This Tiny Charger Replaced All My Other Chargers (and It Works Around the World)
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We live in an age when smartphones have basically solved language barriers when we’re traveling abroad. Yet keeping these miraculous devices charged remains surprisingly challenging. I’ve used plenty of region-specific adapters that work okay with power cords but fall out of the wall when I plug in a charging brick. I’ve also used universal adapters, but these are clunky, fragile, and too weak to charge a laptop without an additional wall charger. TheMinix Neo P1 Wall Charger, however, has none of these problems, and I now rely on this tiny brick — barely bigger than an AirPods Pro case — to charge all of my devices no matter where I am in the world.
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The Neo P1’s foldout plug works with North American type B outlets by default, but it also comes with two slide-on adapters for the type C (E.U.) and type G (U.K.) outlets commonly found in other parts of the world. (They separately sell atype I adapter for use in Australia.) This slide-on design forms a sturdy connection that feels as solid as a built-in plug — I’ve never once worried about it slipping out of an outlet. (The three-pronged U.K. adapter is especially helpful for plugging into the in-seat outlets on planes, which have a hard time gripping on to a regular charger.)
I originally bought the Neo P1 almost a year ago to use on a family visit to China and Hong Kong, where I knew I would need both plug adapters during the same trip. It was the perfect tool for the job — and was similarly helpful on a subsequent vacation to the U.K. and Germany. What I didn’t expect was that it would also end up replacing my day-to-day chargers at home. Between its small size and multiple ports, I can toss it into any bag, knowing it’ll handle all my charging needs for the day.
Despite having two USB-C ports (either of which can output up to 65 watts) and a single 2.4 amp USB-A port (handy for older e-readers or battery packs), the Neo P1 is similar in size to an iPad charger and only about half the size of a comparably powerful Apple MacBook charger. And yet it is powerful enough to charge most 13- and 14-inch laptops as well as any combination of phones, tablets, headphones, or other smaller devices. (It can slowly charge larger 15- and 16-inch laptops, but these power-hungry computers work better with the larger and pricier 100WNeo P3.)
Minix is based out of Hong Kong, but has aUS-based support officethat can help if anything goes wrong within the 1-year warranty period.
As someone who’s extremely picky about their gear, I rarely come across products that I can’t find some fault with. If I were to really reach for something to critique about the Minix, it would be its lack of an elegant storage solution for the plug adapters when they’re not in use. It’s also not the most polished-looking device. But for under $40, it’s hard to complain.
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