Tronsmart U5PTA QC3 desktop charger review

Price When Reviewed

$29.99

Charge all your devices from a single mains power outlet with this super-fast multi-port USB charger. With Quick Charge 3.0 support it’s a great fit for the LG G5 and more. We review the Tronsmart U5PTA desktop charger, which is available from Amazon UK for £22.99, or Amazon US for $29.99. Also see: Best desktop chargers 2016 and What is Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0?

The Tronsmart U5PTA is the latest in a series of Quick Charge 3.0 devices we’ve tested, having most recently looked at the very useful RavPower Turbo+ high-capacity power bank. Quick Charge 3.0 is the latest revision to Qualcomm‘s fast-charging technology, and it can charge compatible devices up to four times faster than a conventional charger. It’s backward-compatible with Quick Charge 1.0 (up to 40 percent faster than a standard charge) and Quick Charge 2.0 (up to 75 percent faster charging), which will be handy if you aren’t eligible for a phone upgrade just yet.

This Tronsmart is a five-port USB charger, and only one of these ports supports Quick Charge 3.0. That’s not really an issue, since right now you’ll be lucky to have one QC3 device, let alone five. The four remaining ports are rated at 2.4A (12W), but with a maximum output of 7.2A shared between these ports the Tronsmart can’t simultaneously run all four at full-speed. VoltIQ technology allows it to recognise your device type and deliver the optimum charge to each, however, ensuring that the available power is distributed in the best possible way. Should all four connected devices demand a lot of juice, the Tronsmart can supply 1.8A or 9W to each, which is still pretty fast. Also see: How to charge your phone faster.

Even if you have no interest in futureproofing your technology for when you do eventually get a Quick Charge 3.0 device, it’s worth considering the fact this Tronsmart is both cheaper and better-looking than its QC2 rivals that top our best desktop chargers chart. The £25.99 Tronsmart Titan has five ports that support Quick Charge 2.0, but it’s a much larger device; the £25.99 Choetech 6-port USB Desktop Charger has an additional USB output, two of which support Quick Charge 2.0.

And looks might well be the deciding factor here. We’ve always found desktop chargers incredibly useful because we don’t like having to search for a vacant wall socket everytime we need to charge our phone, nor having to decide which device’s charging should take priority over anothers. (And who wants to fill their hand luggage with phone-, tablet- and camera chargers when it should be filled with bikinis and shoes?) It can get to the stage where you have so many USB cables coming out of plug sockets that everything starts to look a bit messy. A desktop charger such as this lets you clear away all that clutter, so it makes sense that the device itself is small and unobtrusive.

The Tronsmart U5PTA is a compact device, no larger or heavier than most desktop chargers we review at 165x156x56mm, and ideal for taking with you on your travels. A black rectangular plastic brick with matt sides and gloss edges, it’s designed to lie flat on a desk, with all the legends save the Tronsmart logo hidden from view on the bottom of the device. The USB ports each have a black prong, while the Quick Charge 3.0 port is blue, making it instantly recognisable. As with most such devices the power supply is built-in.   

Read next: Best power banks 2016.