I put my dog’s photo on this laptop charger—and now I’m obsessed with it

Most of the time, tech products get highlighted for their specs and power. And the Anker Prime Charger 160W has plenty of reasons to be celebrated. It’s compact, has three USB-C ports, and delivers a ton of power to fast-charge all kinds of devices. But its recent firm update that adds a photo as a screensaver might be the most delightful feature I’ve come across in years.

You can upload up to eight photos to the Anker Prime Charger 160W and set them to be the screensaver when the charger is plugged into the wall and idle. 

I’ve been a tech journalist for over a decade and tried hundreds of chargers. This picture feature isn’t the sole reason to run out and buy this power adapter, but it’s cool enough that if I couldn’t decide between two, this would tip the scales for me.

The Prime Charger 160W can do a lot more

My family is used to me telling them why each new product that enters the house is interesting. They didn’t care that this power adapter, just bigger than a pair of AirPods Pro, could fast-charge a laptop, but they did notice when I put a picture of our family or one of the family dog.

I uploaded a few pictures from my photo library to the charger using the Anker app. It took under a minute. I set the screensaver time to a 30-second delay, and now, whenever the device is plugged into a wall outlet and not showing charging information, it displays a personal photo. 

The latest power devices from Anker utilize Bluetooth and other connectivity to hook into the company’s mobile app. This allows control over more settings, including what’s displayed on the small screen.

Of course, the real draw of the Anker Prime Charger 160W is its total power output of 160W and single-port output of up to 140W. This is enough to tackle any MacBook Pro laptop. The screen will display the amount of power being used and show how much each port is consuming while charging multiple devices.

If you want specific control over the devices plugged in, you can allocate a certain wattage to the various ports. You can also see the heat levels and how everything is being managed.

With some power adapters, only certain ports can provide high power. The Prime Charger can adapt and reroute to whichever port needs the most. This is a handy feature when you’re on the go and not paying attention to the different ports.

Is the Anker Prime Charger 160W worth buying?

The Anker Prime Charger 160W retails for $150—down to $105 now. You could buy three 65W chargers for less than that price. However, the intriguing part is that the Anker Prime Charger offers lots of power in a tiny form factor. You don’t need to carry three separate devices.

The bonus here is that the product is even more compelling with the ability to add photos to its screen. And if you need a plausible reason to use the picture feature, then you could brand it with your own face to quickly identify it in an office when chargers go missing. You could add a monogram, your contact info, or your company’s logo. It could be useful beyond just fun.

If you need a new laptop charger, this one is compelling. Not being you can put your dog’s picture on it, but because of its size, port availability, or power capability. The fact that it can display a slideshow of pictures is just extra gravy on top. If you do want a cheaper option, Anker does have less powerful Prime chargers.