Review: Belkin BoostCharge Pro Wireless Car Charger with MagSafe delivers the juice | Frost Tech

Belkin’s New MagSafe Charger

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The aptly named BoostCharge Professional Wi-fi Automobile Charger with MagSafe is a straightforward system that delivers what it units out to do. It is a vent clip-style mount powered by a USB-C automotive adapter.

Its physique is all plastic and has a silver end that mimics Apple’s acquainted anodized aluminum look. The puck and charger face are white and can stand out fairly a bit in your car.

The design could look acquainted as a result of Belkin has borrowed most of its unique MagSafe automotive mount. Launched alongside the iPhone 12, the Belkin Automobile Vent Mount Professional has an equivalent silver colour and makes use of the identical vent connector.

The unique MagSafe accent was only a mount that used Apple’s official MagSafe module. This model connects the identical however could be loaded.

The charger has a built-in energy wire that plugs into the again of the system. This retains the system compact by not requiring the extra {hardware} to facilitate a removable cable, however limits you should you ever want to switch the cable.

Belkin colour matched the cable with a light-weight grey cable tie that’s in-built. That means you may route the cable the place you want it, and you can also make certain it would not float across the heart console or steering column.

It makes use of a normal USB-C connector by default so you may plug it into your automotive’s USB-C port, you probably have one. In any other case, it isn’t completely linked to the facility provide, so you may swap energy provides in order for you.

Belkin features a compact 20W adapter within the field, sufficient to energy the 15W most charging velocity. It is grey, like the remainder of the setup.

The one downside is that the included energy adapter solely has a single USB output.

We’ve discovered it helpful in our automotive to have a twin outlet energy adapter. Because the energy adapter is a part of the acquisition, we’ve got to pay for it independently after which we’re on our personal if we wish to exchange it with a dual-output one.

It might have been higher for Belkin to skip the facility adapter and permit us to purchase our personal, chopping the worth by $20 or so within the course of. This, in fact, would not matter should you’re pleased with a single USB-C port.

It’s virtually unattainable to imagine that MagSafe has been in the marketplace for greater than two years. Apple had initially introduced the brand new magnetic system with the launch of the iPhone 12 sequence, however there have been no MagSafe automotive chargers on the time.

There was magnetic qi chargers that may interface with MagSafe, however no reputable MagSafe units existed. It wasn’t till Belkin quietly introduced the Apple-exclusive Enhance Cost Professional Wi-fi Automobile Charger with MagSafe that it turned out there.

Belkin’s newest charger bears the Apple seal of approval and has accomplished Apple’s Made for iPhone certification course of, guaranteeing optimum compatibility along with your iPhone.

Many had questioned why there wasn’t an official MagSafe automotive charger, and our greatest guess is that Apple’s strict MFi certification for MagSafe did not permit it. Apple has been conservative about which chargers had been initially authorised and may need been involved about warmth whereas within the automotive.

Currently, Apple has opened up this system, permitting extra units to come back to market, together with the choice to cowl the MagSafe module. Belkin’s charger already appears totally different and has an alternate fashion of puck that differs from most MagSafe chargers in the marketplace, even when the variations are refined.

In addition to appears, the distinction to an actual MagSafe charger is velocity.

A Qi charger, all the things in the marketplace thus far, will solely cost an iPhone at 7.5W of energy. A MagSafe charger can safely ship as much as 15W of energy.

After all, this all depends upon environmental components. Operating wi-fi CarPlay and navigating Maps can warmth up your system, which might gradual charging velocity, however at its peak this may be as much as twice as quick.

To make this a succesful automotive charger, we wanted to check retention on the vent, retention in your telephone, and charging velocity. We consider every of those individually.

Vent mounts are a number of the commonest automotive chargers out there, though they aren’t at all times the most well-liked. They’ll typically have bother staying in place.

Some vents are vertical and do not maintain up as effectively, whereas others could not match. Within the winter months, the new air from the vent additionally has the potential to make your telephone too sizzling.

Up to now in our assessments, we’ve not discovered any points with retention. It hooked onto our Jeep’s vents comparatively simply and has a certain grip.

We’re assured of their maintain, as we have been utilizing Belkin’s current MagSafe mount, uncharged, since its launch in 2020 with no points, they usually share the identical clip.

Equally, the magnetic maintain of the mount is robust sufficient. It once more makes use of the official Apple element so that you could be certain it is designed for optimum maintain.

Irrespective of how deep the potholes we bumped into right here in Ohio, our iPhones by no means fell out.

For charging, we use a USB-C energy meter to observe how a lot energy went into our telephone. Whereas it different, we persistently acquired speeds of simply over 14W.

Because the temperature elevated, we noticed the velocity drop, but it surely was nonetheless round 8-10W, nonetheless greater than a Qi charger. In probably the most excessive warmth, whereas out within the solar operating wi-fi CarPlay and navigating, the velocity dropped means down low to simply a few watts of energy, as anticipated.

At this level, we would not be stunned if most individuals who wanted a magnetic automotive mount did not have one. It’s uncertain that customers had been ready for an official MagSafe choice to hit the market.

With a worth that hits a hair beneath triple digits, it isn’t an inexpensive system both. There are different MagSafe chargers that price $99, however that is a troublesome capsule to swallow for a tool that is used much less typically than a charger in your desk or nightstand.

That stated, it is the most suitable choice for an iPhone charger, one that gives the very best doable charging speeds. It is also effectively designed and contains the facility adapter and cable tie within the field.

Should you can abdomen the worth and are okay with a vent mount, it is a nice charger. However it might even be only the start and we hope to see different fashions arrive quickly, even when they’re simply as costly.

• Compact and chic design
• Similar colour wire and energy adapter
• Energy adapter and cable tie included
• The one official MagSafe automotive charger out there
• The quickest wi-fi iPhone automotive charger in the marketplace

• Vent mounts can overheat
• No different mounting choices out there
• Far more costly than magnetic Qi chargers

You may decide up the brand new Belkin BoostCharge Professional Wi-fi Automobile Charger with MagSafe straight from Apple for $99 with availability starting November 14.