introduction
Sometimes, however, a product like this weird ACEFAST charging brick falls into our inbox and is just too intriguing to skip. So I accepted the offer for a review unit, spent a lot of time with it, and am now ready to share my impressions with it.
The device is inconspicuously called “Smart Wall Charger-Hub A17 GaN PD65W”. You all know what a wall charger is and we’re sure most of you know what a Type C “hub” style device is. Sure the latter is a broad category, but it’s basically a plug-in device. to a Type-C port and offers more ports and features, usually based on the basic USB spec or something more elaborate like Thunderbolt that might sit behind a Type-C port. Well, the Charger-Hub A17 combines the two into one.
ACEFAST Charger-Hub A17 specifications at a glance:
- Body: 96.8×31.7×51.9mm, 135g; Fireproof PC.
- Entrance: AC100-240V ~ 1.5A, 50Hz / 60Hz, EU and US plug available.
- Production: USB-C: 60W max (support for PPS, QC3.0, AFC, FCP); USB-A: 5W, 5V / 1A max; HDMI: 4K / 3840×2160 / 60Hz.
- USB Type A Specifications: USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10GBps data rate. Maximum power 5V / 1A.
- Accessories: 1.8m (100W, 10Gbps) USB Type-C to Type-C braided cable.
- Certification: PSE, FCC, UL test report.
We can think of at least two reasons why it might come in handy. First of all: one less thing to carry around. Want a good portable Nintendo Switch setup or one to hook up a phone and use something like Samsung’s DeX? This might be a good solution.
The other potential use case for us is a clean setup. Hubs are great, but the vast majority come with a short male Type-C cable attached, meaning the hub itself is meant to go right next to the laptop, phone, or other device you’re plugging in. With the ACEFAST-Hub A17 charger, you can hide all bulky plugs and cable ends and handle them properly with just one Type-C cable that goes to your device on your desk.
To be clear, nothing we have just described has ever been seen before. For example, there are many monitors out there that can supply power and take a video from a phone or laptop via a single Type-C cable. However, what ACEFAST offers is convenience and versatility in a clever way that we haven’t really seen since. nowhere else. This alone has made us believe that there is a market for this particular gadget out there.
Overview of specifications and features
There really isn’t much to the individual parts that make up the Charger-Hub A17 once everything is broken down. There are a total of three ports on it. Type-C is good for up to 60W of power delivery (the 65W value on the packaging is actually cumulative for it and the USB Type A port). It also carries a USB data connection and a video output from the connected device.
The USB Type A port is for connecting a USB device to the host. It is advertised as a UBS 3.1 port, which means very little. The port itself is good for 5W of power and, according to our tests, achieves 10GBps of data throughput, making it a “gen 2” port.
The HDMI port is also not “basic”. It supports up to 4K @ 60Hz output, which makes it HDMI 2.0. It’s great to see as many Type-C hubs out there are limited to 4K @ 30Hz on an HDMI 1.4 port.
The ACEFAST A17 charger-hub also comes with a sturdy 1.8m USB Type-C to Type-C cable. According to our USB POWER-Z meter, it is a passive cable, suitable for up to 20V @ 5A of power or 100W and 10GBps of data transfer. Perfectly suited to the needs of the charger / hub.
How well it works as a charger
The charger part of the Charger-Hub A17 is impressive in terms of space efficiency. The entire gadget measures 96.8 x 31.7 x 51.9mm and points the scales at 135 grams. This is an impressive density that can only be achieved through the use of gallium nitride or GaN technology. And the size of the whole package becomes even more impressive when you consider the additional hardware that’s also crammed in there to handle the hub’s tasks.
ACEFAST advertises good and broad compatibility with charging standards for Charger-Hub A17, including USB PD with PPS and QuickCharge 3.0, AFC and FCP support. However, our review unit only supports PD up to 60 W with only fixed outputs and no PPS. 5V @ 3A, 9V @ 3A, 12V @ 3A, 15V@2.6A and 20V @ 3A, to be exact. We’re not sure why this discrepancy exists, but hopefully the retail units will support all advertised standards.
How well it works as a “dongle” for HDMI and USB
Video output on Type-C is quite versatile on the Charger-Hub A17. To be fair, unlike other parts of the confusing USB Type-C and its underlying USB and Thunderbolt standards, video output is relatively straightforward and usually runs in USB alternate mode. Even so, there are some subtle differences and nuances that need to be considered in order to make an HDMI hub work with a wide variety of modern devices.
We were able to get both video output and a USB connection with the Charger-Hub A17 on a total of three laptops we tested, including Apple’s. We have also had success with some Samsung and Huawei devices with their respective DeX and Desktop Mode implementations. We also got a perfectly stable experience with a Nintendo Switch, which is known to have poor compatibility with some third-party dongles. ACEFAST did their homework in this department. You can find a longer list of devices verified to work with the Charger-Hub A17 on its Amazon listing.
It is also worth reiterating that the A17 Charger-Hub supports HDMI 2.0 and up to 40K @ 60Hz. This is especially important for work scenarios like docking a laptop or using DeX as 30Hz is horrible for productivity and the “desktop” experience in general.
Final thoughts
The ACEFAST Charger-Hub A17 is currently listed on Amazon US for $ 49.99. That’s a fairly reasonable price in our book for what is essentially a GaN PD charger, USB Type-C HUB, and Type-C cable. Pricing and availability in Europe should follow soon.
We like the Charger-Hub A17 and think it’s a really nifty little gadget. Again, none of its features are groundbreaking in any way, but it’s worth considering how cleverly they’re implemented here. The Charger-Hub A17 is great for being a very light and portable solution to carry around or a way to achieve a cleaner docking setup. Both are great use cases.
Even in our tests we found no major problems with the Charger-Hub A17. Well, aside from the somewhat disconcerting absence of some of its advertised charging protocols on our unit, that shouldn’t be the case with the retail ones. We would also have liked to see another USB Type A port there as one is a bit limiting. Maybe ACEFAST can ship it with a 2.0 version at some point. Other than that, the Charger-Hub A17 works great and has broad compatibility with devices.
We’re sure at least some of you out there will find the Charger-Hub A17 intriguing and smart products like this deserve more exposure.
Start a new Thread