At CES 2022, Anker announced an addition to its range of Nano II USB-C chargers with this more powerful version with two USB-C ports capable of outputting up to 100 W, plus an old-school USB-A charging port. The $ 79 Anker Nano II 100W (also known as the Anker 736 charger) is now available for sale on Amazon (via MacRumors), although it’s already sold out.
Nano II chargers use the company’s second-generation version of gallium nitride-based components, which replace the silicone components of older chargers to pump more power into a smaller package with less heat. According to Anker, the Nano II 100W is 34 percent smaller than Apple’s 96W charger, with similar capabilities plus two additional ports that help you reduce the number of items you’ll need to keep all your devices turned on. Another plus is that its fast charging is compatible with a wide range of devices, with USB Power Delivery 3.0 PPS (programmable power standard) and support for Quick Charge 3.0.
Image: Anker
The caveat with this charger is that its USB-C ports are capable of output power up to 100 W – but this is only true when you have one device plugged into one of them. Many laptops and other devices require significantly less power than charging or even fast charging, but this is something to keep in mind if you have a larger MacBook Pro. Using both USB-C ports simultaneously reduces the maximum power to 60W from the first slot and 40W from the second – Anker has a diagram to break it further.
Anker 736 Charging Guide Image: Anker
Anker isn’t the only company to use gallium nitride (GaN) for smaller, more powerful chargers – Apple’s first brick with the technology is the 140W power supply that comes with the 16-inch MacBook Pro – but it’s been more forward from the package showing its first GaN power adapter in 2018.
In an interview with The Verge EiC Nilay Patel in the Decoder podcast last fall, Anker CEO Stephen Young explained why his company is so quick to introduce GaN and replicate products based on it.
Gallium nitride is a key technology that appeared on the market about three years ago, but you are already talking about the third generation. Is Gallium Nitride a Technology You Should Invest in Engineering Resources? Is there a supplier pipeline or a materials science pipeline? How do you manage this investment?
Anker was actually the first to introduce gallium nitride in the charging of consumer electronics. The way we managed to do this was through a partnership with the border chipset manufacturers who developed the gallium nitride charging chip. We were almost their alpha client. So when the chip was first developed, there were many hoops that had to be skipped to become a product. This requires not only knowledge in the field of materials science, but also knowledge of applications, knowledge of system architecture and knowledge of heat management. This is almost a systematic effort. We gather knowledge in this and connect them together with the gallium nitride chips and the manufacturer to incorporate them into products.
This year you will see GaN2 with 65-watt and 30-watt size. We have been working with Power Innovations on this for almost a year. GaN2 is the brand new generation of chips we released in the middle of this year. The 65-watt size of the GaN2 was part of the competition.
The reason we were able to do this is based on the latest generation of their Power Innovations GaN2. We have been the only partner in this for almost a year – you will not see similar products from other brands for at least three to six months, because PI and Anker only work together.
So Anker and PI had an exclusive connection to developing the next-generation GaN chipset, and then that window opens three to six months later so other people can buy that chipset.
Yes.
Tyler Mallory’s head of media relations in the United States confirmed to The Verge that the charger had actually started and that Anker was waiting for more equipment to arrive. The 736 charger is small enough that it’s not even listed on the Anker website, but if this is the charger you’re waiting for, follow this Amazon page to see when it returns.
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