Anker 140W 4-port charger (A2697) review: two laptops from one socket, and a charger that stays on the desk

Verdict

What it is

The split, port by port

Every multi-port charger shares its total between the ports, and the sharing rule matters more than the headline. Anker publishes it in full, which is still unusual:

• C1 + C2: 70 + 70 W — two laptops at once.
• One of those + C3: 100 + 40 W — a laptop and a tablet.
• USB-C + USB-A: 100 + 33 W — a laptop and a phone on an old cable.
• Three ports: 65 + 45 + 30 W.
• All four: 134 W in total.

Read that against a real household. Two people working from home with a MacBook Air and a 65 W Windows laptop each get their own adapter’s full figure from one socket, 70 W apiece. A 14-inch MacBook Pro and an iPad get 100 and 40 W — both above what most people’s original chargers supply. The single-port 140 W only applies when one device is plugged in, and that is the case that matters for a 16-inch MacBook Pro used under load: anything less and the battery drains while the machine works.

The cable rule above 100 W

USB PD tops out at 100 W over a standard 5 A cable. The step to 140 W uses a higher voltage, 28 V, and only a cable with an E-Marker chip rated for it is allowed to carry that. Anker says plainly that an E-Marker cable is required above 100 W and puts one in the box. Use your own and check its marking: a cable sold as 240 W covers the 140 W port; one sold as 100 W caps the laptop at 100 W; an ordinary 3 A cable caps it at 60 W. Nothing on the charger or the laptop tells you which happened, except a slower charge.

Dell, Samsung and the rest

Two compatibility notes come from Anker’s own page and the protocol list. Anker says Dell laptops are limited to 60 W on this charger; a Dell that ships with a 90 or 130 W brick will charge, but slowly, and a Dell owner wanting full speed should keep Dell’s adapter. Samsung’s Super Fast Charging, at 25 or 45 W, needs PPS, and PPS is on Anker’s list for this model — unlike the 100 W Anker we reviewed earlier, whose UK page does not state it. A recent Galaxy on one of the USB-C ports should show “Super fast charging” rather than plain “Fast charging”.

Size, weight and the display

At 69 × 69 × 36 mm the charger is a cube you can hold in one hand, but it is not a pocket item. Anker’s body copy and its spec sheet give 295 g; the table on Anker’s UK page prints 395 g, which is probably the charger with its cable. We publish 295 g and flag the conflict. Either figure is the weight of a laptop brick, and that is the honest way to think of it: this replaces the 16-inch MacBook Pro’s adapter, the tablet charger and the phone plug at once, and it lives where they lived.

The touch display shows what each port is drawing. As with the 100 W model, it is accurate, briefly interesting and then ignored; the charger sits behind a desk, and the number that matters is on the laptop. It is not a reason to buy and not a reason to avoid.

Safety

A high-wattage charger cannot overpower a phone or earbuds. Under USB PD the device asks for the voltage and current it can take, and the charger supplies that or less; the earbuds on the USB-A port draw what earbuds draw. Electrical Safety First’s advice on USB chargers is about counterfeits rather than wattage: buy from a reputable retailer and the brand’s own listing, with a UK plug, and avoid unbranded chargers that skip the negotiation.

Who should buy it

• A 16-inch MacBook Pro owner who wants one charger to replace Apple’s brick and the phone plug.
• Two people working from one desk or one sofa, each with a laptop under 70 W.
• A household charging station: laptop, tablet, phone and earbuds from one socket, with the split in writing.

Who should not

• Anyone who wants a charger for the bag. At 295 g it stays home; a 65 W or 100 W charger travels.
• Dell owners expecting their full figure. Anker’s own note caps them at 60 W.
• One laptop under 100 W. The Anker 100 W or a 65 W charger does the same job smaller.

Sources