Inside Anker's 45W Nano Charger with a Display: Charging Modes, Thermal Testing, and a Teardown
イチケン / ICHIKEN
Anker has released a 45W single-port USB charger with a small display on top. The screen shows live charging status, and a touch control lets you switch charging modes. In this video, Ichiken looks at what the display actually adds, measures efficiency and heat, and takes the unit apart to see how Anker fit a screen onto a compact GaN charger without hurting its thermal performance.
Basic Layout and the Swing Plug
The charger is a 45W, single-port USB-C unit. Because the display sits on top, the USB-C port ends up in an unusual position. On a typical wall charger the port faces up once plugged into an outlet, but here the display takes that surface, so the port points in a slightly odd direction. The plug can rotate 180 degrees, so you can also orient the port upward, and it can be pulled out to change the angle. Ichiken notes that the swing plug has a wide range of motion and says they are a little concerned about its long-term durability.
When charging starts, the display switches to a fast-charging screen that shows the power being delivered. The screen looks dim on camera, but Ichiken says it is not that dark in person, though not especially bright either. The power reading has an error of about ±1W. Ichiken considers that fine, since the number is only meant to show roughly how much power is going into the device.
Touch Controls and Temperature Display
The control is a capacitive touch button, not a physical one. A single tap changes what the display shows. A long press rotates the display orientation by 180 degrees. A double tap cycles through options such as charging mode.
One of the screens shows the charger's internal temperature in three levels: low, room temperature, and high. When the inside of the charger gets hot, a high-temperature warning appears.
Fast Charging vs. Protected Charging
The user can choose between two modes: fast charging and protected charging. Ichiken explains that fast charging is quicker and more convenient, but some people want lower charging power to protect their battery. Protected mode limits the power for that purpose.
In Ichiken's test, a device that was drawing 27W dropped to about 17W at most after switching to protected mode, and the display clearly reads "Protected Charging in Progress." Unplugging and replugging the charger sends it back to fast-charging mode. Ichiken points out a downside. If users forget they left it in protected mode, they may complain about slow charging. Switching back to protected mode every time is also a hassle, but Ichiken thinks there is probably no way around that.
Ichiken also checked how the modes work at the protocol level. The charger changes the Power Data Objects (PDOs) it advertises. In fast-charging mode the maximum is 45W with voltages up to 20V, and PPS is handled the same way. In protected mode the maximum output drops to 20W and the voltage is capped at 12V, though PPS still appears to work. Ichiken finds it interesting that users can choose their maximum charging power, and thinks Anker has correctly identified something people want. Ichiken also suspects that fairly advanced features are implemented in the charging protocol handling.
Apple Device Detection
The charger can identify some Apple devices. When Ichiken plugged in an iPhone, the display showed "iPhone 17 Pro" along with the phone's battery percentage. The percentage matched the phone exactly at 74%. With an Android phone, the charger still charged normally, but it showed only charging power, with no model name or battery level. Detection does not cover every Apple product, so buyers need to check whether their model is supported.
Ichiken calls model detection a bonus feature for now. Knowing the charger has recognized your phone is, at the moment, a bit of a "so what?" Ichiken says it would be interesting if a use for it appeared in the future.
Size and Power Density Compared with a Display-less 45W Model
Ichiken compared the new charger with a 45W, single-port Anker charger without a display that Ichiken says was released in 2025. Both have the same port count and power rating. The new model is larger and noticeably heavier overall, which Ichiken attributes to the display and swing-plug mechanism. As a result, power density, one of the main performance metrics for chargers, is lower. Ichiken stresses that it is still close to 1W per cubic centimeter, so it counts as a compact charger. Power per unit of surface area, which matters for heat dissipation, actually improves. The larger body has more surface area to shed heat.
Power Conversion Efficiency
Efficiency measures how much of the AC power from the outlet is converted into usable DC output. Higher efficiency means less loss inside the charger and therefore less heat. Across the whole output range, Ichiken found the high efficiency typical of modern USB chargers. Peak efficiency was 92.5% at 20V output. On a 200V outlet, peak efficiency rose to 93.7%, which Ichiken calls "pretty good" and notes is consistent with chargers like this generally being more efficient at 200V. A loss curve was also shown for viewers who want more detail.
