Pavel Jelic If you weren't born ten years ago and you've been living on our planet for some time, you definitely remember the times when we charged the iPhone with the legendary 5W charging adapter. Everyone really knows it, not only Apple users, but also users of Android phones. And there is nothing to be surprised about, because at the time when Apple was still packing these ridiculous adapters with its phones, the competition was already using fast-charging adapters with a power of tens of watts. Fortunately, the situation is currently different and the classic slow charging adapters are finally being forgotten, although Apple users will definitely carry them in their heads for some time to come.
It could be interest you
In any case, charging adapters are constantly moving forward, especially in terms of performance. But the problem is that as the power increases, so does the size of the entire adapter. You can see this for yourself if you own, for example, an older 16″ MacBook or a 13″ MacBook Pro. The charging "bricks" that Apple bundles with them are already really big, and something had to be done about it. That is why charging adapters that use GaN (gallium nitride) technology began to emerge. Thanks to this technology, charging adapters have been able to become significantly smaller, and even Apple uses it in the current 96W charging adapters that it bundles with the 16″ MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon. Similar charging adapters are also available in the online store Swissten.eu and in this article we will look at one of them.
Official specification
Specifically, together in this review we will look at Swissten mini charging adapter, which uses GaN technology. This adapter offers one USB-C output that can provide up to 25W of power. Of course, it supports Power Delivery (PDO and PPS), which means that you can quickly charge virtually any newer iPhone with it. Swissten then has more available mini GaN charging adapter with two connectors, which we will look at in one of the next reviews. The price of the reviewed adapter is 499 crowns, but with the use of a discount code you can get to 449 crowns.
What exactly is GaN?
I mentioned above that GaN stands for gallium nitride, gallium nitride in Czech. This technology is actually not new at all - it was already used several decades ago for the production of LEDs, and is currently found, for example, in solar cells, in addition to charging adapters. Unlike silicon semiconductors, which are used (not only) in classic charging adapters, gallium nitride semiconductors heat up much less. Thanks to this, it is possible to place all the components much closer to each other, which of course leads to the reduction of the entire charging adapter.
Packing
The Swissten mini GaN charging adapter arrives in a classic white box, which is quite common for Swissten products. On the front of the box you will find a picture of the charger, along with basic information about the performance and use of GaN technology. On the side you will find some additional information and on the back the instructions for use, together with the specifications. After opening the box, all you have to do is pull out the plastic carrying case, in which you will find the adapter itself. You won't find any unnecessary manuals or papers in the package, because the instructions for use are on the back of the box, as already mentioned.
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Processing
As for the processing of this Swissten mini GaN charger, I simply have nothing to complain about. It is primarily important to mention that it is really small - you can easily hold it in the palm of your hand. The material used is hard white plastic, with the Swissten branding on one side of the adapter and mandatory specifications on the other. There is a single USB-C connector on the front, which you can use to charge your devices with a maximum power of 25 W. The adapter itself is so small that even the end itself, which is inserted into the socket, is larger in width. The dimensions of the adapter without the terminal are only 3x3x3 centimeters, so only this part can be seen in the socket - you can see for yourself in the gallery below.
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Personal experience
I personally used the reviewed charging adapter mainly to charge the iPhone. There is simply not much to talk about here, as the method of fast charging apple phones is the same when using a sufficiently powerful adapter. You can go from 0% to 50% in just 30 minutes, with the charging speed gradually decreasing afterwards to avoid heating up the device itself. As for the Swissten mini GaN adapter, the above applies here. Thanks to the used gallium nitride, there is practically no heating of the adapter during charging, which is certainly an advantage. Otherwise, I also tried charging the MacBook Air M1 with the adapter, which traditionally uses a 30W adapter. In this case too, it served great, although charging was of course a little slower. However, at least to maintain the capacity, this adapter will definitely serve great.
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Conclusion and discount
Are you looking for an interesting charging adapter that uses the latest technology? Tired of classic adapters that are unnecessarily large and often unsightly? If you answered yes to even one of these questions, then believe that you have now come across the right thing. Swissten's mini GaN charging adapter is tiny, uses GaN technology and does not heat up. It can be said that it has no disadvantages compared to classic adapters, and it is even almost 150 crowns cheaper than the original 20W Apple adapter, with the fact that you get 5 W more power with the reviewed adapter. From my own experience, I can recommend you not only this mini adapter from Swissten, but in general products using GaN technology, which is used more and more. Below we also include a 10% discount that you can use on all Swissten products in the Swissten.eu online store.
You can buy the Swissten 25W mini GaN charging adapter here
You can take advantage of the above discount at Swissten.eu by clicking here
