Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W 4-Port GaN Wall Charger Review: Power Everything

The Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W 4-Port GaN Wall Charger isn’t the most compact of GaN chargers – but it makes up for it with superb charging flexibility.

Pros	Cons
Useful for charging ALL your gadgets	Comparatively expensive
USB-A and USB-C ports	No included cables
Range of adaptors makes it somewhat travel-friendly	Bulky size could be a travel problem

Score: 3.5/5

	Buy The Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W 4-Port GaN Wall Charger!	Buy On Amazon

In this review

Design
Performance
Conclusion

With an ever increasing array of gadgets to charge, it can become a real pain making sure you’ve got the right capacity charger to hand. The Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W 4-Port GaN Wall Charger solves for a lot of those problems, and while it’s nowhere near as compact as most GaN chargers, the inclusion of travel adaptors does give it some scope for Australian users who frequently head overseas as well.

Design

The Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W 4-Port GaN Wall Charger is, as the name suggests, a wall charger for a wide variety of gadgets, but you might be wondering about the whole GaN bit. If only somebody called Alex had written a guide to GaN chargers somewhere… oh, look, here’s one I wrote earlier:

How do GaN Chargers Work, And Who Makes Them? (Reviews.org/au)

Your typical GaN charger is small, because one of the advantages of using Gallium Nitride is that you can get a much higher charge rate safely out of a much smaller charging block.

Belkin hasn’t really thought that way with here, because it’s a pretty big and chunky lad, measuring in at 75.2×30.8x95mm and weighing around 341 grams. That means it’s a charger that weighs more than an iPad Mini does.

Why so heavy? It’s basically so that it can pump out a lot more power, and also so it can accommodate a full 4 ports ; three USB-C and one USB-A type port. The idea here is that you can use this one charger for all of your gadgets.

What you end up with is a very plain white charging block, which I suspect might lose some of its lustre over time as white gadgets are prone to do, but then it’s a charger, so I don’t think too many people will care that much.

Aside from the charger, Belkin also supplies a small drawstring pouch for portability, along with four plug heads. It’s not an uncommon play for powered gadgets sold in Australia to come with multiple plug heads, typically to avoid having to produce a specifically “Australian Plug” boxed variant.

The idea there is that consumers can put on the right plug head for their country and then ignore the rest. The presence of the drawstring bag here does suggest that Belkin sees this more as a travel companion, taking the plug heads that you need with you when you head overseas.

Switching to a USA/Japan style plug head is very easy indeed. This is the only plug head that folds up, too.

I’m yet to test that out internationally, but I can see the appeal, as well as the challenges. The drawstring bag isn’t huge, so it won’t always accommodate all the plugs easily, and the heft of the charger itself could prove a packing challenge depending on your airline’s rules and restrictions. Still, it’s overall a nice touch, especially as it’s very easy to pop the different plug heads on and off.

While you get lots of plug heads, you don’t get any included cables in the box at all.

That no doubt makes sense for Belkin – it will happily sell you all kinds of connecting data and power cables if you need them.

The catch here is that some cables that work with specific variants of the Power Delivery standard will allow for higher charging rates; just dropping any old USB-C cable into the Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W 4-Port GaN Wall Charger might not allow for optimal charging performance.

Performance

Belkin rates the three USB-C ports and the single USB-A port on the Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W 4-Port GaN Wall Charger slightly differently. The top USB-C port is rated for 140W maximum charge rates, while the two USB-C sockets beneath it run to a maximum of 65W each. The USB-A port is a far more sedate 12W.

The critical detail here is that the maximum absolute throughput is 140W, which you can spread out over four gadgets, or hog just for one.

At its asking price, it’s kind of hard to see the Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W 4-Port GaN Wall Charger as a good option unless you’re charging a relatively demanding USB-C charge capable laptop with it on a regular basis; if you’re just powering up smartphones or smartwatches or the like, it’s kind of overkill.

It’s glorious overkill, however, and as long as you have compliant cables – and bear in mind most USB-C cables don’t typically advertise their maximum load characteristics – it’s easy to use and, thanks to its underlying GaN architecture, it stays pretty cool too. I’ve run it charging multiple gadgets over multiple hours and never found it getting particularly warm at all.

Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W 4-Port GaN Wall Charger:
Alex’s Verdict

You absolutely can get cheaper and smaller GaN chargers, and if all you need is small and simple, the Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W 4-Port GaN Wall Charger is too much, especially at its typical $189.95 asking price.

This is a specific charger tool for specific circumstances; if you’re after a charger for your laptop that can also keep your phone, smartwatch and other gadgets happy with power from a single plug with some capability for travel as long as you can accommodate its bulk, it’s a decent, albeit not inexpensive option.

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Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W 4-Port GaN Wall Charger:
Pricing and availability

The Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W 4-Port GaN Wall Charger retails in Australia for $189.95.

Want to support Alex Reviews Tech and the independent tech journalism I do here? Buy the Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W 4-Port GaN Wall Charger from the link below!