UGREEN Nexode RG GaN charger and Mini MagSafe power station hands-on: Aesthetics and utility

The first charger on our docket is the UGREEN Nexode RG. The appeal of this tiny USB-C charger is immediately apparent: it is designed to look like a cute robot. This aesthetic certainly stands out amidst a sea of simplified wall warts. The Nexode RG is a bit longer and wider than most USB-C wall chargers, but not by much. It shouldn’t stick out too much further from the wall than most chargers do. 

The Nexode RG is available as either a black-and-gray robot or a purple robot with pink accents and a rubber bow on its back (which is absolutely adorable). Both of these models offer up to 30 W of power delivery. UGREEN also sells a version of the black robot that supports up to 65 Watts of juice. Anecdotally, both of these models charge an iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro Max, Doogee S99, Nintendo Switch, and Lenovo Chromebook (via USB-C) at roughly the same speeds as similar chargers.

For example, the 30 W Nexode RG charged the iPhone 13 from 5% to 46% in 30 minutes, while an Anker Nano II 30 W GaN charger juiced the same iPhone 13 from 5% to 48% in 30 minutes. Similarly, the 65 W Nexode RG charged the Lenovo Chromebook just as fast as a generic 65 W USB-C laptop charging brick. The iPhone 13 Pro Max, Nintendo Switch, and Doogee S99 had similar results with different 30 Watt chargers. 

There is a tiny LCD panel on the Nexode RG that works as a cute charging indicator. When a device is plugged in and charging, the LCD lights up with a smiling emoticon-esque face. Two upturned arches and a left angle bracket, representing eyes on a smiling face, indicate that the connected device is receiving power from the adapter. Once the device is fully charged, the left angle bracket disappears to indicate that the device’s battery is full.