Surface Temperature and Thermal Throttling
On surface temperature, the hottest point was 73°C at the top of the unit. Ichiken's reading of the thermal image is that the sides get hot while relatively little heat reaches the display face. The area around the touch sensor is also warm. Ichiken isn't sure whether the internal structure is the reason, but the heat didn't seem to spread that far.
Next, Ichiken tested for thermal throttling, where a charger deliberately cuts output to avoid heat damage. A thermocouple was attached to the hottest spot and the charger was run under load. It delivered 45W from the start. The temperature plateaued about 70 minutes in, peaking at 74°C. There was no throttling and output stayed stable throughout. Ichiken had expected the display to hurt heat dissipation somewhat, but concludes it did not have much effect.
Scratch Resistance of the Display
Because a charger like this is likely to be carried loose in a bag, Ichiken checked how easily the display scratches. Scraping it hard with a key did leave a visible mark, but Ichiken says it takes a lot of force to do that. Light rubbing produced only a few minor scratches. The resin cover is fairly tough and won't be badly damaged unless you scratch it deliberately.
Display Assembly and Separate Compartments
After opening a partly disassembled unit, Ichiken noticed something that isn't obvious in use: the display panel only uses about half of its area. The display connects to the charger module through a pin header connector, and the charger module slots into it.
The display compartment and the charger compartment are physically separated. Ichiken offers a guess about why. The charger's thermal path uses blue silicone thermal pads and gray silicone potting compound, and the partition probably keeps the potting compound from flowing into the display side. Ichiken also suggests that thermal materials can crack from vibration during assembly or use, and the partition may keep that debris out of the display. Ichiken adds that the display is already enclosed in a metal case, which likely offers some protection against foreign objects as well.
Using the Display Surface for Cooling
The empty area behind the display cover is not wasted. It is part of the heat dissipation path. When the chassis and display cover are put together, a thermal silicone pad and potting compound sit in that space. The transformer, one of the hottest components in the charger, is pressed against the silicone pad so its heat can escape through the display surface. Ichiken points back to the thermal images, where that part of the display ran quite hot, as evidence that the display face was designed as a heat-dissipating surface too.
The touch control is a capacitive sensor. A metal sheet is attached to the inside of the touch panel and contacts metal terminals that extend from the charger's circuit board.
Thermal Design of the Charger Module
Ichiken says the charger module itself is surprisingly small for 45W when you hold it. It is designed to shed heat from all sides, using two main materials in different places:
- Blue silicone pads are pressed onto flat surfaces populated with low-profile surface-mount components.
- Potting compound is poured into molds around areas with complex shapes.
The USB protocol IC on the secondary side uses both. Potting compound goes on the IC first, and a silicone pad is applied on top. On another face that is mostly flat, the area around an electrolytic capacitor is irregular, so potting compound makes up most of the material there. The side carrying the power semiconductors uses a somewhat thicker silicone pad. The bottom section presses a silicone pad firmly against the transformer so heat goes out through the display surface, as described above. The face where the outlet plug sits is filled with potting compound, and the whole assembly is finally sealed with the power plug.
The Three Circuit Boards
Fully taken apart, the charger has three circuit boards. The main board carries the through-hole power components such as the transformer. Its electrolytic capacitors are widely from JSH. On its surface-mount side is an all-in-one DC-DC converter IC, which Ichiken notes of course uses gallium nitride power semiconductors. The other two boards also serve to hold components and provide insulation, with a plastic part fitted between them.
The second board is on the transformer's secondary side and holds power semiconductors and ICs. Ichiken thinks the IC marked "053201" is probably an MCU that drives the display. On the back is a flash memory chip marked PY259128. Ichiken guesses it stores configuration data and the content shown on screen. Next to it is a polymer electrolytic capacitor, also from JSH.
