It is becoming rare for smartphone manufacturers, at least some “big” name ones, to include a decent charger in the package of the smartphone. They expect us to use our existing chargers, if we already have one or invest in a new charger. The thing with old chargers is they might or might not have fast charging capabilities.
Smartphones, tablets, laptops etc. support fast charging, where they can top-up the battery at a significantly faster rate. But for this to happen, your charging brick must support that feature. The two most popular Fast Charging technologies are USB PD (Power Delivery) and Qualcomm QC (Quick Charge).With a decent fast charger, you can get up to 50% charge in iPhone 14, for example, in just 30 minutes.
We recently got our hands on the VOLTME Revo Duo 30W Charger. It is a 2-in-1 charger with one USB Type-C Port and one USB Type-A Port. Both ports support fast charging, although not simultaneously. This is the review of the VOLTME Revo Duo 30W GaN Charger. We are writing this review are using the charger for several days, testing its capabilities with stress test, checking its limits, and even the temperature. Continue reading to find out more about this charger and whether it is a good choice for charging up to 30W.
There isn’t much to unbox in the package. First, we have the charger itself. We will take a closer look at the charger in the next section. Then, we have a thankyou card and a welcome guide. The welcome guide has some basic information about the charger such as its ports, specifications, and how to use the device properly.
Speaking of specifications, you can find them in the welcome guide, on the back of the main box, and even on the charger. That’s it for unboxing.
Taking the VOLTME Revo30W Charger out of its protective cover and holding it in the hands for the first time, we can feel how small and compact it is. We measured its size and weight and we got the results as 4.2cm ×3.8cm × 3.3cm and about 62gms.
We got the charger in white but there is also a black version. The front of the charger has three things: a USB Type-C Port, a USB Type-A Port and a white LED in a triangle shape to indicate the charger is on.
The variant we got has a UK plug but you can choose between UK, US, and EU plugs. There is nothing on the sides with VOLTME branding on the left and a texture to hold the charger while plugging it in and taking it out of the outlet.
On the bottom, there is print of all the specifications of the charger including its model, input voltage, and output voltages in different modes.
Let us now talk about the capabilities of the VOLTME Revo Duo 30W Charger. First of all, as its name suggests, the maximum power you can draw from this charger is 30W. We know that this charger has two ports, one USB Type-C and one USB Type-A.
The USB-C is the main fast charging port. It supports USB Power Delivery Protocol, PD3.0 to be precise. Additionally, it also supports PPS Protocol as well. Here are the output voltages of USB-C Port:
The maximum power from the USB-C Port is 30W.
Coming to the USB-A Port, even though most of the devices are now using USB-C for charging, it doesn’t necessarily mean the charger must also have a USB-C Port. If you have a good quality USB-A to USB-C cable, you can use the USB-A Port of this charger and charge the device, at a relatively faster rate.
USB-A Ports usually don’t support USB PD Protocol. The same is the case with the USB-Port on this charger as well. But the good news is it supports QC3.0 Protocol. This means you can fast charge up to 18W with the USB-A Port on the VOLTME Revo Duo 30W Charger. Here is an overview of all the output voltages and currents of the USB-A Port.
The maximum power from USB-A Port is 18W.
Although it doesn’t mention anywhere, the USB Type-A Port on this charger supports QC2.0, QC3.0, AFC, and FCP Protocols.
When you have two charging ports, it usually means you can charge two devices simultaneously. That is true for the VOLTME 30W Charger as well. But an important point is the charging voltage and current is limited to 5V ⎓ 3A (15W) per port.
Next, we performed a series of tests on the VOLTME Revo Duo 30W Charger to check the claims of the specifications. First, we will see the specified voltage and current values of the USB-C Port and then we will do the same for the USB-A Port. At the time testing this device, we did not have a protocol tester module. So, we couldn’t tell exactly the list of protocols this charger supports. We are planning to get one very soon.
Let us quickly go through the test setup. We connected a USB Meter to the USB-C (or USB-A) port of the charger. Then, we used a VOLTME Powerlink Moss cable to connect the output of the USB Meter to a USB PD Trigger Module. Then, finally, we connect the output of the trigger module to an electronic load.
Due to losses in the meters and cables, we are taking the readings only from the USB Meter that we connected at the USB-C Port (or USB-A Port) of the Charger.
Coming to the tests, if the USB-C Port supports 5V ⎓ 3A, then we set the load to draw 3A for a period of 20 minutes. Then we gradually increased the current until the charger shut off. We are calling this the shutoff current.
The sad reality about this testing method is the load draws a constant current and the charger heats up very quickly. So, what we did is set a current where we can use the charger without heating too much. This current will be less than the specified current. We are calling this the stable current. We performed this test for all the supported voltages.
