UGreen Nexode RG 65W Robot GaN Fast Charger Review – Cute and effective travel companions

Charger and cable purveyor UGreen are best known for their array of mono-hued, sturdily crafted chargers and cables but their latest product takes a turn towards the whimsical. While it’s still a charger, their latest offering does not resemble one but instead looks like a surprisingly cute robot. We got a sample for testing and here’s our thoughts on their latest offering in our UGreen Nexode RG 65W Robot GaN Fast Charger review.

UGreen Nexode RG 65W Robot GaN Fast Charger Review – Build and Design

The vast majority of UGreen’s products are done up in a utilitarian matte grey with black trim but the new Robot GaN fast chargers look so unlike anything else in the product line-up that you’d be forgiven for mistaking them for products from another manufacturer. 

In terms of build and design, our UGreen Nexode RG 65W Robot GaN Fast Charger review sample comes in what is aesthetically supposed to be a female model done up in a shade of lilac with a robot face on the front and a plastic bow tie on the back. The feet of the robot charger itself are removable to reveal a UK-style three pin charger plug. Overseas variants have a pair of standing feet to accommodate European and US-style charger prongs.

Another aesthetic variant of the robot charger is also available in black and grey which lacks the bow tie on the rear and retains the more traditional UGreen livery.

Up front, the face of the robot charger itself helps to act as an indicator for charging status with  whimsical light-up emoticons to indicate that it is on standby, for when it is fast charging and when an item is trickle charging or already fully charged. It’s a surprisingly effective means of conveying information and one that can easily tell you an item is fully charged without you having to walk over up close. It can’t be turned off short of pulling it out of the plug so it may end up somewhat glaring if you’re using it in a dim room at night.

Up top, you get a pair of USB Type-C ports as well as a USB-A port with a combined 65W of charging performance and the ability to ultimately charge three devices at a time though your mileage may vary depending on how much juice they need. There are also smaller 30W versions that are cheaper but which only have a single USB-C port.

Overall, build quality for our UGreen Nexode RG 65W Robot GaN Fast Charger review samples are excellent. The removable feet snap in securely to the body to protect the charging prongs when in transit and even after being banged around in a backpack for weeks on end, it survived unscathed.

UGreen Nexode RG 65W Robot GaN Fast Charger Review – Performance

The UGreen Nexode RG 65W Robot GaN Fast Charger use gallium nitride that is capable of running more efficiently than standard chargers and which generates less heat, which also has the side benefit of making them more compact in the bargain.

Much like other UGreen products, the charging capacity of all three ports vary depending on which one you use and how many are in use though the charger supports USB PD 3.0 and Quick Charge 4.0 for the USB-C ports which means it’ll fast charge most of the mainstream smartphones in current service short of those that have a proprietary charging standard like Oppo’s SuperVOOC charging tech.

Assuming all three ports are in use, the topmost USB-C port offers 45W power while the bottom USB-C port and USB-A port both have 7.5W power output. Assuming you just use the topmost USB-C port, you get the full 65W of charging power while solely relying on the USB-A port gets you 22.5W. Using both USB-C ports gets you 45W and 20W while using the topmost USB-C port and the USB-A port gets you 45W and 18W respectively. Boiled down, the more ports you use, the slower charging gets as the charger has to redistribute power to each port.

When put to the test, our UGreen Nexode RG 65W Robot GaN Fast Charger review sample was able to effectively get fast charge status on a Galaxy Z Fold5, the new Huawei Pura 70 Pro and an Honor Magic6 Pro, which makes for a delightful of trifecta of flagship phones in the market. Needless to say, charging these phones individually using the upper USB-C port yielded the best results and using all three ports with the corresponding cables yielded far slowing charging speeds. It was also able to juice up a MagicBook X Pro 2022 model though it took a bit longer than usual seeing as it typically requires a 90W charger.

All said, the UGreen Nexode RG 65W Robot GaN Fast Charger is a whimsically designed yet effective companion that offers fast charging duties for gear in a compact form factor. While UGreen has other more travel-oriented and compact designs like their foldable 65W travel fast charger and their 65W travel charger with swappable plugs, this remains the cutest of them all and makes for an ideal gift.

In Malaysia, the lilac and black versions are available priced at RM151 on their official store on Shopee and RM159 on the Lazada store which is about par for a GaN charger of its capabilities. 

UGreen Nexode RG 65W Robot GaN Fast Charger Review – limited time promotion for Hitech Century readers

However, we’ve secured a deal for you readers out there on Shopee. While the upcoming flash sales on 15 May will have it go down to RM134, using the special code <UGRETECH> on checkout on their official Shopee store lets you buy it at a low RM109! 

Alternatively, if you prefer Lazada, you can check out their official Lazada store here to buy it and get a special voucher here for RM25 off the price of the UGreen Nexode RG 65W GaN Fast Charger! The Shopee deal is only valid until 31 May 2024 though the Lazada promotion is available until 30 June 2024. If you’re keen, best hustle! Have fun folks!