Anker was one of the first companies to announce Qi2 chargers in August 2023, and while it seems like everyone in the world is starting to release Qi2 chargers, the first one I got was Anker. This is a charger.
For iPhone users, Qi2 is already an easy sell. With a compatible iPhone, it’s cheaper and just as fast as a certified MagSafe charger. However, for Android users and mixed-platform households, this is currently unattractive. Because it’s slower than regular Qi charging on non-certified devices.
I’ve spent a few weeks using three Anker Qi2 devices, all of which are currently available. The $109.99 MagGo Wireless Charging Station (Foldable 3-in-1), the $69.99 MagGo Power Bank (6,600mAh capacity), and the $99.99 MagGo Magnetic Charging Station (8-in-1), also known as the Orb. All three charge at the speed they’re supposed to, hold your iPhone at least as securely as a real MagSafe, and look pretty good, too. It’s also cheaper than MagSafe-certified chargers. Although Orb and Power Bank have no direct competition, the 3-in-1 charger is about $40 cheaper than the current price of his MagSafe-certified 3-in-1 charger.
MagGo power bank
The MagGo power bank is much larger than its 6,600mAh capacity suggests. It’s more of a portable charging stand than something you put on the back of your phone when you’re out and about. At 266g, it’s 55g heavier than my iPhone 14 Pro and over 100g heavier than the 5,000mAh. Anker 622 magnetic battery I own it. However, its hinge is much sturdier than the 622 battery floppy kickstand, charges your phone twice as fast, and supports pass-through charging. If you plug it into the wall when the battery is full, your phone will charge at full speed. If the battery is empty, charge both at about the same rate.
MagGo Wireless Charging Station (Foldable 3-in-1)
I don’t know why Anker made the Qi2 Foldable 3-in-1 Charging Station look exactly like the Qi2 Foldable Power Bank. I keep mixing them up. Anyway, this is a neat one. The Apple Watch puck flips over from the base, so it won’t be hanging all the time when you’re not holding your Apple Watch, and the Qi2 stand angle can keep it in place from about 15 to 85 degrees. When you open the stand, you’ll find a 5W Qi charger inside, perfect for charging AirPods and other wireless earbuds. It’s thick like a power bank, but at least its shape makes it a little easier to carry on the go than its MagSafe-certified counterpart. 3-in-1 cube.
The 3-in-1 comes with a 40W AC adapter. According to the specs, it can output up to 15W via Qi2 and up to 5W each from the Apple Watch and Qi charger.
Orb
The Anker MagGo Magnetic Charging Station 8-in-1, also known as the Orb, costs $99.99. That’s about $30 more than the Anker MagGo Magnetic Charging Station 8-in-1. Ordinary magnetic Qi version. It has two USB-A ports and two USB-C ports and can support up to 67W total power output, including up to 15W from a Qi2 charger (even more power via three AC outlets). We can support you). You can get a real tabletop octopus here, or replace the entire charger equivalent of a power strip. Think about it, if you will.
rest of lineup
The anchor also announced:
- Wireless charging pad with 5-foot cable and AC adapter for $20.99
- 10,000mAh power bank with kickstand and LCD display ($89.99, available January 8th)
- 3-in-1 charging stand, much like Belkin’s ($89.99, available in February)
- 3-in-1 charging pad with pop-up Qi2 and Apple Watch charger ($99.99, available April 2024)
Qi2 charging speed tested
Up to 15W on Qi2 certified iPhone: Based on my limited testing, all three Qi2 chargers appear to be able to charge the iPhone 14 Pro at up to 15W, similar to the Apple MagSafe charger. Apple and charger manufacturers always say “up to 15W,” but that’s because the iPhone doesn’t always use all of its power. If the battery is particularly low, it will reach 15W for a short time, but will reduce the rate when it gets full or the phone gets too hot. In my experience, this mainly means charging speeds of around 12 or 13W.
Up to 7.5W for non-certified iPhones: iPhone 13 and 14 series are now Qi2 compatible with iOS 17.2. My spouse’s iPhone 14 Pro was still running iOS 17.1, but until I updated the software it was hitting the maximum speed of Qi v1 wireless charging, 7.5W, magnetic or not. .
Up to 5W on Qi v1 devices: We also tested the foldable 3-in-1 charger with the Samsung Galaxy S22. The S22 can be charged at up to 10W using a standard Qi charger or a MagSafe compatible charger such as: Anker 313 charging pad — However, with Qi2, the maximum is 5W. So if you, like my editor Dan Seifert, have a magnetic ring on the back of your Android phone so you can use magnetic Qi accessories, there’s no need to rush to upgrade to Qi2 just yet.
Qi v2.0 also includes “an extension to the existing wireless charging Extended Power Profile (EPP) that does not include magnets but is compliant with the Qi v 2.0 standard,” and all Qi v2.0 devices are interoperable. Since it is possible, it would be like this: Older devices without magnets can gain compatibility with Qi v2.0 through a software update. The Verge contacted the Wireless Power Consortium to ask if that was possible.
Qi2 vs. MagSafe vs. MagSafe compatibility
The appeal of Qi2 for iPhone users is that they get real MagSafe charging rates for less money. Many other The Qi2 charger was announced earlier than any official MagSafe certified charger to date.
List price for a MagSafe-certified 3-in-1 charger is approximately $150, excluding sales. Anker’s Qi2 three-in-one prices range from $90 to $110. The basic Qi2 charging pad costs $21 with an AC adapter. Apple’s MagSafe charger costs $40 without the accessories, and Belkin’s MagSafe pad costs $30 without the AC adapter and $40 with the AC adapter.
The only thing that official MagSafe does and Qi2 doesn’t is remember which standby display to use for which charger. But there are already sales going on that bring the price of some MagSafe-certified chargers closer to Qi2, so this trend may raise that ship, too.
Photo by Nathan Edwards/The Verge