Major Chinese electronics manufacturer Anker introduced a new series of gallium nitride (GaN) chargers called GaNPrime at a release event on Tuesday. The new lineup offers fast-charging tech with higher charging wattage (up to 150 watts) and greater energy efficiency.
Why it matters: As a pioneer in charging tech, Anker managed to pack more power in smaller and lighter chargers. Its new 737 model, for example, supports 120W charging wattage, but the size is equal to most 60W chargers offered by Anker’s competitors.
- Following Apple’s lead, almost all phone vendors stopped providing chargers in 2021, which makes it a good time for Anker to introduce its new lineup of products.
- Chargers that can cater to multiple devices started to trend last year. Anker’s new series can be a cheaper alternative to the expensive chargers offered by phone makers.
Details: The new GaNPrime series includes six products for the overseas market, with charging wattage ranging from 65W to 150W and multiple ports for multi-device charging.
- There are three traditional chargers, two AC power products, and a power bank, which offers charging plugs on a portable battery.
- A key highlight of the lineup is Anker’s new charging tech PowerIQ 4.0. The new feature can allocate variable charging wattage to multiple devices in real-time based on power needs, reducing charging time by up to one hour.
- Apple has already released a similar product, the 35W dual Type-C charger, but it costs more and comes with a lower maximum charging wattage, relatively speaking. In addition, other rival products must pause charging when reallocating power.
- Anker partnered with Infineon, a major semiconductor manufacturer, to bring new tech to its devices. While traditional designs require two GaN components, the new products require only one, slimming down profiles of Anker’s new chargers.
- To solve the issue of overheating, Anker introduced new heat control tech, which detects charger temperature and adjusts power output accordingly. The detection frequency is 76% greater than the previous generation of products, with a single charger making 3 million detections in a day.
- For the mainland Chinese market, Anker released two additional products supporting the latest USB protocol PD 3.1, powered by a control chip developed by Anker (a pioneer of this standard), offering up to 140W charging speed in a single port.
- With a price range from $59.99 to $109.99, four of the chargers are now available overseas, and the other two — the 150W Charger and 733 Power Bank — aim to ship in the third quarter of this year. Both are available for pre-order on the official Anker website and Amazon.
Context: Founded in 2011, Anker is a major Chinese electronics company best known for its charging products. As a pioneer in the GaN charger field, Anker became the top brand in this market with the most sales worldwide in 2021, according to a survey from Frost & Sullivan, which was cited by the company at the release event.