Announced in January, the latest 45-watt Anker Nano charger, which remains one of the smallest 45-watt chargers on the market, adds a full-color screen that displays an animated character and tiny details about the device you’re charging.
$30
Anker Nano 45W charger with built-in screen
The display is occasionally useful if you want to keep track of how much power your device is using, but the screen feels more like a marketing gimmick than a feature most consumers will actually use. But that’s not the only upgrade that makes the charger worth considering.
The Nano’s signature feature is a roughly 1-inch wide display that takes up half of the charger’s glossy front panel. These kinds of screens are usually only found on Anker’s larger multi-port powerhouses and are often limited in what information they display.
Anker is promoting the Nano as “the world’s first smart display charger that knows your iPhone.” When you plug one in, your device’s name will briefly appear on the screen, followed by the amount of power being supplied and the battery level. However, the charger is limited to Apple hardware and only recognizes a limited number of devices, including the iPhone 15 and later and iPad models from 2020. I tested it with an iPhone 16 Pro and an iPad 10 from 2022 and both were recognized and identified.
The Nano also has a three-stage charging system that adjusts the rate of power delivery to help extend battery life. As the charge level of the device increases, the power supply decreases. The stages are shown as “fast”, “steady” and “flowing”, along with current performance and an animated blob-like character whose expression often confuses me. Sometimes it’s sleepy and other times it seems crazy, even if it’s not intentional. With only a USB cable plugged in, the character occasionally swings a baseball or turns into a cookie that opens to reveal riches as “fun ahead”, which means nothing at all.
Tapping the touch indentation next to the USB-C Nano port cycles through two additional screens, including a temperature display and one to switch between charging modes, or you can hold it for two seconds and rotate the display 180 degrees as needed.
The default charging mode is automatic (the charger resets to it every time it is unplugged) and adjusts the power supply over time. Care Mode reduces power consumption and helps to further extend battery life by keeping the phone cool. It’s designed for times when you’re not in a rush to charge your device, such as overnight charging, and displays the word “gentle” on the screen to remind you to switch to automatic mode if you’re in a hurry.
It will not stop working only when connecting to devices that are not officially supported. I tested it with a Kobo e-reader and a Playdate, and instead of identifying both devices, the charger jumped straight to the charge status screen and showed how much power was being supplied without their battery levels.
The display’s most useful feature is the ability to check the charge level of your iPhone or iPad, but that’s the information these devices already display. After a few seconds, the Nano charger’s screen automatically turns off and requires you to tap and reach towards the outlet to see the charging progress again. You can’t have the display on all the time, so unless your phone or tablet is across the room and connected via a 60-foot USB cable, why not just reach for the device and check if it’s charged?
The Nano’s display would feel less unusual if it offered other features, such as an estimate of how long it will take to fully charge or the ability to automatically switch to overnight care mode.
The most compelling reason to spend the extra $5 on the new $39.99 Nano charger over last year’s $34.99 model is its redesigned collapsible tips. They now rotate 180 degrees, so you can plug the charger in two different ways and change the orientation of the screen or keep the USB-C port accessible. It’s a simple but smart design change that I wouldn’t be surprised to see Anker incorporate into other smaller chargers in the future.
Photo by Andrew Liszewski/The Verge