That said, here is a summary of voltage and current tests on the USB-C Port.
Voltage | Specified Current | Shutoff Current | Stable Current |
5V | 3A | 3.5A | 2.8A |
9V | 3A | 3.55A | 2.8A |
12V | 2.5A | 2.8A | 2.3A |
15V | 2A | 2.4A | 1.8A |
20V | 1.5A | 1.8A | 1.3A |
Next, we will see the same for the USB-A Port. The idea behind the test is similar to what we did with the USB-C Port. As the USB-A Port doesn’t support USB PD Protocol (and we didn’t have a QC Trigger Module), we use a different load for this test.
The following table shows a summary of voltage and current tests on the USB-A Port.
Voltage | Specified Current | Cutoff Current | Stable Current |
5V | 3A | 3.3A | 2.8A |
9V | 2A | 2.4A | 1.8A |
12V | 1.5A | 1.75A | 1.3A |
Here, stable means the charger did not shut off at that current and we ran like this for 1 hour. As the electronic load is of constant current type, this might not be similar to charging a smartphone but this test shows the limits the charger without breaking it.
Next, we performed a stress test on the charger. In this test, we connected an electronic load to the USB-C Port and started using the charger to the limit as the USB-C Port on the charger is capable of delivering 30W (when used solely).
We set the voltage to 20V and current to 1.5A on the load and ran the test non-stop for 1 hour. After about 10 minutes, the temperature of the charger was around 38°C. After 20 minutes, the charger was becoming slightly hot as we read the temperature around 52°C. This is where we got the first thermal shutdown.
After continuing the test for 15 more minutes, the temperature of the charger rose close to 56°C. Then we stopped the test. Note that these temperatures are applicable only when the charger is supplying the maximum rated current and voltage constantly. This was only for testing and it won’t happen in real-life usage with smartphones and tablets.
So, how did the VOLTME Revo Duo 30W Charger perform? We are thoroughly impressed with this tiny charger. It uses third-gen GaN (Gallium Nitride) technology and as a result, the size of the charger is significantly small that other charger with similar power. This one even comes with two ports.
Speaking of ports, the USB-C Port supports USB PD with fixed 5V, 9V, 12V, 15V, and 20Vvoltages as well as 3.3V to 11V PPS. It delivers the current as per the specification.
The USB-A Port on this charger supports QC2.0, QC3.0, AFC (Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging), and FCP (Huawei Fast Charging Protocol). In QC2.0, this charger supports fixed 5V, 9V, and 12V voltages. While in QC3.0, it can increase the voltage from 5V to 12V in steps of 0.2V.
What about charging actual smartphones? We charged a completely discharged iPhone 14 and it took almost 30 minutes. During the full charge test of the iPhone, we continuously monitored the temperature of the device and it only became slightly warm.
When we use two devices simultaneously, the power output on each port is limited to 15W (5V⎓ 3A). The VOLTME Revo Duo 30W Charger incorporates VOLTME’s V-Dynamic technology, where an intelligent system on the charger delivers the required power to both the ports depending on the device connected, without causing any damage.
When you plug the second device, the charger performs a quick reboot action.
The selling price of the VOLTME Revo Duo 30W Charger is $24.99. You can get the charger at even less price if you purchase a 2-pack.When you combine this with VOLTME’s 18-month warranty, it is a good price for the performance it offers.
Overall, we liked the VOLTME Revo Duo 30W Charger. It is compact yet houses two ports, one USB Type-C and one USB Type-A. Both the ports support fast charging although the protocols vary between the ports.
You can use both the ports at the same time and still charge two devices at a relatively fast rate. To get the most out of this charger, you have to use the USB-C Port with USB PD supported device such as iPhone, iPad, Google Pixel, and other smartphones. This way, you can extract the full 30W from the charger.
The USB-A Ports supports QC3.0 along with a bunch of other fast charging protocols (QC2.0, AFC, and FCP). So, you can use your Samsung and Huawei smartphones with this port.
If you are looking for a dual port charger that supports a bunch of fast charging protocols, then you can definitely consider the VOLTME Revo Duo 30W Charger. It’s 30W power output might seem low, but it is more than enough for charging iPhones and Samsung phones.
So, how did the VOLTME Revo Duo 30W Charger perform? We are thoroughly impressed with this tiny charger. It uses third-gen GaN (Gallium Nitride) technology and as a result, the size of the charger is significantly small that other charger with similar power. This one even comes with two ports.
Speaking of ports, the USB-C Port supports USB PD with fixed 5V, 9V, 12V, 15V, and 20Vvoltages as well as 3.3V to 11V PPS. It delivers the current as per the specification.
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