GaN Power

One downside of moving to a bigger and more powerful 15" laptop (a 15-inch MBP) has been a bigger power brick. Before I had happily enjoyed the much smaller FINsix Dart. And even though the Dart supports USB-C/USB-PD, the output power (65W) was not enough to power the MBP.

The genuine Apple 87W adapter has two issues: it is big and heavy (relatively) and has only a single output. With my passion to optimize cables and power bricks, I went on a shopping spree trying to find a better alternative. On the way I backed the 4-port, 100W HyperJuice on Kickstarter. It is a nice and convenient power unit and many will appreciate the legacy USB-A ports. To me, however, it was too little (or actually too much) too late.

I do not have ANY USB-A gear anymore, passionately cutting the A-plugs and replacing them with C-ones. So while the HyperJuice was smaller than the Apple and had multiple ports, I saw the potential of shrinking the brick even further, by going with a 2-port USB-C only unit.

The RAVPower dual USB-PD 90W brick is just perfect. Volume-wise it is about half the size of the Apple 87W power supply. And it has two ports. Perfect configuration. I also find it coupled very well with a 90-degree angled Type-C plug (on one end of the cable).

The size reduction of the power units has been possible thanks to the proliferation of GaN semiconductors, which enable higher voltage, higher switching frequency applications while improving power density and heat dissipation. IOW compacting the power conversion units even more. This is a very welcome trend. A power brick is, after all, a brick. And the less bricks you are to carry, and the smaller they are, the better.