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Oh, and the iPhone 12 Mini and 13 Mini are capped at 12W charging via MagSafe, rather than 15W, for heat dissipation reasons. The Samsung is the only charger we tested with an active cooling fan, but you can only control it from a Samsung phone. Also, the status LED glows red when the phone is charging correctly, which is counterintuitive. In our testing, the MagSafe pad delivered 12W charging to an iPhone 12 Mini (non-Minis can expect 15W) while charging the Watch and AirPods as well. The Belkin connects to its proprietary 40W charger via a 5-foot cable with a barrel connector. We’d prefer USB-C, but proprietary adapters are common in multi-device chargers. There’s no charging indicator for the watch or MagSafe pads, just the Qi pad on the base, but charging indicators aren’t that important for magnetic chargers since you can’t really misalign them. Wireless charging is also energy inefficient — by some calculations it takes 40% more energy to charge a phone wirelessly than by plugging it in. Every 10W wireless charger we tested required at least a 15W wall adapter.
Still, if you have a MagSafe-compatible phone and want fast wireless charging, it’s worth getting a MagSafe charger. If you’re interested in the magnetic part but don’t mind a slower charge, you can also consider a magnetic Qi charger like the one we recommend below. If you have the space, and the need, to charge a half dozen or more devices at once, the BaseLynx system is worth considering. If your needs are more modest, you can save space and money with something more compact. Scosche tells us a MagSafe module is coming soon, but as of December 2021 it is not yet available. Maximum charge rate: 10W (7.5W for iPhone), 12W USB-A (x3), 18W USB-C Power Delivery (x2), 5W Apple Watch The Samsung Fast Charge Wireless Charging Stand does charge other Android phones at up to 10W, and iPhones at 7.5W, like most of the other chargers we tested, so it’s still useful in mixed-phone-ecosystem situations, a phrase I can’t believe I typed at 8 p.m. on a Saturday one week before Christmas.Provides a max 7.5W charge for the iPhone 12 series. To charge the iPhone 12 series at 15W, use an official MagSafe wireless charger. If you want a charger you can show off (or at least one that complements your decor), consider the Moshi Otto Q. With its heathered gray fabric top and metal-look case, it resembles Scandinavian hi-fi equipment and doesn’t look out of place on a nightstand, dresser or console table. It can deliver up to 15W to the (vanishingly few) Android phones that support it, 9W to Samsung phones and 7.5W to iPhones. Regardless of the phone, induction charging isn’t as fast as wired charging. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, which we used for testing, can charge via USB-C at 25W. Samsung’s wireless chargers can hit 15W; on a standard Qi charger, it’s limited to 9W. So it’ll charge almost three times faster with a cable than on a wireless charger. The iPhone 13 can charge at up to 20W via Lightning cable, 15W on MagSafe and just 7.5W on a standard wireless charger. If you’re in a hurry, plug it in. Compatibility: MagSafe is specifically tailored for Apple devices, including iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods, while Qi wireless charging is a universal standard adopted by various brands. Cases made of metal and attachments such as magnets, cards, and grips will interfere with charging.
The Anker 623 MagGo is the most interesting charging stand we tested. It’s a surprisingly heavy violet-colored cylinder with a MagSafe-compatible Qi charger on top. That top flips forward up to 60 degrees to become a charging stand for MagSafe phones and reveals a second Qi charging pad underneath. That 5W charging pad is meant for AirPods, though in our testing it was able to charge phones as well, albeit slowly. And of course the main charging pad is limited to 7.5W for iPhones; it’s “MagGo,” not MagSafe. The Tylt is a plastic bowl, about 7 inches in diameter, with a 10W Qi charging pedestal in the middle at about rim height. The inside is a semi-glossy copper colored plastic, while the outside has an unconvincing wood grain pattern. A golden light shines down into the bowl from the stand when your phone is charging. So you're in the market for a wireless phone charger—great choice! But with so many options out there, it can be difficult to know where to start. To help you out, here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a wireless charger for your phone.iPhone 12 / 12 Mini / 12 Pro Max / SE (2020) / 11/ 11 Pro / 11 Pro Max / XS Max / XR / XS / X / 8 / 8 Plus This bar-shaped pad couldn’t deliver full power to any of the four phones we tried it with, and at 5.8 inches by 2.8 inches by .47 inches, it’s as large as many smartphones, which Anker claims helps with phone alignment. It doesn’t include an AC adapter; by the time you add one, it costs as much as more powerful, better-looking options.
Cases made of metal and attachments such as magnets, cards, and grips will interfere with charging—including OtterBox defender cases.
Anker’s affordable wireless charging stand just about does the job, but is getting a little dated
Size and shape: Since wireless chargers sit out on display, they might as well look good and not take up too much room. This may sound like faint praise compared to the Zens, but if the Zens isn’t heavily marked down, the Anker is the better buy if you don’t want to wait until you have a MagSafe phone. One of the few third-party MagSafe chargers, this shares the sci-fi pedestal design of the Belkin Boost Charge Pro 3-in-1 but drops the Apple Watch charger. It’s a good choice if you don’t have an Apple Watch but do have a MagSafe phone and earbuds with a wireless charging case. Surely dozens of people. The reason to buy a magnetic Qi charger, then, is if you have a MagSafe phone but want something you can’t get with an official MagSafe charger, like a cord that’s more than 3 feet long. The Catch:1 Essentials 10W single-device charger is beautiful, with a linen top, matte soft-touch sides and a color-matched USB-C to A cable (though no AC adapter). It has a white pinpoint charging indicator at the rear of the pad, next to the USB port; it won’t bother you at night, but it’s also hard to see without rotating the pad.
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