The last board holds the circuitry around the USB protocol IC. This board carries both high-voltage circuitry connected to the outlet side and low-voltage circuitry on the USB output side. Slots are cut into the board between them, and a white plastic piece is fixed in those slots to provide insulation. The USB protocol IC is marked SM001H. Ichiken could not identify the manufacturer.
Ichiken's Takeaway
Ichiken says they had always seen Anker as a company with strong design and engineering, and that this teardown suggests its technical capabilities have improved further. Anker has released display-equipped USB chargers and many portable chargers before, and Ichiken thinks that experience shows here. The display adds size and weight, and model detection is still of limited practical use. But the charger holds 45W without throttling, reaches efficiency above 92%, and uses its display surface as part of the cooling path.
Hello. Today, I’m going to talk about the USB charger with a display released by Anker. Let's take a look at the teardown review. Here it is. It is a 45W single-port USB charger, and this product allows you to check the current charging status on the display. What's more, you can switch between charging modes. It also comes with some interesting features. Today, I’m going to take a look at what’s actually inside this product. We'll take it apart to see how the thermal design works. But first, let me introduce today’s sponsor.
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First, let's take a look at the charger's basic specifications. As I mentioned at the beginning, this is a 45W, single-port USB charger with a display. Perhaps because it has a display like this, the charging port is in a slightly odd spot. When you plug a standard USB charger into an outlet, the USB-C port will be on top. However, perhaps because the display on this USB charger is on the top, it ends up going in a slightly odd direction. However, since the plug rotates 180 degrees like this, you can also orient the USB port upward like this. Since this swing plug has a wide range of motion, I'm a bit concerned about its durability.
Now, let's actually start charging. The display changes like this, and fast charging has started. In the video, the display looks dim, but when you actually look at it with the naked eye, it's not that dark. That said, it’s not exactly incredibly bright either. Although there is a margin of error of about ±1W in this power reading, in the case of this charger, it's included just so you can get a general idea of how much power is being used for charging. Even if there is an error of about 1W, it poses no practical problem at all.
As you can see, there is a display here, but of course, they didn't just add a display—control buttons are also provided here. This is a touch-sensitive button, not a physical button. With a single tap, you switch the display as shown here. If you press and hold, the display will rotate 180 degrees. And there are options to choose from, which you can switch between by tapping twice like this.
There's a temperature display here, which displays the internal temperature of the charger. There are three levels: low temperature, room temperature, and high temperature. In fact, when the temperature inside the charger is high, this is how the high-temperature warning will appear.
To switch charging modes, you can choose from two types: fast charging mode or protected charging mode. Fast charging does get the battery charged faster and is more convenient, but from the perspective of battery protection, there is also a demand for lower charging power. In such cases, it's a good idea to select the protected charging mode, which limits the charging power.
Actually, when I tried switching over, it looked like this. When it enters protected charging mode, what was 27W a moment ago becomes 17W at most, I guess? It will start charging at that power level. Regarding charging mode as well, it clearly says "Protected Charging in Progress."
By the way, if you unplug it once and plug it in again, it will exit protected charging mode and switch to fast charging mode. I can see people using it while it's still in protected charging mode and complaining about things like slow charging, after all. It's a hassle to have to switch to protected charging mode every single time, but I guess there's nothing we can do about it.
As for how the charging power is controlled depending on the charging mode, it controls the PDO on the USB charger side. In fast charging mode, the maximum power is 45W. For the record, PPS is also supported in this way. As for protected charging mode, it looks something like this. The maximum output power is 20W. As for the output voltage, fast charging mode can go up to 20V, but in protected charging mode, the voltage is limited to 12V. It looks like PPS works, at least. Users can select this maximum charging power, which I think is pretty interesting, and they've done a good job of identifying what people want.
I wonder if the charging protocols in this area are implemented with relatively advanced features. Model detection for Apple products is also implemented. When I actually plugged in my iPhone, it looked something like this. It displayed "iPhone 17 Pro." Also, how much the battery is charged, in percent, is displayed on the charger itself. It matches exactly at 74%.
