Aukey makes a USB-A dual-port charger that’s surprisingly small but puts out 24 watts. It takes advantage of Gallium Nitride for its svelte design.
I used the accessory with my iPhone XS Max for some real-world testing. Here’s how it stood up.
Some of the coolest tech gear is also the smallest, and the same goes for the price tag. So we’ve rounded up some of the biggest deals on the most compact gear and gadgets in the Cult of Mac Store. We’ve got a keychain-sized breathalyzer, a micro iPhone charger, and more. Read on for more details.
Having an iPhone is convenient — until you need to charge it. The standard charging brick and Lightning cable combo means you’ve gotta make space in your bag to travel with the phone in your pocket.
When traveling, if you forget your charger, you’re often hosed. Especially for the Apple Watch. That’s why I keep a Zens Powerbank battery pack in my bag. The Powerbank features a built-in charger for the Apple Watch, plus a USB port for plugging an iPhone or iPad.
It’s light and easy to carry around, yet has enough juice for recharging an Apple Watch almost 12 times. Best yet, the Zens Powerbank battery pack is available now in Cult of Mac’s Watch Store.
External batteries are widely available but surprisingly few of them are really designed with Apple users in mind. That’s because all too many require a microUSB cable to get power. The mophie Powerstation Plus XL is a rare exception.
It’s recharged through a built-in Lightning port. The new accessory has a Lighting connector on a built-in cable too. If that wasn’t enough, it can be wirelessly recharged.
Having a wireless charging pad on my nightstand means never having to fish around in the dark for a Lightning cable plugged into the wall. However, there’s a tradeoff: Switching to wireless charging also means I’ve awakened to a nearly drained iPhone more often than ever before.
Well, help is on the way for this admittedly first-world problem. The new Logitech Powered Wireless Charger eliminates the main drawback I’ve found when it comes to charging my iPhone wirelessly.
For lovers of versatility, and Apple gear, I bring you a two-in-one charging solution for iPhone and Apple Watch. Who doesn’t enjoy a twofer?
The WiDuo by Wiplabs is a beautifully minimalist charging pad that provides up to 20 percent faster charging that many of its wireless competitors. And, it’s cute and sleek to boot. Pop it in a bag or briefcase for on-the-go charging.
There’s a secret magician lurking in our household. We never see them, but they somehow manage to disappear all our charging cables. It drives me batty. The kids, of course, deny any knowledge of the situation. Yet somehow it’s impossible to keep cables around the house. They just keep disappearing.
That’s why I like the FuelBox PowerStation, a charging system that combines a docking station/charging brick with a mobile battery pack. Both the docking station and the battery pack have built-in charging cables — both Lightning and mini-USB. No matter what, the cables can’t disappear.
Own an iPhone? Live in a house or apartment? Then you’ve got a match made in heaven. The two can work in harmony, if you have the right accessories. So we’ve rounded up some of the coolest peripherals for bringing your home and phone together, including a wireless charging kit, a robotic vacuum cleaner, a Bluetooth audio hub, and more. Some of these are discounted by more than half off, so read on for more details:
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: When it’s standing there all by itself, the Ugreen Apple Watch Charger Stand looks like a giant joystick. For me, it triggered an instant flashback to the ’80s and the golden years of gaming.
That nostalgic blast wasn’t necessarily a positive, though: I didn’t find the Ugreen Apple Watch charger’s design instantly appealing. In fact, it was almost game over before I even gave it a try. I’m glad I did, because it’s ultimately a handy little charging hub.
Considering how much we rely on and use various cables to connect and charge up our devices, it’s high time they learn to keep up. These three new, rugged and highly adaptable cables from Nomad represent a step in the right direction.
From a PVC-jacketed cable to a built-in battery and a universal interface for any connection type, these next-gen cables are well worth checking out.
The more we rely on our digital devices, the more chances there are to run out of juice at just the wrong moment. But the essential charging gadgets in this roundup can meet anyone’s thirst for power.
They include a portable, surge-protected strip with USB and standard outlets, a five-port dock that organizes your gizmos while they charge, a trio of extra-long, MFi-certified Lightning cables, and a wireless charging hub for Apple Watch and three other devices. Read on to learn more:
If you’re traveling with your Apple Watch and desperately want to eliminate a cable from your bag, Belkin’s new Valet Charger power pack could do the trick.
With its built-in round magnetic charging module, this 6,700mAh battery pack lets you jettison the single-use cable that comes with every Apple Watch.
