Ugreen is one of the most reputable makers of chargers and docks, and my colleague Brady Snyder recently tested its "Nexode" series of compact yet powerful wall chargers. Ugreen basically has a charging brick for every power level — 160W, 100W, 65W — and each of those chargers is much smaller in size than other chargers with the same power output. In fact, for short work trips when I try to pack as light as possible, I usually bring just a single Ugreen 100W charger for all my charging needs.

But if you don't mind something bulkier that's designed to be a home-bound charging dock, Ugreen's Nexode series has a five-port, 300W charger that can be your all-in-one charging station at home. I've been using the charger on and off for the past half a year, and it is extremely useful for someone like me, who has a 16-inch MacBook Pro and multiple phones. I think this charger has a place in every techie's home.

About this review: Ugreen sent me this charger for personal testing six months ago, with no expectations or requirements of a written review. I chose to write one after finding it very useful in my daily life. Ugreen had no input in this article.

Ugreen Nexode 300W 5-Port GaN Charger Pricing and Availability

The Ugreen Nexode 300W charger is available now on Amazon for $269. The price includes the charging station, a 6-foot-long power cord, and a 5-foot-long USB-C to USB-C cable.

Hardware and design

Deskbound design with five ports

The Nexode 300W charger comes with a detachable AC power cord that measures over 6 feet in length, and a single 5 feet long USB-C to USB-C cable. The cable is made of quality braided material, and it's nice to see Ugreen includes velcro straps to keep the long cords in check if you do not need the full length. As you can see from the photos, this charger itself is a base station designed to sit on a flat surface like a work desk. Once you plug in the AC charger, the station is ready to go. There's no switch to turn on, no lights. You just plug cables into any of the USB ports and the charging begins.

The charger's outer shell is constructed out of fire-resistant plastic, with a deep grey metallic coating. There are two rubber nubs at the bottom to prevent the charger from slipping around. The charger measures 4.4 X 3.7 X 2.09 inches and weighs 1.8 pounds. So it's bulky enough that you probably can't keep this in your clothing pockets, nor would you want to lug this around in your backpack (along with a laptop) all day. But it's definitely easy enough to pack in a suitcase or carry-on bag for travel.

What I like

Ports galore that actually pump out advertised power

One of the things I've realized from testing chargers lately is that most of them cannot actually deliver the full advertised power output, because to reach optimal charging output you need a myriad of things to line up correctly, such as having the right cable, the wall sockets at the location of your desk need to be in healthy conditions, and your devices also have to be in the right battery capacity range (generally, most smartphones and laptops will throttle power input in the final 10-20% of capacity).

I'm happy to report the Ugreen Nexode 300W gets very close to its advertised power output. Using the USB-C 1 port and an official Apple MagSafe cable, I was able to output over 130W of power consistently to my 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro. In a 30-minute charge I was able to top up to the 16-inch machine with a 99.6Wh battery from 23% to 70%.

The charger can also deliver a full fast charge to my iPhone 15 Pro Max using standard USB-C PD 3.1 fast charging. But my Chinese Android phones from Xiaomi or Oppo (which can charge much faster using proprietary tech), the Ugreen Nexode charger is only able to max out at 50W of power output.

With 300W of combined power output, I was able to charge both my 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro and 15-inch M3 MacBook Air at the same time, with both charging at near max speeds, and still have some juice left to spare to top up a phone. Impressively, the charger also does not get hot even when I'm using all five ports or charging two laptops. Ugreen says it has a proprietary chip inside that's constantly monitoring temperature. It also helps that the charger is large in size, so there's more room for heat dissipation than just a small wall charging brick.

What I don't like

This is a luxury, not a necessity

There's really not much to dislike here, as the Nexode 300W does what it advertises and does it well. But I need to fill out this section, so I'll just add some nitpicks: I wish Ugreen had included a few more cables instead of just one, and the $270 price can be considered expensive for something that isn't an essential "must-have". If you own a laptop, you already got a charger included with the machine. And most phones can be charged using one plug. So this charger simply consolidates the need to use multiple chargers, it isn't offering a service that you cannot live without.

Should you buy the Ugreen Nexode 300W 5-Port Charger?

You should buy the Ugreen Nexode 300W charger if:

• You want a single base to charge multiple devices including laptops
• You only have one available wall socket but you want to charge multiple devices

You should not buy the Ugreen Nexode 300W charger if:

• You are fine with your current charging setup

I am currently staying at my mother's apartment without a proper work desk, but if I did have a working desk, this charging base would definitely earn a spot on it. I even carried this with me on a short work trip once to simplify my charging needs, but I ultimately decided against doing it again because I would rather have smaller, more portable solutions when on work trips. This means I find this charger very useful to have on a stationary work station, but it isn't an essential "I can't live without it" item. Whether you want to pay $270 for a product that can be considered a luxury, not a necessity, depends on your needs and budget. But this charger does exactly what it advertises without any noticeable shortcomings.