When it comes to traveling and charging your devices, things can get kind of tricky. This is because, if you’re traveling, you’re going to be exploring and taking in new sights. You’re also going to be taking many photos of the new places you’re visiting, looking for directions and doing some research on where you are. All of this requires using the portable devices that you’ve taken with you.
The most common type of device that many people use when they travel is smartphones. They’re small, easy to use, and are capable of all the things that we mentioned above. Another two devices that you might take with you either to another state or overseas are a laptop or tablet. There are quite a lot of people that travel but still have to work when they travel, and so taking a laptop can be mandatory. By using these portable devices while you’re out and about, however, you’re going to be using a lot of power and charging is something that you’ll have to worry about.
Fast Charging
The best part about charging our portable devices in 2020 is that many devices are able to fast charge using a certain type of technology. If you have ever owned an Android smartphone, or currently own one, then you probably have heard of Quick Charge, which was created by Qualcomm, the company that makes the processors for Android phones like the Snapdragon 855, 865 and so on. It’s a useful fast charging method, with many types of charging devices using the tech, but it can only be used with smartphones that are using the specific processor. So using Quick Charge with iPhones is out, and the same can be said about tablets and laptops, too.
You’ve also got smartphones that have their charging tech dedicated to only them, and an example of this would be OnePlus smartphones. OnePlus phones use what is called Dash Charge, which can supply 5 Amp charging power to the phone. Even now, with the latest OnePlus 7 Pro, it does not feature wireless charging, but the phone does make up that with its use of Dash charging. This is because you can forget to charge a OnePlus phone when you go to bed, but recharge it when you wake up and get ready for your day. That said, it still does seem quite odd that there’s wireless charging for a smartphone that has a glass back and with wireless charging being the standard for most phones.
USB-C PD Laptops and Other Devices
Okay, so, what is useful to charge within 2020 for when you’re traveling? USB-C Power Delivery. If you own a recent phone, whether it’s the iPhone X and onward or an Android phone that was released in the past four years, then you can use a Power Delivery charger to fast charge your phone. To add to that, laptops have transitioned to using the same USB-C port that phones now use and have adapted to use the PD charging tech, along with tablets, too.
If you’re abroad, with your laptop and phone, Power Delivery allows you to charge your smartphone and laptop with the same charger. Of course, you’re going to need a USB-C PD laptop, but here in 2020, there are many to choose from with the Apple MacBook being the more prominent one. However, you have options, especially with Microsoft’s newest lineup of portable laptops with the all-new Surface Laptop 3, Pro X and 2019 released Surface Pro 7. All of these newer models use a USB-C port that that can be charged using a Power Delivery charger. Also, each of them can be used for work and portability as they are quite small and thin. Some of the best Power Delivery chargers that you can buy are from brands like Aukey or Anker.
Laptop Chargers
With Power Delivery chargers for laptops, you’re no longer dealing with a DC charging cable that has a power brick. Instead, what you’re using is the same size wall charger that would come with your smartphone. Many wall chargers on the market are now using GaN chips inside of them and this allows them to be even smaller than they were. Recently, RAVPower released a 90W Power Delivery Charger with two USB-C ports.
With 90W of charging power, you’re able to do a lot. By charging a single device with this 90W PD charger, you’re able to make full use of the 90W of power, which makes charging most laptops at their max power possible. Or you can opt to split that power by charging two laptops at once or charging a smartphone and a laptop at the same time.
PD Power Banks
One other way to utilize Power Delivery quite well when you’re traveling is by using a power bank that uses PD. There are many, and it’s a great way to be able to charge your laptop or smartphone when you’re seeing the sights. If you want a power bank to fast charge your phone only, then we recommend going for a power bank that has a 10,000mAh power capacity. These chargers are usually small and slim, basically being the size of your smartphone.
Larger, high capacity power banks in the 20,000mAh range can be useful for charging laptops. These power banks can charge a laptop to full power about two times, more so than a 10,000mAh power bank. What’s more, is that these high capacity ones have more powerful PD charging into the 30W range and higher. While lower capacity power banks have 10,000mAh power banks have 18W charging rates.
Traveling is fun, and it allows you to see new places and experience new things. However, there is a real portion to it and in our case, charging you’re everyday devices is still a must no matter how majestic the place you’re visiting is.