MacBooks and other technical accessories are getting lighter and lighter, but do you need multiple power supplies to recharge the devices you take with you when you travel? With the right choice of power supply and clever combination with appropriate cables you can restore minimalist order and save weight at the same time.
Most of the time you are on the road with your iPhone and Macbook, maybe still with iPad and powerbank. For photographers, there is also the camera. Should you now bring a separate charger and cable for each device? That is quite annoying. The first step is usually to take a multi-port USB power supply with you. These are sometimes also suitable for loading MacBooks with USB-C port, but they are also quite big and bring their own additional cable.
We have chosen a 2 port charger from Aukey. It delivers 2.1 Ampere on the USB-A port and up to 46 Watts on the USB-C port. So it’s enough to charge and run 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros, but not as fast as the original one. And not under full load: if you want to use the 15″ top model with video renderings on the go, you will of course need the 87 Watt power supply. For charging overnight or for normal operation while typing and surfing the Internet, however, the 46 watts are completely sufficient.
To connect the MacBook we take a USB-C cable with us. And then there is one Lightning calbe for the iPhone, which fits into the conventional USB-A port. This gives us the option to charge MacBook and iPhone or iPad simultaneously. If you also have a power bank with you, you can connect it via an additional cable if pass-through charging is possible: The first cable then goes from the power supply to the battery pack and from there to the iPhone, just as if you were out and charging your iPhone. So you get to charge three devices with one power supply at the same time. If you still have a device with a USB-C cable, it can be connected to the MacBook Pro, which then also will be charged. Very practical.
If you only want to take two cables with you, you should make sure that the two possible connectors also cover everything. For example a USB-A to Lightning cable for iPhone, iPad and battery pack and a USB-C to USB-C cable for MacBook and a corresponding power bank. If you absolutely need a micro-USB cable for the camera, you can also take a USB-A to micro-USB cable and retrofit Lightning with a small adapter. However, another cable is usually not as important as another power supply.
But even there you can get creative: Maybe use a cable with multiple connector outputs: So you can connect multiple devices at the same time. They usually only charge with 1 ampere, but that doesn’t matter, because this is often fast enough and the power supply only supplies just over 2 ampere anyway.
So you see: with clever consideration you can keep your luggage small and light and still be prepared for everything. In addition, with the Aukey you get a cheap additional charger that allows you the best feature of all: you can always leave it in your travel bag and the original power supply and cable at your desk at home. This eliminates the most annoying factor: the constant search and packing of cables and power supply when you leave home.
