I originally stumbled across the Novoo brand when searching for a USB-C charger that could handle topping up both a phone and a laptop simultaneously, but was also compact and, most importantly, affordable. I ended up buying the Novoo RG67 from Amazon Australia (I am based in Sydney) for AU$28.79 (listed for $25.99 in the US and £19.99 in the UK) – a bargain at the time. I was initially wowed by the small size, high output, dual USB ports and included cable.
But reality set in quite quickly, with the RG67 showing critical flaws not too long after purchasing it, like running hot and reducing the output from 67W to 45W under prolonged load. The little charger quickly fell out of favour compared to the best from Anker, Belkin, and Ugreen.
Then Novoo released a new model – the 67W RG68. It’s a little longer in size, but also slimmer, has three USB ports, includes two USB cables and, at the time of writing, is selling for an enticingly low price of just $18.99 / £26.99 / AU$39.99 on Amazon. Hopeful but wary, I vowed to put it through rigorous testing before allowing myself to be wooed by the sleek new design.
I took it straight to the test bench, hooked it up to my load testing gear, taped a temperature monitoring probe to the side and cranked it up to full power. And there it sat for 24 hours, with nary a wobble to the rock-steady voltage output. The temperature hit 42.9ºC / 109ºF – a great result compared to the 51ºC / 124ºF the RG67 hit. Not yet satisfied, I tested every voltage the RG68 could supply at the full rated output, as well as each USB port individually, then all three at the same time.
The RG68 aced every test.
And sure, so does (almost) every charger (not to mention the best power banks) I’ve tested from the well-known brands. But the Novoo 67W did it for a fraction of the price.
More power!
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Not satisfied, I also put the larger Novoo 120W RG120 charger ($31.99 / £39.99 AU$69.99) to the test – surely something had to give, right? It’s rated by Novoo to output up to 100W from a single port, and 120W if two or three are in use.
The RG120 also performed very well in the same tests and happily gave the rated output from every port. The temperature peaked at 46.7ºC / 116ºF – still not overly hot to the touch and a good result for a powerful charger running flat out. While double the size of the RG68, the the RG120 is ideal for those with a higher-end laptop – though I find the increased size and weight a little clunky at times.
For reference, the Novoo RG67 ($25.99 / £26.99 / AU$35.99) is the older model – it runs hot (up to 51ºC / 124ºF as mentioned earlier) and can only sustain the full output for 30 minutes, making the RG68 a much better deal.
Why is the Novoo R68 worth caring about?
Sure, the RG68 can charge a laptop or a phone (or three devices at once), supports the latest fast-charging protocols, is efficient and is very compact – but is that enough to make Novoo worth considering over well-known brand names like Ugreen and Anker?
Yes. And there are a few good reasons for that.
For starters, the RG68 is damn affordable. Usually I warn people not to risk plugging their thousand-dollar devices into cheap chargers. But in this case, Novoo has the build quality of a much more premium option. The normal $18.99 / £26.99 / AU$39.99 price tag is a great deal for a quality 67W charger at the best of times, but Novoo occasionally offers discounts on Amazon.
In comparison, the equally compact single port Anker Nano II 65W is typically double the price, and even the glorious yet budget-friendly Ugreen 65W Nexode 3-port charger only reaches RG68 pricing when on a deep discount.
Novoo also stands out with a two-year warranty – the same as Belkin and Cygnett. Anker gives 18 months, while Ugreen doesn’t even list a warranty period on Amazon. The Novoo team is also very responsive, and when I mentioned their support pages didn’t include the manuals for the chargers sold in Australia, they quickly added them.
Now, while I love the RG68, Novoo isn’t perfect. They still sell the older RG67 but don’t warn users (on the product page or in the manual) that the charger can’t sustain the full output for more than 30 minutes.
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What Novoo doesn’t say
The RG68 (and the RG120) product page and manual miss one key detail. Both these chargers support PPS (Programmable Power Supply). This means that your device talks to the charger over the USB cable and asks for just the right voltage and amperage to give the fastest, most efficient charge. PPS is used by most new phones, and it’s what enables Super Fast Charging 2.0 for the Samsung Galaxy range and allows your new Google Pixel 9 or iPhone to charge at full speed.
PPS support is a great feature and Novoo really should include it on the product page.
What if you want a larger or smaller wattage charger?
The Novoo charger lineup is somewhat limited. Aside from the 67W RG68, there’s the excellent 120W RG120 charger and the best-avoided 67W RG67 dual port charger. But nothing smaller – at least not in Australia.
While I think a 65W (or so) charger is perfect for varied everyday use, alternatives in the 30W range can be a lot smaller and cheaper – especially if you just need a basic phone charger. While it’s hard to beat the oh-so-tiny 30W Anker 511 or the affordable 33W Anker 323 dual port charger, Ugreen has a great range of low-wattage chargers. There’s the 35W Nexode 2 port, the itty-bitty Ugreen 30W single port mini charger or the phone-focused 20W model that’s even cheaper. All five of these chargers perform very well in testing.
Father’s Day Australia offers from Novoo
If you’re in Australia or New Zealand, Novoo is currently running a Father’s Day promotion that makes the RG68 even cheaper (just AU$31.58). Plus TechRadar ANZ readers get an exclusive 10% discount code (NOVOOSAVE10) that brings the price down to just AU$28.42! That’s the cheapest we have seen the RG68 in Australia. Handily the Novoo code will also work on a select few other products listed on Amazon AU till September 1 – these are also listed below.
While I love the RG68 charger, Novoo has discounted a range of other products on Amazon AU. The three deals below are my pick, as they all work with the NOVOOSAVE10 code for our Australian and New Zealand readers, bringing the prices down to the lowest I’ve seen.
