In the world of power adapters, Gallium Nitride or GaN is all the rage as it allows companies to make smaller and more efficient chargers for smartphones and laptops. All the GaN chargers that have hit the market so far are technically a first-gen product and they all have one issue or another in terms of their power distribution. Chargeasap is looking to change that with its Omega series of chargers, which it claims are the world’s smallest GaN chargers.
While there are quite a few 100W GaN chargers out there, you will not find any charger with an output higher than that. This means if you want to charge 2x 16-inch MacBook Pro or multiple USB-C devices at their full speed simultaneously, you are out of options. The Omega 200W from Chargeasap is — as its name suggests, a 200W GaN charger which is also the smallest in the world with such an output. It is also a second-gen GaN charger so it does not have the same limitations as other 100W GaN chargers in terms of power distribution.
Compact Form Factor
A look at the Omega 200W charger and you will actually be surprised that it can output so much power. Forget Apple’s 96W 16-inch MacBook Pro USB-C charger, this thing is smaller and lighter than even the 130W or higher power adapters that many Dell and Lenovo laptops ship with. Apart from the compact form factor, I was also surprised at just how light the charger is. I was expecting the Omega 200W to have some serious heft since it can push out so much power, but it is lighter than Apple’s 96W USB-C charger.
The Omega 200W features four ports in total: two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports. The 200W Omega charger has an elongated design which is a bit different from other typical chargers that one usually sees. That’s not really a bad thing though as it ensures the charger does not block other nearby power sockets or switch which is usually the case with high wattage chargers.
Another highlight of the Omega 200W charger is that it features a 2-way foldable prong. While foldable prongs are a common feature in other GaN chargers, the prongs on the Omega charger can actually be tilted 90-degree or 180-degree angle. This means the Omega charger can fit on any wall plug irrespective of its location. On paper, this might seem like a small deal but it is an incredibly useful option to have and shows how much thought Chargeasap has given into designing the Omega chargers.
Covering All Devices
One of the issues with all existing GaN chargers in the market is that they split the power across two USB-C ports when two devices are charged simultaneously. For example, if you have a 100W USB-C GaN charger and you try to charge your 16-inch MacBook Pro and an iPhone at the same time, your MacBook’s charging speed will be capped at 61/65W. The Omega 200W charger fixes this issue as it always prioritizes charging a laptop first.
Below is how the 200W power is distributed on the Omega 200W:
- C1 or C2 = 100W
- C1 + C2 = 100W + 100W
- C1+ A1 + A2 = 100W + 12w + 12W
- C1+ C2 + A1 = 100W + 65W + 22.5W
- C1+ C2+ A2 = 100W + 65W + 22.5W
- C1+ A1= 100W + 22.5W
- C2+ A2 = 65W + 22.5W
- A1 + A2 = 12W + 12W
- A1 or A2 = 22.5W
- 4 ports used simultaneously: 100W+ 65W + 12W +12W
As you can see, the first USB-C port on the Omega 200W will always output at 100W so you can always charge your 16-inch MacBook Pro or any other laptop that charges over USB-C at full speed. The remaining 100W power is then distributed across various ports depending on the devices plugged in.
The power output is good enough that you can fast charge your 16-inch MacBook Pro, iPhone, and iPad Pro simultaneously. Or even better, you can charge your MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPad Pro, and Apple Watch simultaneously using the Omega 200W without a hitch. Oh, and yes, the Omega charger can fast charge the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro series at full 20W speeds.
A major issue with first-gen GaN chargers is that they only support the USB-PD fast charging standard. While this works for Apple devices, it basically means that Android smartphone owners like OnePlus, Xiaomi, Realme, or Huawei cannot fast charge their device using the charger. The Omega charger solves this problem as well. The two USB-A ports on the charger support almost every other fast charging standard out there from companies like Vivo, Samsung, Huawei, OnePLus, and OPPO albeit it’s capped at 22.5W. While it won’t charge your OnePlus as fast as the stock charger, it will still be faster than any other third-party charger.
Better for Environment
When Apple removed the charger from its new iPhones, it claimed that it is doing so to save the environment. A controversial claim since there are a lot of other things the company could have done to reduce the impact on the environment apart from removing the charger. It can be argued that a multi-port charger like the Omega 200W is actually better for the environment. Firstly, its plastic shell is made of environmentally friendly PC + ABS materials and it also has the RoHS certificate. More importantly though, the Omega 200W will allow you to ditch four chargers and use just one — that’s three fewer chargers in use from one person.
I have been following the development of GaN chargers quite closely. While the first-gen GaN chargers were impressive, they all had their own set of issues. The Omega 200W GaN charger, in my opinion, is the perfect GaN charger for power users who frequently charge multiple devices together. The high power output also makes it an ideal charger to have when traveling as you can rest assured that you will be able to fast charge all your devices with just one charger.
Chargeasap offers the Omega charger in three different outputs: 65W, 100W, and 200W. The charger will start shipping from January 2021 but you will have to back its Indiegogo campaign for that. The 100W Omega charger is currently listed as $70 and $90 for the 200W variant.