So, what happens when you charge another Android phone? It does charge, but the battery level or anything of that nature isn't displayed. Only the charging power is displayed. However, since model detection isn't performed on all Apple products, you'll need to check whether the model you're using is compatible. As for model detection, it's currently more of a bonus feature. However, even if the system can detect the model and display it here, currently it’s kind of like, “So what?” It would be interesting if there were a way to use this for something in the future.
From here on, we'll take a look at the performance results confirmed through experiments. First up is a comparison with a 45W charger without a display released by Anker in 2025. Both have one port and the same power rating of 45W, but the one released this time, perhaps because it has a display and a swing-plug mechanism, is overall large in size and quite heavy. Perhaps because of that, power density, one of the key performance indicators for a charger, is decreasing. However, even though I say things are getting worse, since it’s nearly 1W per 1cm³, this is a compact USB charger. Also, the power per unit surface area, which affects heat dissipation, is actually getting better. As the volume increases and the surface area also increases, this is advantageous for heat dissipation.
Next, we measured the power conversion efficiency. This indicates how efficiently AC power from an outlet can be converted to DC power for use with USB charging. The more efficient a USB charger is, the more power loss within the USB charger itself is reduced, and as a result, heat generation is also reduced.
Here are the results. The horizontal axis represents output power, and the vertical axis represents power conversion efficiency. As is typical of modern USB chargers, it offers high efficiency across the entire power range. The maximum efficiency is 92.5% at a 20V output. While we were at it, we also took measurements when the outlet voltage was 200V. The maximum efficiency is 93.7%. It's pretty good. Generally speaking, chargers like this have higher efficiency when operating at 200V. I'll also include the loss curve, so if you want to check, please pause the video.
Next, we measured the surface temperature of the unit. The highest temperature was 73°C at the top of the unit. Basically, the sides get hot, and it doesn't seem like much heat is being transferred to the display surface. The area around the touch sensor is also getting hot, but I'm not sure if it's due to the internal structure; it doesn't seem like the heat is reaching that far.
Next, regarding temperature, I'll also see if thermal throttling occurs. Thermal throttling refers to a feature that intentionally limits output power to prevent the USB charger itself from being damaged by heat. This is the experimental environment. We attached a thermocouple to the part that gets the hottest and measured the surface temperature of the charger.
Here are the experimental results. It delivers 45W immediately upon starting to charge. Seventy minutes into the experiment, the temperature reached a plateau, and the maximum temperature reached 74°C. There wasn't any thermal throttling, and it had been operating stably. Since it has a display, I did think it might be a bit less efficient in terms of heat dissipation, but it seems that it didn't have much of an effect on heat dissipation after all.
From here on, we'll start taking it apart. Before taking it apart, since I'm already here, we'll also check how well the display is protected. I imagine you probably carry chargers like this around in your bag a lot, so it comes down to how much damage is caused when rubbed against other objects. First, the key. This is how it got scratched. But you really have to go at it pretty hard to cause a scratch this bad. Just a light rub won't be enough. Something like this. I guess you could say it does get scratched, but since the resin is quite durable, unless you scratch it really hard, it won't get scratched. You'll get a few minor scratches here and there.
From here on, we'll start taking it apart. I've prepared a version that's been broken down to some extent here. When you remove the contents, this is what it looks like. I wasn't really paying that much attention to it while I was using it, but the display doesn't cover the entire screen area, and it looks like they're only using half of it.
To connect the display to the USB charger, they're using a pin header connector. You can see the pin header right here, can't you? When the display is connected to the chassis, here's how it looks as seen from the charger module side. You can see the pin header right here. Plug the charger into this slot like this, and you can connect it.
So, the compartment for the display and the compartment for the charger are separated. I can pretty much guess why this is happening. The materials used in this charger's heat conduction system are these blue silicone heat-dissipating pads and gray silicone potting compound. I wonder if they split it into separate compartments to prevent the potting compound from flowing into the compartment on the display side. Also, since materials in the heat conduction system may sometimes break due to vibrations that occur during assembly or actual use, I think keeping that debris out of the display might also be a reason. However, since the display is already covered by a metal case, I think the metal case provides some protection against foreign objects entering.
