Airports turn even sensible people into cable gremlins, which is why I trialled the GM G+ TravelEase Pro 70W—the one with the retractable lead—across Beijing, San Francisco, Hawaii, Phoenix and New York. One brick, seven ways to feed it, and enough GaN grunt to keep my MacBook Air, iPad Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple Watch, power banks and assorted review clutter alive without the nightly charger roulette. It’s compact, tidy and mostly effortless; the EU-style prongs can feel a touch wobbly in some sockets, and power is shared when you stack devices, but as a travel companion it cut the chaos to near-zero—and that’s the real luxury.
I used the GM G+ TravelEase Pro (the one with the retractable cable) across Beijing, San Francisco, Hawaii, Phoenix and New York. It’s quick, tidy and properly travel-friendly. The caveats: the EU-style prongs can feel a touch wobbly in some wall sockets, and like every multi-port GaN brick, the headline 70W figure is a single-port party trick—split the ports and the watts are divided. Overall, though, this is the rare travel adapter that behaves like a mini charging station.
Why This Brick Came Everywhere With Me
Airports are where cables go to tangle and chargers go to die. I am not carrying a zoo of plugs when a single brick will do. The TravelEase Pro promised three things: (1) universal sliders for US/UK/EU/AU, (2) enough grunt to charge a laptop properly, and (3) a built-in retractable cable so I’m not rummaging in a pouch like Indiana Jones looking for the right lead. That combination, plus a pocketable form factor, made it my default wall companion for a fortnight of flights, hotels and cafés with suspicious wiring.
The Ports, The Power, The Practicality
Two USB-C, two USB-A, a universal AC outlet and that retractable cable—this is essentially a hotel-room power strip disguised as a travel adapter. On single-device sessions, the 70W USB-C output did right by my MacBook Air, pushing a healthy fast charge while I battled airport Wi-Fi. Plug in a second or third device and, as ever, the adapter negotiates and splits power. Expect sensible step-downs: laptop + phone remained quick enough, while adding an Apple Watch and a TWS case pushed us into “everything’s charging, nothing’s screaming.” Which, frankly, is all I ever want after a red-eye.
Real-World Charging: Cities, Sockets, Sanity
Beijing hotel, late check-in, one usable socket hidden behind a sideboard—classic. I slotted in the EU/China configuration, fed the MacBook Air from USB-C, ran the iPhone 17 Pro Max off the retractable cable and topped the Watch on the side. All green before room service arrived. In San Francisco, the US prongs felt reassuringly snug in a century-old outlet that looked like it had seen more startups than sunrises. Hawaii was all poolside patience: iPad Pro for Lightroom edits, phone on standby, power bank quietly filling up for sunset timelapses. Phoenix and New York were the stress tests—multiple meetings, multiple Ubers, multiple devices clinging to life. At no point did I wish I’d brought a second brick. The TravelEase Pro didn’t flinch; I did, when my coffee bill came.
The Retractable-Cable Life
That little pull-and-rewind cable sounds like a gimmick until you’re at an airport gate with thirty-seven minutes to boarding and zero mood for cable origami. It’s just long enough to prop a phone on the seat while the adapter hangs on the wall, and it tidies itself with a satisfying zip when you’re done. No extra lead to coil, no spaghetti in the sling. Consider it the tiny convenience that adds up to daily delight—like a MagSafe puck that doesn’t try to escape.
Build And Design: Pocketable, Not Precious
The shell feels dense in the right way—nothing creaky, nothing rattly—and the sliders click with the sort of mechanical confidence that says “I’ve thought about your 3 a.m. checkout.” It’s compact enough to disappear in a tech pouch, yet substantial enough not to dangle precariously from a high-mounted socket. Heat management? Better than expected. Under sustained dual-device loads it got warm, never toasty. GaN for the win: efficient, cooler, and capable of the sort of power density the old bricks only dreamed of.
Safety And Peace Of Mind
Fuse protection, surge protection and child-safety shutters aren’t sexy, but they’re exactly what you want in unfamiliar outlets of uncertain vintage. I didn’t trip a single breaker and I didn’t feel like I was rolling the dice in older buildings. The LED status light is discreet—not a blue lighthouse blasting your retinas at 2 a.m.
Quirks You Should Know
Let’s talk about the EU-style prongs. In some sockets—especially those with generous tolerances—the fit can feel a smidge wobbly. Not “it’s going to leap out” wobbly; more “give it a gentle press so it sits flush” wobbly. It never disconnected on me, but it’s the one aspect I’d like tightened in the next revision. The second quirk is as old as multi-port chargers: the 70W headline is real, but only for a single output. Add more devices and the brick behaves like a civilised maître d’, splitting resources so everyone’s fed, no-one’s stuffed. If you’re trying to fast-charge a laptop while reviving three phones from single digits before a flight, physics will roll its eyes. Prioritise the laptop, accept that the accessories will trickle, and carry on.
What It Isn’t
This is not a voltage converter and it’s not a hair-dryer handler. Kettles, irons, travel-sized pretend flamethrowers—no. It’s a charging hub for electronics. Used as intended, it’s excellent. Used as a hotel-room power plant for heat-based appliances, it will protect itself and you’ll be left with damp hair and regret.
Quality-Of-Life Wins That Stack Up
Universal plug sliders mean zero adaptor-on-adaptor comedy. The universal AC outlet lets a companion plug their camera charger while you run USB for everything else. The retractable cable removes one item from the bag. And because the footprint is sensible, it doesn’t block the neighbouring wall socket, which in hotel rooms is rarer than an on-time red-eye. Individually small wins; together, they feel like someone actually travels with this thing.
Value And Positioning
We’re not in the bargain-bin end of the pool, but we’re also not paying luxury-tax for a logo. The proposition here is simple: replace a fistful of plugs and mystery adaptors with one tidy brick that works in 150-plus countries and can charge your main computer at a grown-up rate. On that metric, it earns its space and saves your patience. If you must bring a second charger, make it a featherweight phone puck; the TravelEase Pro can shoulder the heavy lifting.
Verdict
After two weeks of aviation bingo and hotel roulette, the GM G+ TravelEase Pro did what great travel gear does: it quietly removed friction. It powered my MacBook Air, iPad Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple Watch, power banks and the usual parade of review units without melodrama, and it did so in Beijing, San Francisco, Hawaii, Phoenix and New York with equal competence. The EU-socket wobble is a niggle, and the power-sharing reality is worth remembering, but neither dented my confidence or my workflow. This is the rare “universal” gadget that justifies the adjective. Consider it the default recommendation for travellers who carry a laptop and live on multiple screens.
Rating Table
Category
| Score (10)
| Notes
| Design & Build
| 8.5
| Compact, solid sliders, sensible thermals
| Ports & Versatility
| 8.5
| 2×USB-C, 2×USB-A, AC outlet + retractable cable
| Charging Performance
| 8.0
| Strong single-port; sensible multi-port sharing
| Safety Features
| 8.0
| Surge, fuse, shutters inspire confidence
| Travel Friendliness
| 9.0
| Pocketable, cable self-tidies, truly universal
| Value
| 7.5
| Fair for a multi-device GaN travel hub
|
Overall: 8/10 |
