review
Kovol Sprint 140W Charging Mate Pro Review PD 3.1 EPR GaN Charger
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
As USB-C charging grows more popular, so is power delivery! Going up from 100 watts to 240 watts, which is the current maximum
limit for USB-C power delivery. The massive increase in power delivery
is possible thanks to GaN technology found in most USB PD chargers,
including the Charging Mate Pro Sprint
140W featured on this review.
Kovol's new fast charger goes by the name of Charging Mate Pro Sprint
140W - a power delivery (PD) 2 port GaN wall charger equipped with one
USB-C PD 3.1 (Power
Delivery) port and one USB-A QC 3.0 (Quick Charge) port. As well as
Power Delivery
(PD) and Quick charge (QC), the Kovol Charging Mate Pro Sprint 140W
charger
supports Programmable Power Supply (PPS) fast charging for Samsung Note 10 Plus
and S20 Ultra.
Because the Charging Mate Pro Sprint 140W charger supports more than 100 watts, it is classed as an Extended Power Range (EPR) device. For reference, a Standard Power Range (SPR) charger supports 100W or less. There is no cable included so, you have to use a 5 amp rated USB-C 3.1 cable, although preferably it is best if the cable is EPR capable and certified by the USB-IF. Be sure the cable is visibly marked and that it supports up to 240W (28V, 36V, and 48V at 5A) in order to be certified. Definitely avoid USB-C 3.1 cables with 3A amp rating because the maximum charge supported by a 3A USB-C cable is just 25W charging.
Because the Charging Mate Pro Sprint 140W charger supports more than 100 watts, it is classed as an Extended Power Range (EPR) device. For reference, a Standard Power Range (SPR) charger supports 100W or less. There is no cable included so, you have to use a 5 amp rated USB-C 3.1 cable, although preferably it is best if the cable is EPR capable and certified by the USB-IF. Be sure the cable is visibly marked and that it supports up to 240W (28V, 36V, and 48V at 5A) in order to be certified. Definitely avoid USB-C 3.1 cables with 3A amp rating because the maximum charge supported by a 3A USB-C cable is just 25W charging.
As
well as being an Extended Power Range (EPR) charger, the Kovol Charging
Mate Pro Sprint 140W has shared port functionality, meaning the maximum
140W available to the PD port can be "shared" across the QC port. This
means, when charging two devices at the same time, the PD port has a
maximum output of 120W, while the QC port has a maximum output of 18W.
If you have an iPhone, you can still use the Kovol
Charging Mate Pro charger via the PD port. iPhones do not support Quick
Charge (QC). iPhones that support USB Power Delivery fast charging
include the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS,
iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11 series, iPhone 12 series, iPhone 13 series
and latest iPhone 14 series (Plus/Pro and Max Pro).
As
far as QC 3.0, you can use it to full power (18W) as long as the phone
supports QC 3.0. A lot of Android phones on the market support QC
4.0/4+ which is faster (28W) and more efficient. Devices that support QC
3.0 include the Redmi Note 7 Pro, ASUS ZenFone 6, Lenovo Z6 Pro, LG G7
ThinQ, LG G8 ThinQ, LG V40 ThinQ, LG V50 ThinQ, Redmi Note 7, Redmi Note 7 Pro. You can find a list of QC supported devices here
Potential deal breakers
- Non-detachable wall plug
- Large and bulky - weighs 315 grams and measures 10cm deep x 9cm high x 5xm thick (including the plug)
- Supports PPS 25W only; hence no PPS 45W support for the Galaxy S22 Ultra and S22 Plus. The standard S22 Galaxy phone which only supports 25W fast charging.
- No 5 amp EPR USB-C cable included
- Does not support QC 4.0/4+ which the latest Qualcomm quick charge version that supports up to 28W charging. QC 3.0 only supports 18W.
- No MagSafe 3 charging cable included; hence you will need one in order to fast-charge the new MacBook Pros to their full potential.
- Led light cannot be turned off - remains lit up when connected to a device
Selling points
- Premium feel, well made
- More versatile than Apple's 140W USB-C Power Adapter which only has one USB-C port
- Can charge a 16 inch MacBook Pro 16 in under 1 hour provided that you use a MagSafe 3 cable. Without a MagSafe 3 cable, power gets limited to 60W
- Compatible with the 14 inch MacBook M1 which supports charging via USB C and MagSafe
- Safety protection against surge, short circuit, overcurrent, overvoltage and overheating
- Supports PD 3.1
- Supports PPS fast charging, which is worth noting because not all PD chargers support PPS
- Compatible with USB-C MacBooks, USB-C iPad Pro, HP Spectre Series, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Series, Samsung Galaxy S22/S21/S20 and Google Pixel 3/4/5/.6
- Lifetime technical support
- 2 year warranty (1 year extra than Apple's warranty)
You can buy Kovol Charging Mate Pro Sprint 140W from amazon. Check out the review of the Kovol Sprint 65W charger
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