If you've ever traveled with a laptop charger that takes up half your bag, you already know the problem. Silicon-based chargers — the ones that have shipped with every laptop for the last twenty years — are bulky, hot, and inefficient. Gallium nitride (GaN) changes all of that.
What GaN actually does
GaN is a semiconductor material that switches faster and runs cooler than silicon. In a charger, that translates to three concrete advantages: smaller body, higher power output per square inch, and less wasted energy as heat. A 100W GaN charger is roughly the size of a deck of cards. A 100W silicon charger is the size of a brick of butter.
Why this matters for your setup
If you carry a 14–16" laptop, a phone, earbuds, and maybe a tablet, you're either carrying multiple chargers or a single high-wattage one. A 100W GaN like the Voltaire GaN Multi-Port Charger can power all four at once — the laptop draws what it needs, the rest share the remainder. Smart load balancing handles the math.
What to look for when you're buying
- Power output: 65W is plenty for ultrabooks. 100W covers MacBook Pros and most 16" Windows laptops. 200W+ is for charging stations with multiple devices.
- Port mix: At least one USB-C PD port is non-negotiable. USB-A is useful for legacy accessories.
- GaN generation: GaN III chargers are the current standard. GaN II works fine but runs warmer.
- Foldable prongs: Small detail that matters when you actually travel.
For most people, the right move is to retire the chargers that came with their devices and replace them with one good GaN unit. Less cable clutter, less weight in the bag, faster top-ups.