If you’re an Apple Watch and iPhone owner, there’s a good chance you suffer from cluttered-nightstand syndrome. There’s only so much surface space on your standard bedside table, and plugging in multiple devices for overnight charging can mean a tangle of wires and general disarray.
The Belkin PowerHouse charging dock, which juices up an iPhone and an Apple Watch at the same time, will cure you instantly of this 21st-century malady.
There’s a constant war in our house for charging bricks and cables. I like to keep chargers in certain places so I know where they are — beside the bed for example. But they constantly disappear, thanks to my light-fingered kids.
It drives me bananas, which is why I like the Udoq, a universal charging stand that neatly organizes and charges between two and eight devices. It can’t be easily half-inched.
Our Apple devices are designed, in part, to make our lives easier. But the chargers they come with add a burden. Tangled cords and bulk become nuisance cargo in our bags and that’s if you don’t lose track of one of your chargers.
The Dutch company ZENS has prided itself for the last five years on cutting our cords and its latest wireless power bank offers an Apple MFi certified one-stop charging solution for the Apple Watch and the iPhone or iPad.
When Iron Man charges his iPhone, he probably uses one of Armour’s Lightning cables. These sleek, steel-lined, MFi-certified, charging devices are built to last. In fact, they come with a limited lifetime warranty, making them the last Lightning chargers you’ll ever need to buy. Right now they’re going at a big discount, so take a look and upgrade your charging game.
If you’re anything like me, you carry a ton of gadgets. Keeping them all charged is a juggling act and, inevitably, there’s always one device I’ve neglected to keep juiced.
Coming to my rescue though, Cobra sent over a JumPack Power Pack to charge up all my devices. Plus, it comes with an extra trick up its sleeve.
Check out the full video review below.
I have a bit of an embarrassing problem: Part of my device-charging setup in my bedroom includes a power strip that sits on the floor next to my bed. It isn’t the worst thing ever, but it’s ugly, and sometimes I trip over it. But I may have found a solution in the 3-port iClever BoostCube. It will save my pride, and some space in my bag when I travel, and that’s just good news all around.
Plus, the ports glow an eerie blue when it’s plugged in, and that’s really cool-looking.
If there’s one thing I can never have enough of, it’s power for my iPhone. Even on normal, about-town sort of days, I’m always looking for ways to keep the battery topped off, in case I need it for something power-intensive later on. I carry around external chargers like some people carry around ChapStick and tissue, and I’ve always got a spare cable to share. All of that stuff can add up to a ball of wires and plugs, making for a nasty mess in my backpack.
I’ve long wanted an easier, wire-free charging existence, and that’s where the Stacked iPhone charging case comes in. It’s a clever system that’s a truly wireless solution to keeping my iPhone at the top end of the charged-up spectrum.
My truck’s getting up in years and lacks many of the conveniences of a late-model vehicle. Forget about an in-dash touchscreen monitor — it doesn’t even have a USB port.
That means I’m stuck using a cigarette lighter adapter to charge my iPhone (which serves as my GPS on many trips). I’ve tried and enjoyed Gosin’s four-port charger, which is awesome for those rare times I’ve got a handful of devices to juice up, but that portly wonder juts out fairly far into the truck’s cabin. Like my truck itself, it is functional but slightly unsightly.
And then there’s the svelte Scosche reVolt dual car charger. Its disarming good looks have ruined me.
More of the things we can’t leave home without have batteries. That means a greater chance for frustration over forgotten chargers and occupied wall outlets, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We’ve found a charger for every situation, and almost any budget.
We are wireless, but not quite wire-free. One company wants to help iPhone users cut a couple of cords with a magnetic charging solution called the STACK PACK.
It’s all capital letters for a product that sounds more like workout vitamins. The STACK PACK promises to pack just as much power as that soon-to-be obsolete charging cord — except with shorter charging times and a satisfying feeling as your iPhone magnetically clicks onto a battery or charger.
Simple, elegant and fun, the Ribbn car charger is no-muss, no-fuss.
Offering up 4.8 amps, Tylt’s little Lightning charger plugs into a standard cigarette lighter socket and adds a bit of bright-blue bling to your car’s interior.
Power banks and external batteries are everywhere these days, including airports, drug stores and (my favorite) at the Apple Store. I’ve used quite a few of them and, while many are kind of cheaply made, a few are pretty well-designed and useful.
Quarter’s Super Charge Powerbank is one of the latter. Just 15 minutes hooked to your MacBook MagSafe power adapter cord will give it enough juice to fully charge your iPhone. You can charge with a typical micro-USB cable, too, but you won’t get that fast a top-off.