I see your 67W USB-C charger and raise you one with a tiny Macintosh screen

When my colleague Chris Welch shared his favorite USB-C travel charger with the world last week, I took it as a challenge. I humbly submit that my charger is just as small and powerful as his Belkin — and it has a built-in screen and power meter so you can see how well your gadgets are charging!

Oh, and it looks like a tiny Macintosh computer, in case that floats your boat. My boat is floating.

Sharge sent a review unit of the $70 Sharge Retro 67 about a year ago, and I liked it so much, I bought one myself. Like my colleague’s $45 Belkin BoostCharge 67W, it’s a three-port USB-C PD and PPS charger with folding prongs, one that can put out up to 67 watts from a single port. Just like Chris, I find that’s enough to slow-charge my 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro, and it should be perfect for thinner and lighter laptops.

But while the Belkin’s primary port dips to 25W as soon as you plug in a second or third gadget, the Retro 67 still gives you 45 watts on port number one! That keeps my Steam Deck happy while I’m using the remaining 15–20W on a Nintendo Switch or Quest 3 or gamepad or — more typically — my phone and a pair of wireless earbuds.

Here’s the Retro 67’s power delivery breakdown:

USB-C1/C2/C3: 5V/9V/12V/15V⎓3A, 20V⎓3.35A, PPS 3.3~20V⎓3A

USB-C1+USB-C2: 45W+20W

USB-C1+USB-C3: 45W+20W

USB-C2+USB-C3: 15W

USB-C1+USB-C2+USB-C3: 45W+15W

The best part, though, is there’s never any question whether I’m getting 67 or 65 or just seven watts, because the Retro 67’s dot-matrix display tells me so. No need to buy an external USB-C power meter — it forms that “07” or “65” in big, blocky numbers like an old digital alarm clock, and you can see the numbers change to reflect the new total as you plug and unplug devices.

You might be wondering: wouldn’t that screen make it a terrible bedside charger? Surprisingly, no! It’s delightfully dim in use, far dimmer than the LED indicators that come with some chargers. I’m the kind of guy who hangs blackout curtains and has plastered over many an LED with black tape, and this one doesn’t bug me. (Warning: its smaller sibling, the single-port Retro 35, has a bright LED that does.)

Yes, there are some downsides. The cool Mac design is clearly oriented to be used on horizontal outlets, and last I checked, most walls are vertical! It’s definitely a little dicey to stick this one in a loose airport socket, too, though its light weight and flat bottom keep it secure in tighter ones. But loose outlets are what my wraparound travel power strip is for, and I’m very happy with the Sharge Retro 67 overall. I take it everywhere now, including CES and the courtroom.

Photography by Sean Hollister / The Verge