Zendure 5-Port Turbo Desktop Charger

Desktop chargers aren’t just useful in the home either, they’re also great for taking on holiday and prevent us having to carry multiple power adaptors in our suitcases. This Zendure works with any 100- to 240V AC input, and is supplied with a UK three-pin plug.

It stands out among a sea of devices that in essence do the same thing in two ways: it’s very compact, just 97x60x27mm and 166g; and it builds in Zen+ technology, which it uses to intelligently recognise each pluggedin device and then deliver an optimal amount of power for charging.

It’s a well-built rectangular device with rounded edges and encased in glossy black or white plastic. A silver band with Zendure logo wraps around the desktop charger’s body, while you’ll find an AC input on top and five fast-charging USB ports and a power indicator at the bottom.

We’ve seen desktop chargers that cost less and are only slightly larger that offer six USB ports, though, such as the Olixar (above). When you’re choosing a desktop charger, you should take into account not only how many ports it offers and how much power each delivers, but also how many of those ports it can support at once.

The Zendure has a maximum output of 40W, so to the untrained eye it immediately looks inferior. By offering 40W to five ports it is able to deliver 8W to each, which is still faster than the 5W output of many smartphone chargers, and not far enough behind the Olixar for you to notice a difference.

For both desktop chargers this is where intelligent charging technology comes in (SmartID for the iClever, and Zen+ for the Zendure). Not all devices require the full 12W, so by giving each device exactly what it wants more power is free for other phones, tablets, MP3

players, cameras, smartwatches, fitness trackers and the like. Zendure’s 5-Port Turbo Desktop Charger builds in protection for over-voltage, over-current, leakage and short circuit, and it comes with a 12-month warranty.

Verdict

The Zendure 5-Port Turbo Desktop Charger is a neat and intelligent device for charging multiple USBpowered gadgets from a single mains outlet. We’ve seen lower-cost examples with an extra port, but the Zendure wins on its more compact dimensions.