OnePlus GaN Chargers: When Small Square Bottle Is the Best Name Youve Got

Oh, OnePlus, youve outdone yourself. Youve taken the cutting-edge GaN technology, packed it into a Small Square Bottle, and slapped some breathtakingly creative names on them: the 100W Small Square Bottle Pro and the 120W Small Square Bottle. Whats next? The Rectangular Rectangle or the Circular Cylinder? Who needs marketing departments when youve got this level of imagination?

So Whats the Deal With These Chargers?

The 120W Small Square Bottle is being hailed as a compact, lightweight dual-port USB-C charger that weighs 105 grams and claims to deliver up to 120W of power. But lets be real: compact? Its still a 65 x 33.5 x 33.5 mm chunk of tech that will probably hog your entire outlet. And dont get me started on the dual-port feature-because splitting 120W into 80W and 45W might not sound as impressive when youre simultaneously charging your power-hungry laptop and phone.

The Advanced GaN Technology: A Fancy Way of Saying It Doesnt Overheat (Much)

OnePlus brags about using gallium nitride (GaN) to keep heat generation low and improve power efficiency. But lets face it, if your previous charger turned into a hotplate during a Zoom call, any improvement feels like a scientific breakthrough. They even threw in a graphite heat dissipation system, which might sound fancy but is really just glorified thermal paste with a PR glow-up.

100W Small Square Bottle Pro: Lite Version or Just a Little Less Worse?

For those who think 120W is just too much to handle, the 100W Small Square Bottle Pro is here to save the day. Smaller, lighter, and just as awkwardly named, it delivers 100W through a single USB-C port. Sure, its portable, but lets not forget that 56 x 33.5 x 33.5 mm is still going to poke out of your laptop bag like a sore thumb. At least its 90 grams, so youll save a whopping 15 grams of weight. Fitness goals, anyone?

Fast Charging Standards: Throwing Buzzwords Like Confetti

OnePlus proudly lists a laundry list of supported fast-charging protocols: SuperVOOC, PD 3.0, PPS, QC 3.0, UFCS, and BC 1.2. Wow, what a mouthful! Translation: these chargers will probably work with your devices, but youll need a decoder ring to figure out whether theyll actually charge at full speed. Spoiler alert: compatibility doesnt mean optimal.

The Accessories: Silicone-Coated Cables and Foldable Prongs, Oh My!

Lets not forget the silicone-coated cable that can handle up to 12A of current, featuring an Emarker chip for intelligent power regulation. In non-marketing speak, its a cable that wont fry your phone-because, you know, thats the bare minimum we expect in 2023. And those foldable prongs? Sure, theyre portable, but theyre also the first thing to snap off when you accidentally drop the charger. Portable, yes. Durable? Not so much.

The Price: Affordable or Just a Clever Distraction?

At 229 yuan ($33) for the 100W version and 269 yuan ($39) for the 120W model, these chargers seem reasonably priced. But lets not forget the hidden cost: the number of adapters youll need to buy because these chargers dont fit into older devices. Add that to the therapy bills for anyone trying to decipher those fast-charging standards.