Acefast Z4 218W review: This 4-port charging station has a unique feature I've always wanted

Acefast is a Chinese accessory brand that knows how to grab attention with its products. Its T8 earbuds have a see-through design that's gorgeous, and they combine a good design with great sound and affordable pricing. The brand carried the see-through aesthetic to its Crystal 65W GaN chargers, offering unique designs with attractive colors and three charging ports at just $25.

The Z4 218W charging station builds on that heritage, and while it doesn't have an entirely transparent design, you get an acrylic window at the front that shows off the circuitry behind the charging ports, and that just looks plain cool. But what I like the most is that the Z4 has a 1.3-inch LCD screen that shows real-time charging information.

I'm obsessed with USB-C power meters and seeing how fast gadgets charge in real-world use, and having a screen on the charging station itself is a terrific move — I'm not sure why more established brands haven't thought of doing so already.

Anyway, the Z4 is just as value-focused as Acefast's other products, and this 4-port charging station that has a total power budget of 218W costs just $80 on Amazon and the same on Acefast's online storefront. I used UGREEN's Nexode 200W as the go-to charging station for the better part of the last 18 months, and while it has two additional ports, it costs $199.

Acefast included three USB-C ports along with a USB-A port on the Z4, and this is the ideal configuration for a charging station. The USB-C ports are labeled — C1, C2, and C3 — and they go up to a maximum of 100W over the USB PD 3.0 protocol, with the USB-A port hitting 18W.

I'll get to how the charging station holds up in real-world use a bit below, but first, I want to talk about the design. The Z4 stands out quite a bit thanks to the screen and the clear design up front, and it reminds me quite a bit of the Sharge 170 power bank. The rest of the charging station is made out of soft touch plastic, and it doesn't pick up much dust. There's an Acefast logo up top, but other than that, the design is otherwise clean.

The build quality is on par with the best GaN chargers, and the rubber feet at the bottom ensure the Z4 stays planted on a desk. The unit is fairly small for a charging station, but it is heavy, and it isn't quite suited for portability — this is something you'll need to use on your desk. On that note, Acefast uses a detachable power cable, and the cable itself is 1.5 meters.

There's a button next to the screen, and this is used to change the power modes. While most other charging stations change the power budget dynamically based on number of devices connected, Acefast gives you the ability to choose the wattage that goes to each port. There are four modes in total, and you can basically switch off power to a port if you're charging two devices that need 100W at the same time. You don't get this level of customizability on other charging stations, and it's great to see.

Here's a rundown of the modes, and the power budget available with each:

• Mode A (213W Total): USB-C1 (100W) + C2 (65W) + C3 (30W) + USB-A (18W)
• USB-C1 (100W Max): 3.3-21V/5A (PPS, 100W Max), 5V/3A (15W), 9V/3A (27W), 12V/3A (36W), 15V/3A (45W), 20V/5A (100W)
• USB-C2 (65W Max): 3.3-11V/5A (PPS, 55W Max), 5V/3A (15W), 9V/3A (27W), 12V/3A (36W), 15V/3A (45W), 20V/3.25A (65W)
• USB-C3 (30W Max): 3.3-11V/3A (PPS, 30W Max), 5V/3A (15W), 9V/3A (27W), 12V/2.5A (30W), 15V/2A (30W), 20V/1.5A (30W)
• USB-A (18W Max): 5V/3A (15W), 9V/2A (18W), 12V/1.5A (18W)

• Mode B (213W Total): USB-C1 (65W) + C2 (65W) + C3 (65W) + USB-A (18W)
• USB-C1/C2 (65W Max): 3.3-11V/5A (PPS, 55W Max), 5V/3A (15W), 9V/3A (27W), 12V/3A (36W), 15V/3A (45W), 20V/3.25A (65W)
• USB-C3 (65W Max): 3.3-21V/3A (PPS, 30W Max), 5V/3A (15W), 9V/3A (27W), 12V/3A (36W), 15V/3A (345W), 20V/3.25A (65W)
• USB-A (18W Max): 5V/3A (15W), 9V/2A (18W), 12V/1.5A (18W)

• Mode C (218W Total): USB-C1 (100W) + C2 (100W) + USB-A (18W)
• USB-C1/C2 (100W Max): 3.3-21V/5A (PPS, 100W Max), 5V/3A (15W), 9V/3A (27W), 12V/3A (36W), 15V/3A (45W), 20V/5A (100W)
• USB-A (18W Max): 5V/3A (15W), 9V/2A (18W), 12V/1.5A (18W)

• Mode D (218W Total): USB-C1 (100W) + C2 (100W) + C3 (18W)
• USB-C1/C2 (100W Max): 3.3-21V/5A (PPS, 100W Max), 5V/3A (15W), 9V/3A (27W), 12V/3A (36W), 15V/3A (45W), 20V/5A (100W)
• USB-C3 (18W Max): 3.3-11V/2A (PPS, 18W Max), 5V/3A (15W), 9V/2A (18W), 12V/1.5A (18W)

Clearly, there's a lot of options that the Z4 can be used in, and Mode A makes a lot of sense if you want to maximize the potential of all the ports. Mode B is great if you don't need 100W of charging power, but want 65W spread out over all the USB-C ports. Modes C and D are great if you need to charge two devices at 100W simultaneously, and you can use the other port to charge any accessory at the same time.

The best part is that the screen shows all of this data in real-time; you'll see the maximum wattage assigned to each port in real-time. And like I said at the start, it's just great to be able to see how much charge is being delivered to connected devices in real-time — I used the Z4 for the better part of two months now, and it doesn't get old. Even though the charging station has an LCD screen of its own, it doesn't draw any power when idling, another plus point.

I tested the Z4 with over a dozen devices over the course of the last two months, including the Pixel 8 Pro, Galaxy S24 Ultra, Xiaomi Notebook 120G, iPad Pro, Xiaomi 13 Ultra, iQOO 12, and a ton of accessories. It delivered a reliable charge throughout, and I measured the on-screen data with my own power meter connected to the other end of the cable — a Chargerlab Power-Z KM003C — and it was in line with what the power meter showed.

The Z4 has a clear edge in that it has a total power budget of 218W, and it is a particularly great choice if you use Samsung phones. It didn't have any issues charging two devices at 100W in Mode D, and while the charging station got a little warm, it didn't exceed 42 degrees — in line with other chargers I tested recently.

Overall, Acefast did a brilliant job with the Z4, and this 4-port charging station has all the features you need — it delivers a reliable charge, has a unique design, and the screen is a big differentiator. But where it truly excels is the value; you're just paying $80 for this charger, and that's a steal.