Twelve South has long offered a PlugBug accessory designed to provide interchangeable plugs for travel purposes, but earlier this month, an updated version debuted that added an extra USB port.
The new Twelve South PlugBug Duo is an ideal travel accessory because it adds international plugs to your MacBook adapter and lets you charge accessories like an iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch while charging your laptop.
Design-wise, when it comes out of the box, the PlugBug Duo is similar in shape to a MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air power adapter. To use it, though, the bottom snaps off to reveal a slide and hook mechanism.
Connecting it to a MacBook power adapter requires popping off the plug portion of the adapter and replacing it with a snap-on Plugbug Duo component. This is a simple replacement that took me seconds to do.
The PlugBug Duo is made from a bright red plastic material that’s quite eye-catching, and while the quality of the plastic doesn’t quite measure up to the Apple Power Adapter, it’s not far off.
The PlugBug Duo can serve as a permanent replacement for the plug portion of the power adapter, both for use at home and when traveling. Size-wise, it lines up well with the 87W MacBook Pro charger, but is larger than the 29W/30W and 61W chargers for the MacBook and 13-inch MacBook Pro.
In my photo, for example, I connected it to the MacBook charger. It’s wider on the right side than the power adapter, and it adds more than an inch of bulk to the top because of the two USB ports, but it takes up less space than separate charging bricks for my iPad and iPhone.
The PlugBug Duo adds bulk to a power adapter, but I didn’t think it was so heavy that it became less portable.
It’s worth noting that you can’t use a power adapter extension cable because of the PlugBug attached. If you want to use the extension cable, you need to remove the plug to connect it to the power adapter. I don’t usually use extension cables, especially when traveling, so I didn’t have a problem with the tradeoff.
The PlugBug Duo has two USB-A ports, one at 2.1A and ideal for charging an iPad, and one at 1A, perfect for an iPhone or Apple Watch. You can use the 2.1A port to charge an iPhone even faster, but it’s not an adapter you’ll want to use for something like two iPads. I found it particularly useful for charging an iPhone on the 2.1A port and an Apple Watch on the 1A port.
You can use the PlugBug Duo at home to add extra USB ports to your power adapter, where it really shines is when traveling. This is useful without having to carry extra power adapters for all your devices. As with standard power adapters, the Plugbug’s prongs snap away when not in use (this is limited to US and China adapters).
The PlugBug Duo is ideal for international travel because the plug part comes off and Twelve South ships it with several other interchangeable adapters that can be used in other countries.
There are adapters for Europe, China, Australia/New Zealand, North America and the UK, with over 150 countries in total. I haven’t traveled out of the country while testing the plugbug, but I can say that it’s pretty easy to swap out the plugs if needed.
Even if you’re not traveling abroad, the PlugBug Duo has the potential to come in handy because it lets you charge a MacBook and two other accessories at once.
I wish Twelve South had included some sort of little pouch to keep the adapters in place when not in use, but without any pouches I’ve been using the box, which has convenient cutouts for each.
I also wish the PlugBug Duo had a place to wrap the cord when packing up for travel, but Apple’s own USB-C power adapters don’t offer that functionality so I can’t complain too much.
The PlugBug Duo worked well with the two USB-C power adapters I tested it with, but it’s compatible with all MagSafe 2 power adapters, all MagSafe power adapters, and the 12W iPad power adapter.
bottom line
The PlugBug Duo is a great little travel accessory that offers tons of utility, offering a variety of travel adapters and two USB-A ports so you don’t have to carry around extra adapters for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
It’s not cheap at $50, but if you travel frequently, the utility offered seems worth the price.
How to purchase
The PlugBug Duo can be purchased from the Twelve South website for $49.99.
Note: Twelve South provided MacRumors with a PlugBug Duo for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.
