This $25 Adapter Is My New Favorite Charging Accessory

Plugable’s USB-C Power Meter a neat little accessory that displays charging stats. It’s arguably useful and inarguably fun.

By Tucker Bowe

Published March 23, 2024

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Have you ever tried charging your phone, laptop or headphones and, after a few hours, it still wasn’t charged? The answer is most likely “yes.” You’re then left wondering if there’s something wrong with your device, the charger or the cable. It’s frustrating.

The good news is, there are little adapters you can buy that can show you charging stats that can help identify the problem. They’re called power meters. And they’re fairly inexpensive.

Plugable USB-C Power Meter
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USB power meters are pretty simple. You plug them into your device and they act as a conduit between it, the charging cable and the power adapter. When charging, the power meter will show you the power — specifically the wattage, but sometimes the voltage and amps as well, depending how fancy it is — going into your device. (You can also plug one directly into a power adapter to see how much power it’s distributing.)

Like most people these days, I have a lot of different gadgets. And thankfully most of them charge via USB-C — even my iPhone — so I can use the same charging cable for all of them. Still, they obviously all have different charging capabilities.

“USB-C is this technology that on one hand is very simple for users — it’s one port to connect everything,” says Bernie Thompson, the founder of Plugable Technologies, which makes an array of chargers, docking stations and related products. “But on the other hand it’s really confusing because you’re never quite sure what level of functionality you’re going to get when connecting things.”

A little power meter can, as Thompson says, help “clarify what’s happening.” I’ve been trying out Plugable’s USB-C power meter for the past several weeks and it’s been enlightening, but mostly quite fun. I use it when charging my iPhone, AirPods and MacBooks, if for no other reason than just to see what’s going on.

Most smaller devices, like headphones and earbuds, draw less power, maxing out at around 5 watts. Most smartphones can charge at up to 20 or 30 watts. Laptops can max out at up to 100 watts (depending on the model). And the power meter informs you on as much. I think the most power I saw my iPhone draw was 21.69 watts. My MacBook Pro was 61.88 watts. My MacBook Air was 39.71 watts. And AirPods Pro was 3.40 watts.

Rather than the max power draw, however, what might be the most interesting thing the power meter shows is how power draw changes over the course of an hour or more. Most gadgets today have lithium ion batteries and smart software that protects and preserves their battery life. The fuller the battery, the slower it charges. If it’s near dead, it’ll draw more power.

“[Your device] is doing that as a strategy to extend the life of the battery — that’s invisible to you,” Thompson says. “But with a meter you can actually see what’s happening at any point in time. You can actually watch the amount of amperage and wattage being pulled as the battery gets closer to one hundred percent. So it’s actually a really interesting thing to watch.”

What the power meter brings to life are things you may already know. Most people with iPhones know how to check their iPhone’s battery health as well as how to turn on Optimized Battery Charging. But that doesn’t change the fact that seeing how much power something draws when you plug it in is, well, fun.

It’s cool seeing the power draw drop as it gets more fully charged. And when it’s maxed out, it’s cool seeing that wattage fall all the way down to 0.00. That way you know it’s fully charged without even having to look at it.

So, you probably don’t need a power meter. But if you have an extra $25 lying around, I don’t think you’ll regret it.