Consider getting a wireless charger.
I have a couple of these around the house and they work great. I toss one in my bag while traveling and use the stand unplugged on a plane tray table for watching movies.
Cheap and easy.
I'm going to happily pay oculus for that cable , I've searched and searched and nothing I have found either comes close to the length / quality or price.
As it's not available at launch though I have found a 3m cable I will use until the official is released.
If it helps anyone ( UK )
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07D7NNJ61?ref=ppx_pt2_dt_b_prod_image
Paired with this but not needed...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B078YRKTKM?ref=ppx_pt2_dt_b_prod_image
No. Many of the panels seem to come from the same Chinese factories, though, resulting in very trivial differences which may make some of them look like an Anker you have in mind.
We spoke with Anker directly, and they told us they don't sell solar panels in the US and that any Amazon listings (like this one) are fake or people reselling without permission — which may explain why that Amazon listing is ridiculously overpriced, as if someone is importing and adding a markup.
In the last few days we've kicked around the idea of doing a deeper blog post about these problems on Amazon (partly as a follow up to this thread in /preppers), because that specific link has the "Amazon's Choice" label on it, even though it's unsanctioned.
Edit: There's a full list of the competition in a spreadsheet in the article. As u/callsignraven pointed out, Anker stopped selling panels in the US due to the tariffs.
Is working great with this Amazon Basics 3m cable. Am really impressed by the quality of Link!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07D7NNJ61
Update: I tried adding a 1m USB3 extension cable into the mix and that didn't work.
Update to my update, I tried it with an active 5m extention cable and it worked. It isn't on Amazon UK any more, but the description was: CableCreation Gold (Long 16FT) Super Speed USB 3.0 Active Extension Cable, USB 3.0 Extender USB A-Male to A-Female Cable, 5Meter/16ft, Black
Saw these folks at Bay Area Maker Faire.
Had a very uncomfortable conversation with them regarding the shortcomings and lack of advantage versus the competition.
Edit: I have been very happy with this Anker usb charger, which provides similar current, without an external adapter.
Fast charging current generation iPhones
With the 12W iPad charger you’re certainly charging faster than the weak ass 5W iPhone charger that comes included with all iPhones, but you’re not fast charging to the current generation iPhones (8, 8+, X) fullest potential. For that you’ll need a 29W Apple USB-C Charger (the current generation MacBook 12” charger) or higher that supports USB-PD (power delivery). Another option is a comparable 3rd party 29W USB-C Charger with PD such as this Anker 30W Charger. Along with the charger you’ll need a genuine Apple USB-C to Lightning cable.
You’ll know you’re officially fast charging when you hear two chimes and the battery icon animates and increases in size for a second when you plug in. However, the fastest charging only applies when the battery is under 50%. Once it gets over that threshold, charging speeds slow down dramatically. I’ve timed consistently 0-50% recharging speeds at 30 mins—as advertised in the first link—give or take a minute or two on my X while not in use. After that it takes around double that timeframe to top the battery off at 100%. So if you’re at 50% battery levels, the fast charger will NOT completely refill the remaining 50% in 30 minutes if that makes sense. Hope that helps.
I have 2 Anker 6 port USB power supplies:
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-6-Port-Charger-PowerPort-iPhone/dp/B00P936188?th=1
They also make a more cost-effective 10 port: https://www.amazon.com/Anker-10-Port-Charger-PowerPort-iPhone/dp/B00YRYS4T4/ref=dp_ob_title_wld
1) The item in your link doesn't have USB-C, so I am not sure how that is remotely relevant and assume you just picked the first thing you found that was cheaper and thought would work.
2) As I mentioned below, the OP's link is for the cost in Singapore using their currency. The US page has it at $29 USD. Which, for a USB-C charger, especially one from Apple, isn't that bad. The retail price for a similar Anker one (the correct one) (https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-Delivery-PowerPort-MateBook/dp/B06Y427WT7/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1544035920&sr=8-5&keywords=anker+usb-c+charger) is actually $1 more, and onsale right now for just a few bucks less. So the pricing is comparable. USB-C is different and, right now, has a price premium.
I'll share a couple things worth knowing for those of you who are gonna stock up a tech bag soon.
