I hope Sharge’s new retractable charger can survive me fidgeting with it all day
First revealed last December through a Chinese retailer, Sharge’s new 65W GaN charger is now available globally. As the name implies, the Retractable 65 features an integrated USB-C cable that fully retracts when not in use so you won’t be scrambling to find one when a device is about to die. It’s available in white or black for $39.90 and while it comes with US style folding prongs it can be ordered with EU and UK outlet adapters.
The Retractable 65 can deliver up to a maximum of 65W of power with a single device connected, so you can use it to charge larger devices like laptops. In addition to the retractable USC-cable that’s just over 27 inches in length, the charger includes an additional USB-C port. Two devices can be charged simultaneously, but while Sharge hasn’t detailed how power is split between the two ports, the charger’s maximum output drops to 60W while both are in use.
The Retractable 65 joins a growing number of chargers and portable power solutions featuring retractable cables, thanks in part to most devices now supporting USB-C so companies like Sharge don’t have to accommodate several different charging ports.
The big question with this trend is how durable are the internal mechanisms used to retract integrated cables? As someone who likes to fidget with gadgets all day (and who broke the spring-loaded memory card eject mechanism on a Sony camera while fidgeting with it) I will undoubtedly be doing the same with chargers like this.
Will it survive someone mindlessly yanking out the cable and watching it go flying back into the charger all day like a tape measure? On its website Sharge claims the mechanism can survive “10,000+ stretch cycles” without breaking, but we’ve reached out to the company for more details about the charger’s durability — including if a broken retraction mechanism is covered under warranty — and will update this story when it responds.