Back in October, Anker — known for making high-quality smartphone accessories — unveiled the PowerPort Atom PD1. Made from expensive Gallium nitride, the charger is of the same size as Apple’s 5W charging brick but offers a power output of 30W. That’s good enough to not only fast charge your iPhone or iPad but other devices like the 12-inch MacBook and the Nintendo Switch.
The Atom PD1 was supposed to launch in December 2018 but its launch was delayed. Now at CES 2019, Anker has confirmed that the Atom PD1 will launch in January 2019 for $29.99. As a bonus, the original version announced had a 27W output but the new model offers 30W of output.
With its 30W output, the Atom PD1 is also capable of slowly charging other USB-C devices like Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Air and Pro.
Anker also plans to release the Atom PD2 featuring dual USB-C ports for a total of 60W output along with a 100W variant later this year. They will all make use of Gallium nitride to ensure they are smaller than the usual 60W and 100W chargers available in the market. While expensive, Gallium nitride (GaN) offers improved performance with lower resistance and conductivity than the current material of choice, Silicon.
If you travel a lot, Anker’s PowerPort Atom series of chargers are going to be a boon for you. What do you think? Will you buy the Atom PD1 when it launches later this month?
