I always see laptops come with larger bricks that have separate mains cable which plugs into the brick. Even if the adapter has some low power rating.
Example for comparison:
On the right is a standard laptop adapter.
Same price, same connector, same protocol, same power rating, far different size.
Why is that so?
Actually, the GaN adapter on the left also advertises itself as being meant for laptops, but by default, almost all laptops will come with something like the one on the right.
Or is it simply cheaper to manufacture while being sold for the same price?
Pro tip: eBay used laptop USB chargers are dirt cheap compared to a GaN charger + USB PD cable. I’ve put laptop chargers all around the house so I always have one available for my laptop, phone and Steam Deck.
Another tip: even if your laptop charger isn’t USB C, you can get a converter to make it a PD USB charger for a couple of £.
Hey, I’m interested in the last thing. Can you give me some details on how to do it? I’d love not to carry around the bulky stock charger.
I got it from Ali Express and hope this link works for you. Just look out for the size that fits your current laptop charger. Also check how many watts your laptop charger does, it needs to be able to output 65W if you want to charge a 65W device.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006780830491.html?spm=a2g0n.order_detail.order_detail_item.3.c1d3f19cAswYFz
Ok, I guess I misinterpreted what you said. My laptop only has a DC barrel port. I want to charge it using any of the high wattage GaN chargers. To do that, I’ll need something that converts the USB-C to barrel, and does the voltage negotiations. But thanks anyway. Maybe this’ll help someone else.
Ah, I’ve never tried to convert it that way. Laptops all seem to have had USB charging for many years now.