Zyron Powaforce 100W GaN 5 charger – new tech charging

Zyron Powaforce 100W GaN 5 charger uses the new GaN5 technology, including lossless volt/amp/watt sensing and higher energy efficiency over GaN3. Zyron is an Aussie company, and we love to support that.

So, let’s start with Zyron. It is an Aussie company established in 2021 specifically to study the emerging GaN (Gallium Nitride) technology. Since then, it has sold 20,000+ chargers and is fast becoming a niche global supplier. Its latest products are made in Vietnam.

Its first products were GaN 3-based devices that converted 240V power at a 93% efficiency to USB power. GaN 5 improves that to 95%, adding lossless sensing (more accurate power delivery to USB-C devices) and better heat management.

Don’t underestimate the Gan 5 advantage – most chargers (apart from the latest Anker Gan Prime series 7) still use GaN 3.

Australian Review: Zyron Powaforce 100W GaN 5 charger Model ZY-WC-100W-2C2A (as at 15 May 2024*)

Website	Company Product Page
Price*	100W four-port RRP $129.99 on sale at $89.99 65W three-port RRP $79.99 on sale at $49.99 Includes travel case and braided 5W cable Includes free shipping.
Warranty	2-years ACL and local support
Made in	Vietnam
Company	As above
More	CyberShack off-grid news and reviews

New Ratings Methodology 2024

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

We are also tightening up on grading. From now on, Pass, for example, means meeting expectations for the price bracket. We consider a Pass mark to be 70+/100 with extra points added for class-leading and excellence. Pre-2024 reviews tended to use 8+ as a pass.

First Impression – substantial – Pass+

It is reasonably substantial to fit four ports at 110 x 80 x 30mm x 290g. The travel case and 2m cable add 135g.

It has been on the test bed for a month, powering almost every USB-C device we review. We have poked, prodded, temperature monitored, and multi-meter/VA tested every aspect on dozens of devices. Without fail, it delivered the correct volts/amps/watts for each device, even identifying some devices that were allegedly fast-charge capable but were not. It passes with flying colours.

Ports and power – Pass+

It has two channels for the four ports. That means the 100W maximum output is shared over all ports.

Single port use

• USB-C (C1 – top) can output 5V/3A/15W, 9V/3A/27W, 15V/3A/45W and 20V/5A/100W or PPS 5-21V/5A.
• Or USB-C (C2 – middle) same as C1.
• USB-A A1 5V/2.4A/12W
• USB-A A2 is the same

Two port use

• C1/C2 65/20W
• C1 and A1 or A2 65/12W

Three port use

• C1/C2/A1 or A2 65/20/12W

Four port use

• C1/C2/A1/A2 65/20/15W (shared)

Caveats

To achieve

• 100W charging on one port (97W achieved), you must use 5A-rated cables (20V/5A/100W).
• 3A cables will only charge at a maximum of 60W.
• 1 or 2A cables (as most cheap USB-C cables are) reduce to 5W or 10W by cutting the voltage to 5V.

The device detects cable type so as not to overstress or overheat the cable.

A 5W USB-C to USB-C cable is inbox. You can also use Thunderbolt 4 cables for 100W charging.

Tests – Pass+

• It safely powers a Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 that usually uses a 120W power supply without an undersupply warning. Our VA meter shows it responding from as low as 45W to 97W, depending on load.
• It powers the latest Motorola Edge 50 Pro with its 125W charger without an undersupply warning. It matched the 18V/5A/95W from the Moto charger and gave similar charge times.
• USB-A downstream charge 5V/3A/12W – Pass
• Using all four ports showed volt/amp/wattage within spec. It became slightly toasty (42°) but well within spec.
• It supported Samsung, Motorola, and other PPS fast-charge protocols.

Safety – Pass+

It uses the Navitas GaNFast/GaNSense Gan 5 chipset (also used by Anker GanPrime series 7). These include safety features such as over-voltage, current, and temperature for safer charging. GaNSense is a more efficient way to measure exactly what a USB-C device needs, making it more energy efficient.

CyberShack’s view: The Zyron Powaforce 100W GaN 5 charger is excellent, especially if you can get it on sale.

GaN 5, four ports, combined 100W charging, Navitas chips and made in Vietnam by an Aussie company. It sounds pretty good to me.

You can sense Zyron’s enthusiasm (who picked that name?) in its approach to using the device for a review and its willingness to provide full specs—something so often overlooked by the big guys.

At the same time, we were reviewing the Anker 120W, 3-port Gan 5 (same chipset), and this Aussie offering held its own and was substantially lower cost. It gets our buy recommendation.

Rating

• Features: 90 – Four ports sharing up to 100W
• Value: 95 – Excellent value and has RCM C-Tick certification
• Performance – 100 – meets or exceeds all tests for 100W.
• Ease of Use: 95 – plug into the wall socket and go. It is understandably a little heavier with 4-ports.
• Design: 90 – Compact, both USB-C ports can power up to 100W (separately). The hard-sided travel case and cable are a bonus.

Pro

).

Con