I’ve lost more USB-C cables to hotel rooms and airport lounges than I care to admit. So when UGREEN sent over their Nexode 65W charger with a built-in retractable cable, my first thought was: sure, but does the mechanism hold up after six months in a backpack?
The model is X605. It is a 65W GaN charger with three outputs: a 68cm retractable USB-C cable rated at 60W, a separate USB-C port at 65W, and a USB-A port at 22.5W. The body measures roughly 53 by 50 by 60mm and weighs about 192g. That is heavier than UGREEN’s standard 65W three-port brick, which makes sense. The retractable spool and cable add mass.
ChargerLAB tore one down and found the mechanism is rated for over 25,000 pulls. The cable locks at eight different lengths and retracts with a tug. In practice it feels like the retractable lanyards you see at conference badges, except thicker. The cable itself is a flat silicone ribbon with a metal end cap. I would not yank it hard, but for normal daily use the mechanism seems solid enough.
Inside, UGREEN is using iSmartWare’s SW1125P integrated GaN controller, plus SW3561H protocol chips for the buck stages. The teardown showed potting compound filling most of the case, which helps with heat. On a 220V input at 20V 3.25A full load, the surface hits about 67C after an hour. That is warm but not alarming. The ripple numbers are genuinely good, peaking at 16mVp-p against a 200mVp-p standard limit.
Protocol support is broad. The retractable cable handles PD3.0, PPS, QC3.0/5, FCP, SCP, AFC, and Apple 2.4A. The standalone USB-C port adds UFCS, which matters if you are using newer Chinese phones from Xiaomi, Huawei, or OPPO that support the unified fast-charging standard. The USB-A port also carries UFCS and Huawei SCP up to 22.5W.
Real-world output: the retractable cable pushed 59.75W to a MacBook Pro M4 Pro in ChargerLAB’s test. A Lenovo Xiaoxin 14 pulled 53W. For phones, an iPhone 16 Pro got about 25W, and a Red Magic 9S Pro+ hit 50W via PPS. The standalone USB-C port goes slightly higher to 65W, so if you are charging a laptop and want every watt, use that port instead of the built-in cable.
Multi-port behavior is where it gets less impressive. With the cable and USB-C both in use, you get roughly 45W plus 20W. Add the USB-A port and the two smaller outputs drop to about 7.5W each. This is standard for a 65W budget charger, but worth knowing if you planned to run a laptop and two phones at once. The laptop will charge fine. The phones will crawl.
Price in China is around 150 to 180 RMB depending on sales. In Europe UGREEN lists it at 45 euros, though it is often discounted to 33 euros. At the lower price it is competitive. At full retail, a standard 65W three-port GaN charger from the same company costs less and weighs less. You are paying for convenience, not power density.
Speaking of the broader market, this product fits into a pattern I have been tracking since IFA 2025. Chinese brands are stuffing cables into everything now. Baseus has the EnerCore GR11 with dual retractable USB-C lines. EcoFlow’s RAPID Pro has one built in too. Even Anker is going modular with Pogo Pin docks. The logic is clear: people hate carrying cables, and if the cable is part of the charger, you cannot forget it.
Whether that justifies the extra bulk and cost depends on your travel habits. I have handled the UGREEN unit for a few weeks now. The retractable cable is genuinely convenient for desk use. For travel, I still pack a slim 65W charger and a separate cable. The cable gives me flexibility. The retractable brick gives me one less thing to lose, but also one more mechanical part that can fail.
Would I buy one? At 150 RMB, maybe. At 45 euros, probably not. The 0.41W per cubic centimeter power density is mediocre next to modern slim GaN designs. But if your desk is a cable graveyard and you want one charger that is always ready to go, this is a reasonable fix.