Twelve South debuts new USB-C PlugBug wall charger – the ‘world’s first’ power supply with Apple Find My

2 months ago 17

Today, Twelve South debuting its new USB-C wall charger with Find My. The next-generation PlugBug is said to be “the world’s first power supply with Find My,” upgrading its existing lineup of power adapters with a pair of new models complete with support for Apple’s tracking network. Now available for purchase in a 2-port 50W setup or a 4-port 120W model, head below for a closer look at what the new travel-friendly PlugBug is all about.

Twelve South debuts new PlugBug – the ‘world’s first power supply with Find My’

Update: The new Find My PlugBug should be available for purchase any time now (we were told 9 am ET today), check back soon if it’s not up yet.

Twelve South has retired its original PlugBug Slim at this point, but it is reviving its wall charger lineup today with the new travel-ready Find My edition, upgraded charging tech, and a fresh new design just after debuting its new 15W Qi2 ButterFly SE MagSafe 2-in-1 charger.

Did I leave it at the hotel? Is it at the airport lounge? Did one of the kids take it? With PlugBug with Find My, you’ll always be able to find your charger – anywhere in the world.

Features at a glance:

USB-C Wall Charger with Find My
Choose between a 2-Port 50W or 4-Port 120W USB-C PD Compact Wall Charger
Built-in Apple Find My locates your lost or misplaced charger
Fast Charges multiple iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and more

A USB-C wall charger with Find My

It appears to work just like you would think as far as the tracking tech goes. With support for Apple’s network, you can simply add the new wall charger to your stable of trackable Find My gear on the Find My iPhone app, and then you can easily locate it, more or less just like an AirTag. Whether you’re rushing out of the house, left it back at the hotel, in the airport outlet, or otherwise, this is one charger you can zero in on using the Find My app on your phone and then trigger an audible chime when you think it’s near by. You can also setup up alerts to notify you when you’re about to leave it behind somewhere too.

My first question here, and one you might be asking yourself, was this:

Does the charger need to be plugged into an outlet for the Find My features to work though?

The answer is no. It, in fact, houses the same replaceable button battery as the Apple AirTag, according to Twelve South, which allows the Find My tracking to function completely separate from the AC charger side of things. Twelve South says the battery “should last about year” and you can monitor its charge status from within the Find My app, just like some of the Find My tracking cards we have featured recently.

Okay, now let’s talk charging. The new USB-C wall charger with Find My comes in two configurations, one with a 2-port setup and 50W of juice and a 4-port model with a combine 120W of power. Both of which feature a GaN-powered, ultra-slim design that appears to me to be slightly thicker than the previous-generation single-port model, but still relatively thin with a flat, upright form-factor, as you can see in the imagery here. There is no USB-A, just a series of USB-C output ports.

It features Power Delivery tech with the ability to detect which devices are connected and then dynamically deliver the right amount of power. In this case, and unlike some of the models we see in the marketplace where certain ports on the charger are dedicated for higher output or not, PlugBug will dynamically make the decision for you based on device requirements and the charger’s max capabilities. It works like this:

Dynamic power allocation across all USB-C ports

This time around Twelve South has replaced the red logo on the front of the new wall charger with Find My in favor of a more subtle white on white approach, while adding a red accent across the backside and bottom of the unit but with the same foldable prongs. I personally prefer the old, mostly all-white approach here, but Twelve South said it did this for a reason. You can track it down on a map with Find My, and with audible chimes, but “PlugBug’s slim white profile and bright red swoosh” also make it easier to “spot in a crowded airport charging bank yet fits seamlessly into your home.”

The new PlugBug USB-C wall charger with Find My is available for purchase starting from $69.99 (or will be any minute now) directly from the official site and, presumably over at Amazon shortly.