The Best Smartphone Chargers For Family Trips

Keep everybody charged up and clutter free with the proper cables and ports for your devices.

Keeping multiple devices charged on vacation doesn't have to be a pain in the neck, not if you bring the right chargers.

Poweroni USB
Let go of the spaghetti look of your current stations. No more cluttered cables with this thoughtful solution. | Amazon

Inventory your family's needs, first. The good news is that, aside from Apple, the phone makers of the world came together a decade ago and said they'd all just use some form of USB, and even Apple has given in on the charger side and uses a USB port at one end of their cable. This means most chargers and cables are interchangeable, so focus more on numbers than specific ports.

unitek
The adjustable baffles let you set any width you need, holding your various devices even in bulky cases. | Amazon

Look for a fast-charging system. Any combination of cable and charger will fill up your phone eventually, but there are two limits; how much power your phone can draw, and how much power the charger can provide. Think of the difference drinking something out of a straw versus a coffee stirrer, and you get the general idea. And don't worry if a charger can provide more power than your phone needs; phones are configured to only draw the maximum they can accept.

Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Cable (1m)
Just hold the connector near the watch of your device and magnets do the rest. | Apple

Consider form factor. If you're packing light, or are only charging your own devices, you may want to have many ports on one cable, although this may limit the overall power you can draw. If you've got a whole fleet of phones to power up, though, go for the organizer; it'll keep phones in place as well as power them up.