Get everything compatible with USB-C
either one of these will charge your devices as fast as anything out there. Now stock up on cables with one end being USB-C and the other end being whatever plug your devices have.
The best wall charger for quickly charging phones and power banks is the Anker Nano USB-C Charger.
Be sure to top up all devices (especially your phone) from your battery bank before you arrive in town, then just charge the bank for quickest turnaround time. It also avoids you having to walk away from your phone while it's charging.
If OP plans to go with your 6 Chromecast idea, he should definitely buy one of these as well and avoid using six different USB power supplies to run all those Chromecasts:
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-PowerPort-iPhone-Galaxy/dp/B00P936188/
Enhance.. enhance...enhance
Anker PowerPort Solar 2 Ports 21W Dual USB Solar Charger for iPhone 7 / 6s / Plus, iPad Pro / Air 2 / mini, Galaxy S7 / S6 / Edge / Plus, Note 5 / 4, LG, Nexus, HTC and More https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012YUJJM8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ZJzjBb763P0GB
I bought the usb c to lightning cable from Apple, along with the 30w usb c charging brick from Anker, from 19% to 100% took about an hr and a half for my Xs Max. Here’s a link to the Anker charger.
For your first bullet point. Check out anker’s Nano 2 cube. It has options for a 45w or 65w output. Likewise for their cables.
USB C Charger, Anker Nano II 65W GaN II PPS Fast Charger Adapter, Foldable Compact Charger for MacBook Pro/Air, Galaxy S20/S10, Dell XPS 13, Note 20/10+, iPhone 12/Pro/Mini, iPad Pro, Pixel, and More https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T5QN2TR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_A26DTAN7R4AVRZNRM0BR
For meds. I actually love matadors tiny “ waterproof container”. I just use it to store pills. It holds all my meds with room to spare.
https://matadorup.com/collections/accessories/products/waterproof-travel-canister-small
Note: The twitter link leads to an Amazon affiliate link, which is likely against the subform rules.
The direct link, if anyone cares, is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DBXZZN3/
This thing is the bomb. Charge all of what you said simultaneously and at full speed, especially the Switch when you use the USB-C port. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8C6ULO
There are smaller/cheaper chargers that have a USB-C port and one USB-A port on Amazon, I just haven't tried them.
You also need to understand the reasons why the chargers didn't get a perfect 3. Usually it's not a dangerous issue, just a technicality that won't really affect you.
As for recommendations, the best overall charger I got is the Anker Powerport+ 5 USB-PD one, it compensates for the inevitable voltage drop in the cables. The non-PD one is also good, but the C port is 15W max (3A), which is fast enough, but for some reason it doesn't charge at all with the supposedly fully compliant Apple USB-C charging cable (the revised version). In my testing I haven't really noticed much difference in charging times, especially to 100%, since 18W tends to heat up the phone more and throttle charging, and after about 30-40% the phone doesn't seem to ask for 18W anymore at all.
Also bear in mind that if the voltage is not high enough, the phone will request less power. For instance, I have a RAVPower USB-C battery (non-PD), and it barely reaches 5V out of the C port (measured with the Plugable USB-C meter). Depending on the cable used (generally speaking longer is worse), the phone may request something like 7.5W (USB BC 1.2 spec I guess). I need to use an extremely short 6-inch Amazon to be sure it requests 15W. Longer cables are not surefire that they will make the phone request full charge speed.
I'd also recommend getting a USB-C and maybe a USB-A power meters to test.
I bought this:
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Premium-Charger-PowerPort-Delivery/dp/B01D8C6ULO
The 3.0 is for data speed. You're not going to be transferring data to a charger. For cables relating to charging (not data transfer) all you should care about is that they're safe and won't fry your devices. The 2.0, 3.0 won't be an issue in terms of charging.
Get some Amazon Basic Type C to C cables. That's what I got. :)
Also, take a look at Nathan K.'s stuff too. He's a little more active than Benson at the moment I believe.
Happy hunting.
The rapid charging the Pixel uses is Power Delivery (PD) and it will only be delivered via USB Type C to C cable.
By description, the second link should give you rapid charging. However, I don't know if it's actually a good charger.
The third link, again, by description, it should give you rapid charging. But, I don't think it's advisable having a Qualcomm Quick Charge port same as the PW port because they have they're own different configuration.
