Ugreen's 45W charger looks like a cat

Accessory maker Ugreen has launched a new 45W GaN fast charger that can also double as a decor piece. Instead of looking like a traditional brick, the charger resembles a small cat figurine with expressive facial features, cat ears, and a rounded body. It also features a unique split-body design.

Novelty chargers are not new, but most of them trade away practicality for looks. The premise here is different: the charging hardware is a conventional 45W GaN adapter that happens to be housed in a silicone shell, so the decoration does not come at the cost of the output. Whether that balance works is the question any accessory of this kind has to answer, because a charger that looks good on a desk is still primarily a thing people rely on every day.

The charger is finished in white with red accents on the base and top, while the cat face gives it a playful and collectible appearance.

The split-body approach is what makes the design function. A single-piece figurine would leave the port either exposed or buried; by making the head the removable piece, the USB-C socket sits on a part that is taken off and plugged in, while the body stays put on the desk. It is a small piece of industrial design, but it solves the problem that novelty chargers usually fail on, which is where the cable actually goes.

Here are its technical specifications

According to Ugreen, the charger is made from skin-friendly liquid silicone, allowing it to double as a desk ornament when not in use. To charge a device, users need to separate the cat's head from its body. The USB-C port is located on the top of the detached cat head, where a charging cable can be connected.

Liquid silicone is a common choice for accessories that are meant to be handled. It has a soft, slightly rubberised feel, it grips surfaces rather than sliding across them, and it tolerates the knocks and scuffs that a small object on a desk or in a bag collects. For a charger it also helps with heat, staying cooler to the touch than bare plastic or metal would, which matters on an adapter delivering 45W.

The charger is powered by GaN technology and supports up to 45W output through a single USB-C port. It offers multiple charging profiles, including 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 15V/3A, and 20V/2.25A, making it suitable for smartphones, tablets, handheld gaming devices, and some lightweight laptops.

GaN, or gallium nitride, is what allows a 45W adapter to be this small. Compared with the silicon used in older chargers, gallium nitride switches at higher frequencies and wastes less energy as heat, so the transformer and other components can be shrunk substantially. The practical result is a charger that delivers the same or more power in a smaller, lighter body that runs cooler, which is why GaN has become the default for modern fast chargers.

The listed output profiles — 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 15V/3A and 20V/2.25A — are standard steps under USB Power Delivery. A phone or tablet negotiates with the charger and asks for the voltage it needs, rather than the charger forcing a fixed output. That negotiation is what lets one adapter serve a phone at 9V and a laptop at 20V without either device being over- or under-powered.

What 45W realistically covers is worth being clear about. It is comfortably enough to fast-charge most smartphones and tablets, and enough for handheld gaming devices and thin ultrabooks that ship with 45W or 65W adapters, though the latter will charge more slowly than they would on their bundled brick. It is not intended for high-power laptops with discrete graphics, which typically want 90W or more.

In terms of specifications, the charger supports an input range of 100-240V at 50/60Hz and weighs approximately 115g. The package weight is listed at around 150g, and UGREEN includes an 18-month warranty. The charger measures approximately 63.25mm in height, 52.5mm in width, and 48mm in depth.

The 100-240V input range is worth noting for travellers: it means the charger will work on both 110V and 240V mains, so it is usable in most countries with nothing more than a plug adapter. At around 115g for the charger itself, it is light enough to disappear into a bag, and the roughly 63mm by 52mm by 48mm footprint is in the same range as an ordinary compact wall charger, figurine shape aside.

For everything it's offering, from compact size, unique design, to GaN technology, the price is justifiable. Ugreen is asking 89 yuan (some $13 in conversion) for the brick. It's available for purchase through JD.com in China, while there's no word yet on global availability.

An 18-month warranty is longer than the 12 months many accessory makers offer, which is a reasonable signal of confidence in a product that combines a power supply with a soft-touch shell. The open question is distribution. JD.com is one of China's largest online retailers, and a launch there with no stated international release usually means the product is initially aimed at the domestic market, with wider availability possible later.

At roughly $13 converted, the asking price sits in the same band as ordinary 45W GaN chargers, which is the point in its favour. Buyers in this category are usually choosing between a plain adapter and one that looks like something, and here the decorative element is not being sold at a premium over the functional equivalent.

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