What does “GaN” actually mean on your charger?

GaN stands for Gallium Nitride, a wide bandgap semiconductor material that now replaces traditional silicon inside charging bricks. If you’ve been looking for a new charger in recent years, you’ve probably realized that many companies use the term “GaN” as they introduce small chargers with impressive power capabilities. This is because GaN has a wider bandgap than silicon, meaning electricity can pass through the material at much higher voltages and temperatures without causing a breakdown.

In practical terms, GaN technology enables chargers that are significantly more efficient than silicon-based options, while handling higher operating temperatures and reducing the need for large internal heat sinks. That’s why whenever you see a very small charger with high power, you probably think it’s not safe. However, this means that more power can be concentrated into a smaller volume. Additionally, GaN loses less energy as heat because it operates at 95% efficiency, compared to the typical 85-90% for silicon.

That said, whenever you are looking for a new charger for your smartphone, laptop or to charge multiple devices at once, you should look for a GaN charger, as it significantly reduces the size of the power brick you carry, you can quickly charge multiple devices at once depending on the device you choose, and it can be the perfect travel companion thanks to its weight and space saving.

Even though GaN chargers are the technology of the moment for quickly charging your devices and they offer some technical advantages over a traditional charger, they do have some disadvantages. For example, GaN substrates are much more complex and expensive to manufacture than standard silicon wafers because companies must use sapphire, silicon carbide, or chemical vapor deposition silicon wafers. If it costs more for a manufacturer to make them, it will cost customers more to buy them.

Because GaN transmits energy more efficiently and creates less heat, it requires special internal circuit boards with specialized gate drivers, high-frequency transformers, and precise shielding against electromagnetic interference to prevent electrical noise. Finally, for basic everyday devices, like those that charge with 5-15W of power, there is no advantage to choosing a GaN charger, as you would be spending a lot of money on a device that cannot take advantage of these fast charging speeds.

For example, a regular 5W to 15W charger can cost around $12, while a GaN charger will be available for at least $30. That said, GaN chargers only make sense when thinking about charging more demanding accessories, like some of the latest smartphones, tablets or laptops.

GaN chargers can be a great choice for anyone who needs a new charger for their laptops or other devices with larger batteries. After all, since they typically require 65W or more, GaN chargers can easily exceed that power while significantly reducing the size of the PSU you’ll need to carry around. For example, my current 96W MacBook Pro charger from 2019 looks like a huge brick compared to similar GaN options from 2026.

In addition to this, this technology is ideal for multi-device users. So with a single GaN charger, you can theoretically quickly charge at least three devices, like your smartphone, laptop, and tablet. Although it depends on how much power you choose, if you get a 160W GaN charger, you will easily be able to quickly charge your MacBook Pro, an iPad Pro, and the latest iPhone 17 Pro series. It’s good not only for cable management at home, but also for traveling, and the reduced weight of replacing multiple power supplies with one is beneficial.

The only downsides to GaN chargers are that if you’re not ready for this technology, as it won’t mess with your device’s battery, it will save you space when traveling, but it will cost more, and it won’t make a difference if you don’t have enough devices capable of fast charging, meaning you may need to upgrade your devices before getting your hands on the charging technology of the moment.