If you're ready to buy a $30 charger (referring to the $27 dollar item) from Amazon, might as well get it from the Google store.
If you're looking for another charger with multiple ports I would suggest this one: https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Premium-Charger-PowerPort-Delivery/dp/B01D8C6ULO
Just an FYI: you can use any usb-c charger that supports the PD 30w format, but apparently only the Apple usbc to lightning cable will support fast charge (I bought this Anker charger) and another cable and didn’t get fast charge until I got the Apple cable). Also, if you can wait I found an Apple cable on Amazon for about half price ($15).
Anker PowerPort III Nano 20W is probably the best option for USB-C charging a single device in a small package.
https://www.amazon.com/Charger-Anker-Adapter-PowerPort-iPhone/dp/B07WRKXQ8W
I haven't tested this yet, but I would guess that a parent who is saying the battery is drained while plugged into power is not using the adapter that came with the iPad.
Suggest setting the screen brightness to the lowest practical setting (it took months for my daughter to realize that the brightness didn't need to be at 100% all of the time and she would get way more "game time" —this was a personal iPad, not a school iPad—between charges if she lowered the brightness).
We gave each classroom teacher two extra chargers for students that needed to top off.
Similar options would be something like a charging stand, or multiple-port charger for classrooms.
Obviously you have to preach to students that they need to come to school with the iPad fully charged, that's just classroom management stuff.
For mandated state testing, we always have extra iPads ready to go for these types of "issues".
We have not needed to deploy charging stations, and I think we would push back on the classroom management angle before we went that route.
Grades K through 2 are not taken home, so those classrooms have charging carts.
Any USB PD charger that's at least 21w should work fine. I got this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y427WT7 but now I just use my macbook charger as an all-in-one charger for my different usb-c stuff.
here's the cable I use, and have another 6ft USB3 cable beyond it.
​
The official Link cable is only necessary if you need a super lightweight cable.
Anker USB-C PD 30W Wall Charger Fastest charger for the power bank, and will charge Switch as quickly as possible as well. Popular and well reviewed on Amazon, but some USB-C engineers had issue with a previous version of this charger (they haven't re-tested). Doesn't include a USB-C cable, but the power bank comes with one.
Google 18W USB-C Power Adapter Won't charge power bank as quickly as the Anker, but has top reviews from the experts. It'll also charge a Switch as fast as possible and is a great travel size. Included USB-C cable.
The charger that came with the Switch will charge this power bank well, too.
Anker has a few good foldable solar panels on Amazon. They have ways to mount them too a backpack as well. I use my 21w to charge a battery pack and my radio while I'm at work. Highly recommend.
Edit: Amazon links
Anker PowerPort Solar 2 Ports 21W Dual USB Solar Charger https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012YUJJM8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_z0DFBbBC4713M
Anker PowerCore 13000, Compact 13000mAh 2-Port Ultra-Portable Phone Charger Power Bank with PowerIQ and VoltageBoost Technology https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z9QVE4Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_V0DFBbZN07BHN
I use something like this.
USB Wall Charger, Anker 60W 6 Port USB Charging Station, PowerPort 6 Multi USB Charger for iPhone Xs/Max/XR/X/8/7/Plus, iPad Pro/Air 2/Mini/iPod, Galaxy S9/S8/S7/Edge/Plus, Note, LG, HTC, and More https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P936188/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_u9tzFb3N9B3SD
I also snagged mine at $49 during the Best Buy sale shortly after its release and I don't regret it, BUT --
The software experience it offers was terrible, to the point where I specifically disabled the Pixel Stand app on the phone, and now I just use it as a regular old wireless charging stand, and it's fine for that purpose.
Weirdly I can't find the Pixel Stand app on my device anymore, and it's not in the Play Store either. They must've integrated it into the OS somehow but I wouldn't know how to reactivate it even if I wanted to...
EDIT: Looks like there are much cheaper options available now if all you're looking for is a basic stand: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DBXZZN3/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_AvTFEb06AGV4Q
The Anker 5000mah unit has a built in plug and functions as a wall charger.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K702S66/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_IOrNCbZ0EKK35
I bought this one about a year ago but have not used it yet in the real world. The price has more than doubled, I was shocked. Not sure if it's just this model or if the prices have gone up in general. I paid $59, now it's going for $139.