You can find plenty of multiport GaN chargers to help charge your Apple devices on the go. But things get a bit complicated if you want a power brick that can fast charge multiple MacBooks at once. Chargeasap solved this problem with its Zeus 280W power adapter, which the company calls the “world’s first and smallest 280W charger.”
So, what makes the Zeus 280W special? For starters, it can fast charge two 16-inch MacBook Pros at once, a feat that only a few other power bricks can match. Our review will help you decide if this 280W powerhouse is worth buying instead of other GaN chargers.
This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.
Chargeasap Zeus 280W charger review
Typically, high-end power adapters can only put out 100W-plus from one of their USB-C ports at a time. As you plug in multiple devices, the charger distributes the power across them. The problem with this approach is when you want to fast charge devices like the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which requires 140W of power. Charging at 65W or less means filling up its battery can take a while. The situation gets even more complicated if you have multiple MacBooks that you want to fast charge at once.
But there’s more to the Zeus 280W than its impressive power output capabilities. Here’s why I think the Chargeasap Zeus 280W is the perfect travel accessory and power brick for professionals.
Chargeasap's Zeus 280W GaN charger packs three USB-C ports and one USB-A port, offering a total combined output of 280W. It is also the only GaN charger capable of charging two 16" MacBook Pros simultaneously.
Table of contents: Chargeasap Zeus 280W review
Design
Photo: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac
There’s not much to a power brick’s design. They all mostly look the same. But when you have a charger that can crank out power equivalent to four power adapters, design plays an important role. With the Zeus 280W, Chargeasap did not reinvent the wheel. Instead, it built on the design of its fantastic Zeus 270W charger — and fixed all its weak points.
Thanks to its elongated design, the Zeus 280W won’t block other power sockets next to it. This is a big annoyance with other big power bricks, and Chargeasap successfully circumvented it. Unlike the Zeus 270W, the 280W model’s plastic ABS shell has a matte finish. This makes it a lot more grippy, ensuring you won’t drop it. Plus, it does a better job hiding scratches and scuffs, which the charger inevitably will pick up, especially if you take it on the road.
Chargeasap also redesigned the charger’s folding prongs and integrated them into the Zeus 280W’s body. This simplifies the process of attaching (and removing) the charger’s travel adapters, which are smaller than before. Another design improvement: The charging prong now has a landscape orientation, so when inserted into a power outlet, it won’t look like the brick is plugged in upside down.
On the front, the Chargeasap Zeus 280W offers three USB-C ports, a USB-A port, and a small OLED screen that shows the power output of each port in use. Compared to the Zeus 270W, the front has been revamped, switching to a landscape orientation for the display. This makes it easy to read the power output, especially since it’s no longer a black-and-white panel. Even better, the display will automatically turn off if there are no devices plugged into the Zeus 280W — another big improvement over its predecessor.
Photo: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac
If you ever used Chargeasap’s previous power adapters, you will appreciate these small but important design refinements. And coming from other multiport power bricks, you will find little to complain about. The only downside is that the charger’s weight increased to 380 grams versus the Zeus 270W’s 320 grams. That’s still lighter than carrying four power bricks around, though.
For comparison, Apple’s 140W USB-C charger for the 16-inch MacBook Pro weighs about 277 grams and comes with just one USB-C port. Two of them will easily weigh more than half a kilogram. So, the Chargeasap power brick is noticeably smaller and lighter than a pair of Apple chargers, while packing more flexibility and functionality.
All the power you’ll ever need
Photo: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac
You can find several power adapters capable of fast-charging two laptops at once. But topping up two 16-inch MacBook Pros at full speed simultaneously? The Chargeasap’s Zeus 280W is among the very few on the market right now. Its C1 and C2 ports can output power at 140W individually, with the first always prioritizing full output if more than two ports are in use.
Below is how the Zeus 280W distributes power across its four ports:
- C1 or C2 = 140W
- C3 = 100W
- A1 = 65W
- C1 + C2 = 140W + 140W
- C1 or C2 + C3 = 140W + 100W
- C1 or C2 + A1 = 140W + 65W
- C3 + A1 = 15W
- C1 + C2 + C3 = 140W + 65W + 65W
- C1 + C2 + A1 = 140W + 65W + 65W
- C2 + C3 + A1 = 100W + 15W + 15W
- C1 + C2 + C3 + A1 = 140W + 65W + 12W + 15W
As you can see, the Chargeasap 280W can output 140W individually from its C1 and C2 USB-C ports. When all three USB-C ports are in use simultaneously, only the first one puts out 140W of power. On the other ports, power drops to 65W. That’s still good enough to fast charge your MacBook, iPhone and iPad at once!
The charger is even capable of charging a 16-inch MacBook Pro and two other 14-inch MacBooks simultaneously, all at almost full speed.
Note that the Zeus 280W does not ship with a bundled 140W USB 3.1 cable. So, to fast charge your 16-inch MacBook Pro, you must use the USB-C-to-MagSafe cable that shipped with your laptop. A regular USB-C cable supports 100W power transfer.
Photo: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac
Another key upgrade on the Zeus 280W is the bump in the USB-A port’s power output to 65W, up from 36W on Charegeasap’s Zeus 270W GaN charger. It also supports proprietary fast charging standards from Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus, though the max output is limited to a paltry 22.5W. More importantly, it lacks support for Xiaomi’s fast charging tech, which, apart from OnePlus, has a bigger international brand presence.
If you have a Samsung phone, the Zeus 280W charger supports PPS, so it can fast charge your Galaxy device.
I noticed the Zeus 280W has no calibration lag in daily use when using C1 and C2 ports. With the C3 and A1 ports, the power redistribution takes around a second, which is better than most other multiport power bricks. I did notice the charger calibrating the C3 port multiple times when I left a cable plugged into the A1 port, but it was not in use.
Photo: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac
While some may dismiss the Zeus 280W’s OLED screen as a gimmick, it’s one of my favorite aspects of the charger. A quick look at the screen will show you the power consumption of each connected device and their charging speeds. And since Chargeasap uses a color display, it’s easier to distinguish between the power output of each port.
Given its compact form factor and the amount of power it can transfer, I expected the Zeus to get warm. But it did worse than my expectations. The charger gets really hot when three or four ports are in use. In my testing, temperatures surrounding the OLED screen reached as high as 129 degrees Fahrenheit (54C). That’s uncomfortably hot, and something you might want to keep in mind if you live in a hot area.
Pricing
Photo: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac
The Chargeasap Zeus 280W costs $219 in the United States. While expensive, that’s only about 20% more than buying two of Apple’s $99 140W USB-C power adapters. And with the Zeus, you gain additional flexibility thanks to the extra ports. Plus, it’s smaller and lighter, which makes it worth the money if you’re traveling.
You won’t find a better or similar offering on the market that can charge two 16-inch MacBook Pros at full speed. So, if your use case requires topping up multiple USB-C devices at once, and you want to avoid using multiple charging bricks, the Chargeasap Zeus 280W is a great buy.
Its high running temperature is certainly an issue, though, and something you must be wary of when using it in areas with high ambient temperatures. The excess heat could cause the charger to fail rather quickly after prolonged use.
★★★★☆
Buy from: Amazon
Chargeasap's Zeus 280W GaN charger packs three USB-C ports and one USB-A port, offering a total combined output of 280W. It is also the only GaN charger capable of charging two 16" MacBook Pros simultaneously.
Chargeasap provided Cult of Mac with a review unit for this article. See our reviews policy, and check out other in-depth reviews of Apple-related items.
