Anker is putting screens on its latest smart chargers – and the idea is dividing opinion

• The Anker Nano Charger has a built-in display
• Designed for iPhones, this can show charging power, battery percentage, and more
• Reactions to it seem quite mixed

If – somehow – you don’t already have enough screens in your life, there’s now one more type of product that can come with a display, as at CES 2026, Anker unveiled a new charger that includes a display.

Dubbed the Anker Nano Charger, this has a small screen on the side that can display one of over 20 interfaces, showing information like how much charging power is being used and what percentage of charge your device has reached.

There’s also a button on the charger to switch between standard charging and a TÜV‑Certified Care Mode that can reduce battery temperatures, and the display can show which mode you’re currently using.

This is a 45W charger and it’s designed primarily for iPhones and iPad Pros, with it able to identify recent models when it’s plugged into them – presumably some of the display features also require it to be plugged into a device it recognizes, so the screen might become less useful if you use this with other gadgets.

Screen aside this is a compact charger, and its prongs can be oriented in two different positions, so it should comfortably fit in almost any outlet.

It’s priced at $39.99 (roughly £30 / AU$60), which isn’t cheap but makes it competitive with Apple’s display-less 40W charger.

A divisive addition

But do you really need a display? Going by reactions on Reddit, opinions are mixed. One commenter wondered “Why do small chargers need screens? My laptop and iPhone already tells me if it charges fast or slow”, while another described it as “tech slop.”

On the other hand, one person said it “looks cool”, while another noted that they like to know how much power a specific charger is drawing when they’re on their boat, so they can better manage power consumption, which is a niche use case where this might be handy.

Still, whether useful or not, most people probably already have perfectly good chargers, so it really comes down to whether adding a screen makes it worth buying a whole new one. The answer to that is likely no for the majority of people, but then again, it’s a point of differentiation in a type of product that can struggle to stand out. So it makes some sense for Anker to offer this.

If you do want an Anker Nano Charger, you’ll be able to purchase it in the US on January 20, and you can sign up now for a 25% early bird discount. Availability in other countries is yet to be confirmed.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.