Regarding the inside of the display cover, even the empty areas of this display are actually used for heat dissipation. The chassis and display cover attach to each other like this, but if you look inside the case, this is exactly that part, isn't it? There are thermally conductive silicone pads and potting compound. As for the charger components, there’s actually a transformer here. Transformers are also components that generate a significant amount of heat. By pressing it against the thermal silicone pad, this system dissipates heat from the surface of the display. If you look at the thermographic images, you can see this clearly. That part of the display used to get pretty hot, didn't it? The design is engineered to dissipate heat from the display surface as well.
Next is the touch sensor section. This is a capacitive sensor, and if you look at the inside of the touch panel, a metal sheet has been attached. Furthermore, it is structured to make contact with the metal terminals extending from the charger's circuit board.
Let's take a look at the charger module as well. The charger itself is designed to be quite compact. When you actually hold it, you'll be surprised at how small it is. That's 45W, after all. In terms of heat dissipation design, basically, it is designed to dissipate heat from all sides.
As I mentioned earlier, the main mechanisms of heat conduction are silicone pads and potting compound for heat dissipation. For highly flat surfaces on which low-profile surface-mount components are mounted, this method involves pressing a blue silicone heat-dissipating pad against the surface. For sections with complex shapes, potting compound is poured into the mold. Also, regarding the USB protocol IC on the secondary side of the charger, we can see a combination of potting compound and silicone pads. In this case, first they apply the potting compound to the IC, and after that, they apply a silicone pad.
This side also has a silicone pad for heat dissipation. This side has a lot of flat surfaces, but since the area around this electrolytic capacitor has a slightly complex shape, potting compound makes up the bulk of the material. Furthermore, on this side, a slightly thicker silicone pad is used. This is the side where the power semiconductors are mounted. And as for the bottom section, as I mentioned earlier, the silicone pad is pressed firmly against the transformer. It is designed to dissipate heat from the display surface. As you can see, there is a side where the plug is inserted into the outlet. Potting compound is poured onto this surface, and finally, it is designed to be sealed with the power plug.
Let's continue disassembling the charger unit. If we break it down, it looks like this. The circuit board assembly consists of three layers. This is the assembled circuit board mainly for through-hole power components such as transformers. JSH is widely used for the electrolytic capacitors. The surface-mount side features an all-in-one DC-DC converter IC. Of course, it's a gallium nitride power semiconductor. A plastic part is installed around the remaining two circuit boards, serving the dual purpose of holding components and providing insulation.
First, let's take a look at this circuit board. You can remove it like this. This circuit board contains power semiconductors and ICs used in the secondary circuit of the transformer. As for this IC, the one marked "053201" is probably an MCU for controlling the display. Let's take a look at the back, too. This IC component, the PY259128, is a flash memory chip. I think it's probably for storing configuration information and the information displayed on the screen. This is flash memory for data storage. Next to it was a polymer electrolytic capacitor, and this is also JSH.
The last circuit board features circuitry surrounding the USB protocol IC. I have this white plastic cover here, which is divided into two sections. Actually, this circuit board contains a mix of high-voltage circuits on the power outlet side and low-voltage circuits on the USB output side. Slots have been cut into the circuit board to separate those circuits, and the design involves securing a piece of plastic there to provide insulation. The USB protocol IC used is the SM001H. As far as I could tell, I couldn't figure out which manufacturer it was.
So, I took apart a 45W USB charger with a display released by Anker. I had always thought Anker was a company with strong design and technical capabilities, but after taking it apart this time, I feel like their technical skills have improved even more. Anker has previously released USB chargers with displays, as well as so many portable chargers, so I thought they must have quite a bit of experience in that area.
The link to purchase the product I took apart today is in the description, so if you're interested, be sure to check it out. So, if you found this video helpful,
Please give us a high rating. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to leave a comment as well. Thank you for watching until the end.
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