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Harry Padoan

Anker PowerPort III 20W review: a tiny, cheap phone charger with one annoying flaw

Anker PowerPort III 20W balanced on prongs against pink background.

Anker PowerPort III 20W review

Check out the Anker PowerPort III 20W, a tiny budget wall charger that will get your devices back to full health – but not as quickly as you might like.

As the name suggests, this plug is only capable of delivering a maximum power output of 20W. Well, I say only – for many this will be enough. For instance, my Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 could fast-charge with this plug and went from 0% to 100% in just over an hour and a half – not bad. However, this phone requires a 25W power output to enter into super-fast charging – something the Anker PowerPort III 20W can’t provide. More modern handsets – like the iPhone 16, for instance – can even charge above 30W, so this plug won’t cut it if you want top-tier battery life restoration speeds.

However, this charger isn’t only missing a bit of horsepower, it also falls a little flat design-wise, especially compared to some of the best Android phone chargers and best iPhone chargers.

My main complaint would be that it’s not perfect portability-wise. A lot of Anker’s cheap wall chargers have foldable prongs, which is great if you’re not carrying a bag and just want to slip the plug into your pocket. Unfortunately, the Anker PowerPort III 20W skips on foldable prongs and leaves them protruding at all times – thumbs down from me. Having said that, its tiny size is super-effective in-use, making it ideal for when you're working with a tight space.

The overall shape of this charger is a little bit strange, though, and not exactly in a good or charming way. The charging element is more of a cube shape, with the adapter appearing slightly shoehorned on the end of the plug. Combine this with the lack of foldability and you’re looking at a bit of an awkward design.

In the PowerPort III 20W’s defense, it's a very cheap charger, typically priced at just £11.99 (about $16 / AU$23). I’ve also seen it drop below the £8 ($11 / AU$15) mark on Amazon UK – so value-wise, it's still decent. This cost doesn’t include a USB-C cable though, so if you don’t have one of these already, you’ll need to purchase one separately.

Overall, this is a perfectly capable wall charger, but it’s not going to blow you away. More modern devices are capable of charging at significantly higher power-levels than 20W, so although this is a cheap option, it might not offer the longevity you’re looking for. Combine that with its sub-par design and I have no choice but to suggest you give this plug a miss. Instead, I'd recommend opting for the Anker Nano USB-C Wall Charger (30W) which offers more power, a neater aesthetic and yes, foldable prongs (more on this later).

(Image credit: Future)

Anker PowerPort III 20W review: Price & specs

(Image credit: Future)

Should I buy the Anker PowerPort III 20W?

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Anker PowerPort III 20W: Also consider

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