the charger’s edge to increase or decrease output per port. It's ideal if you need one particular device charged ASAP, but don’t want to unplug everything else to make it happen.

The on-device controls are simple and easy to use. You can scroll with said knob, and press it in to make selections, and that’s basically enough to get by. If you find this too sluggish or want remote access, you can also connect the charger to your Wi-Fi network and sync it with Anker’s app to monitor and control charging remotely.

Aside from actual performance, I love the way it looks and feels. It’s sleek but solid, with a sloping design that keeps it feeling slender and an understated, brushed metal finish. This feels like tech that will last but still looks modern and sophisticated, rather than an ugly black power brick on your desk. Anker has knocked it out of the park with the design.

What’s bad about the Anker Prime 250W desktop charger?

More power than one person should have

My main problem with Anker's desktop charger is perhaps simply a personal one; it really feels like overkill. I’m not sure if I’ve ever wanted or needed to charge six USB-based devices all at once, nor found myself worried about monitoring and optimizing power flow between them. And I’ve certainly never considered controlling all of that from my phone.

Now, I know, someone out there will feel differently. Maybe you! And if so, all the more power to you; this device may deliver exactly what you need from a charging station, and I hope it does. But, respectfully, I think you’re in the minority, and for most users, this is simply too much.

Even if you do need the power that this offers, I’d remind you of Anker’s cheaper 200W option. How much are you really willing to pay for that extra 50W, an LCD screen, and the dynamic power controls? It’s a pretty serious upsell.

Perhaps more problematically, the main place I might ever want to charge this much at once is at my desk. But if I wanted to throw this much money at a charging hub to sit on my desk all day, I’d rather get one that doubles as a dock. It would add ways to connect my computers, monitors, and peripherals in addition to pure power output. Again, maybe that’s just me, but that’s certainly what would make more sense for the way I work.

The last point, perhaps, comes down to my own optimistic expectations, and helping you set yours. I had visions of a clutter-free desk, a simplified setup that would clear my office of other chargers and streamline my life. And this absolutely delivers on that.

The only problem is that chargers are only half the mess, and cables the other half. I’ve cleared one set of clutter but moved the rest to my desk, where I now live with a small tangle of cables forever attached to this otherwise sleek hub. This is far from the end of the world, but it’s not quite what I envisaged, and occasionally leaves me wondering if I’d rather return to the old mess, just so long as it doesn’t all live on my desk.

Should you buy it?

Honestly? Probably not. If you’re still set on the concept of a desktop charging hub with no dock functions or other connectivity benefits, then knock yourself out — but I suspect you’ll find that the 200W model delivers far better value for money, offering nearly as much power output while saving you from spending extra on a Wi-Fi option you’ll never use.

That said, if you are in the (I suspect small) minority that wants and needs the detailed, granular, remote power control that this charger delivers, rest assured that it really does deliver. This charger does everything that it sets out to do. However, I’m just unsure if it should have set out to do it in the first place.

Anker Prime Charger (250W, 6 Ports, GaNPrime)

6.5 / 10

$170 at Amazon $170 at Anker

Best Chromebook docks and hubs in 2024

Effortlessly transform your Chromebook into a desktop