UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger Review – Retractable USB-C cable and powerful fast charging tested

If there’s one thing I can’t have enough of in my line of work, it’s reliable chargers and cables to ensure all the gear I have remains properly charged. This is often a nightmare to keep neat let alone pack for a work trip with me often needing to carry multiple cables and chargers in my luggage. And that’s not saying the state of my work desk as well which is often half buried under all those cables and chargers.

Fortunately, UGREEN’s latest charger design aims to handily resolve all that clutter and make packing and travelling for tech a much easier task as it has a retractable cable built directly into its design.

If you’re someone who constantly loses cables,  struggles to keep their gear charged properly and aims to minimise clutter, check out our UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger review and discover if this hefty charger is worth your money.

UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger review – Build and design

In this day and age, everyone needs to charge multiple devices be it tablets, phones or even laptops which often results in a snake pit worth of cables lying around waiting to trip the unwary.

When I’m travelling for work which entails carrying a laptop and a couple of phones at the bare minimum, I often end up misplacing my charging cables despite packing several or having to endure the inconvenience of fishing them out when I need to use it in a hurry like in an airport lounge. Enter the UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger.

Unlike the prior version, the  UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger has a slightly longer body to integrate a retractable 75cm-long USB-C cable while retaining two USB-C ports and a USB-A port. While it does appear in different charger types for the US and European market, the units sold in Malaysia come with a UK-style three-pin prong. 

On closer inspection, the retractable cable in our UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger review sample comes with a magnet at the tip of the charging port, allowing it to stay flush with the chassis. Removing it simply requires you to give it a gentle tug that lets you stretch it out to its intended length. Retracting it simply requires you to give it a firm yank for it to spool back into the charger.

According to UGREEN, the integrated retractable cable is built tough and rated for 25,000 retractions and 10,000 bends which is well beyond its intended lifespan. However, the cable is permanently integrated into the design itself with no easy way to repair or replace it should it wear out in the years to come. While it isn’t a deal breaker, a means to replace it would have been welcome for sustainability and practical reasons.

Unlike some travel-optimised variants from UGREEN, the prongs are non-retractable which lends it a rather large footprint. This is apparent when you’re travelling overseas and need every inch of space especially if you’re travelling on a budget airline which leads to another slight conundrum – it’s also rather heavy at 280g though seeing the fact that it can singlehandedly replace your laptop and phone charger, it’s well worth the tradeoff.

The hefty weight is also on account of multiple-layers of protection including real-time temperature detection and protection as well as overvoltage, short-circuit, undervoltage, overcurrent and overpower protection. UGREEN has also integrated Gallium Nitride (GaN) tech which also helps ensure  that it runs cooler and is more compact that what a conventionally designed charger would be.

Weight aside, my UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger review unit is well built, with the case, cable and charger prongs remained intact and scratch free even after being tossed around in backpacks, a carry-on case and being jammed into numerous wall sockets even after weeks of use. 

UGREEN doesn’t ship extra cables with the charger itself which you’ll have to purchase separately though their new Nexode USB-C to USB-C retractable charging cable follows the same theme with a retractable length of cable stored in a round-shaped housing.

On paper, the USB-C Nexode to USB-C charging cable officially supports 100W charging, offers up to 480Mbps charging speeds and rated for 10,000 pull-and-retract motions so it’ll last quite awhile. 

UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger Review – Performance

On paper, the 100W GaN charger is compatible with almost everything issued from Apple including their MacBooks, iPads and iPhones and can charge almost all Android devices with a USB-C port currently in service.

The UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger  is officially rated to offer up to 100W of charging capability split in varying degrees across all of its charging ports depending on which one and how many you use.

Assuming you just use the retractable cable on its own, or just the topmost USB-C port, you can get the full 100W of charging. Using just the second USB-C port offers up to 30W while the single USB-A port offers up to 22.5W of charging. If you use all four ports simultaneously, the retractable cable offers 45W charging while the topmost USB-C port offers 30W and the remaining ports offer 15W each of charging.

When put to the test, my UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger proved to be a reliable choice for keeping my gear charged when I worked from coffee shops or offsite at events and client offices. When charging my Huawei laptop which requires a 90W charge or my Galaxy Z Fold7 which needed a 25W charge, the topmost retractable cable came in handy and was able to offer full charging speeds.

In a pinch, I was able to charge both devices  simultaneously with the topmost USB-C port and with UGREEN’s own Nexode 100W USB-C to USB-C retractable cable.

When using both the cable and topmost port, the retractable cable offers up a 65W charge while the USB-C port offers a 30W charge which is sufficient to charge the Fold7 and the laptop if I keep to simple general computing tasks. 

UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger Review – The integrated cable offers 100W charging when used solely on its own and has a 75cm length

Charging speeds get a bit slower if I use all four ports but it was sufficient for overnight charging of my laptop, my phone, a pair of wireless earbuds and a power bank for use the next day.

One thing to note though is that you have to be cognisant of which combination of ports offer what charging speeds. By and large, if you stick to the topmost USB-C port and the cable for juicing single items you’ll get the fastest 100W charging speeds.

One thing to note is that while it got slightly warm, my UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger review unit didn’t overheat even after experimenting with charging using multiple combinations of ports and consecutive nonstop charging sessions spanning several hours with multiple devices swapped out of each port in sequence.

UGREEN’s retractable USB-C to USB-C charging cable also worked like a charm, supporting full charging speeds from the topmost USB-C port and also made packing my work gear less of a pain.

Should you buy the UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger?

The UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger is a well designed charger that does what it sets out to do, offering safe and fast charging speeds for up to four devices at a time and offering a measure of convenience with its integrated charging cable.

For the other two USB-C ports, UGREEN’s USB-C to USB-C retractable cable came in clutch to minimise clutter and offer 100W charging speeds.

If you need a portable, fast and reliable charger, the UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger is well worth what you pay for. If you’re constantly fighting clutter, the Nexode USB-C to USB-C retractable cables are great choices that also make fantastic stocking stuffers for the holiday season.

UGREEN Nexode 100W GaN Retractable Cable Charger review sample courtesy of UGREEN. To purchase on Lazada please visit here and on Shopee visit here.