Back in 2015, I reviewed the Anker PowerPort 6, a great device that lets you plug into a single wall outlet and charge six USB devices at once. Since then, that device has been an essential part of my travel gear. It is nice when you only have to locate one available outlet in a hotel room, conference area, airport, etc., and from that one outlet have the ability to charge multiple devices. Often, that Anker charger was the only charger that I needed on a trip. That changed when I started to use an iPad Pro in early 2016 because a traditional USB-to-Lightning connection takes a long time to charge the powerful iPad Pro. Ever since March 2016, I have mostly charged my iPad Pro (or iPad Pro 2) using Apple’s 29W USB-C Power Adapter and Apple’s USB-C to Lightning Cable (my review), which recharges much more quickly. So when I traveled, that meant carrying two chargers.
To try to get back to carrying one charging unit during travel, a few weeks ago I purchased from Amazon Anker’s PowerPort+ 5 Ports USB-C, a single unit which features both a single USB-C port for fast-charging, plus four other USB ports. I’ve used this device on two out-of-town trips, and it has worked very well. [UPDATE: 1/27/2019: I see that Anker is now selling an updated version of this device, and it is currently on Amazon for only $35.]
If you are familiar with the Anker PowerPort 6, the PowerPort+ 5 Ports USB-C looks very similar. If you put them side-to-side you can see that the PowerPort+ 5 is just slightly larger (height of 1.1″ versus 1″, width of 4.06″ versus 4.9″, depth of 3.07″ versus 2.8″) and just slightly heavier (7.5 oz. versus 6.7 oz) but in normal use I never noticed those slight differences.
One difference between the two is that the PowerPort 6 has a blue light that goes on when the unit is plugged in. It’s nice to have an indication that there is a charge, but it is sort of annoying to have that blue light in a room at night. The PowerPort+ 5 doesn’t have any light, and I think I prefer that.
The main difference is that while the older PowerPort 6 has six USB ports, the newer device has only five ports. But one of those ports is special — it is USB-C and supports the same 29W that the Apple USB-C charger supports.
When you need to charge an iPad Pro, the faster USB-C is a noticeable difference. As I noted in my review of Apple’s power adapter, you can charge an iPad Pro twice as fast.
When you need to charge an iPhone X or an iPhone 8, those devices can also get a fast-charge using USB-C. However, the difference isn’t as big as it is on an iPad Pro. In this post from Juli Clover of MacRumors, she shows that using USB-C you can get an extra 7% of charge in 15 minutes, an extra 10% of charge in 30 minutes, and an extra 12% of charge in 45 minutes. If you only have 30 minutes to charge your iPhone X in a hotel room, does it matter to you whether you will end up with a 49% charge versus a 39% charge — keeping in mind that those number are just rough estimates anyway? My feeling is that I want a USB-C port to get a substantially faster charge on my iPad Pro, and if that also helps me get a somewhat faster charge on an iPhone X, well why not. There have been times late at night when an extra 10% in battery life makes all the difference.
(I don’t travel with a Mac laptop, but if you use one of the newer ones that supports USB-C charging, that is an additional reason that the PowerPort+ 5 Ports USB-C will be very helpful for you.)
The disadvantage versus the PowerPort 6 is that you only have a total of five ports, one fewer port. For me, this trade-off is worth it because it is rare that I need to use all six ports at once. For example, at night I will often charge an iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, and an external battery. Having said that, there are times when six ports are useful (such as when I’m traveling with my family), and if an extra port is more important to you than having a single fast port, then the PowerPort 6 might be a better product for you.
Although I use this device almost exclusively as a travel companion, I know lots of attorneys who use an Anker PowerPort in a permanent location in an office or home. That’s what my wife does — she keeps a PowerPort on a shelf and uses it every night to charge her iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, and sometimes another device such as her AirPods.
I’ve enjoyed using the Anker PowerPort+ 5 Ports USB-C for the last few weeks. It lets me charge lots of devices at once, I have the advantage of fast-charge technology, plus I don’t have to carry around the big and heavy Apple power adapter in addition to an Anker PowerPort device. It’s not often that you can say that five is better than six, but if your charging needs are similar to mine, then you will find the Anker PowerPort+ 5 Ports USB-C to be a very useful device and an upgrade over the older PowerPort 6. And if you are considering purchasing Apple’s 29W USB‑C Power Adapter, this Anker product costs the same $50 but gives you four additional ports.
Click here to get the Anker PowerPort+ 5 Ports USB-C from Amazon ($49.99).
UPDATE: Here is a link to the current version for only $35.00
I have this same power port sitting on my desk at work. Initially I was going to buy another charger for my MacBook Pro, but this worked out far cheaper than both an additional laptop charger and wall ports. I was originally worried that it wouldn’t put out enough power to keep the laptop charged during the day, but even with my 15″ MBP it put out more than enough power.
On trips it is really nice to only need one charger for everything.