GaN chargers explained: why the smaller one charges faster

If you have picked up a modern charger and wondered how something that small can output 65W, the answer is a material: gallium nitride, usually shortened to GaN.

What changed

Chargers have always used silicon to switch power. Silicon wastes a meaningful amount of that power as heat, so a powerful charger needed to be physically large to shed it. Gallium nitride switches faster and wastes less, so the same output fits in a much smaller body and runs cooler while doing it.

What that means in practice

• A GaN charger is typically half the size of an equivalent older one
• It runs cooler, which matters if it lives behind a sofa or in a bag
• Multi-port models can drive a laptop and a phone from one wall socket

When it is worth paying more

If you travel, or if you want one charger on the desk that handles a laptop, a phone and a pair of earbuds, GaN is worth it - you replace three bricks with one. If the charger is going to live permanently beside your bed and only ever charge a phone, a standard 25W or 30W adapter does the same job for less.

One thing to check

Multi-port GaN chargers split their total output. A 65W two-port model does not deliver 65W to each port - plug in a second device and the first one usually drops. Check how the manufacturer says the power is divided before assuming it will fast-charge two things at once.

Browse chargers and cables, or use LYNQ to see what fits your device.