MobileTechTalk With my purchase of the iPhone 8 Plus, I finally got access to a wireless charging enabled device capped at 5W until iOS 11.2 with 7.5W being supported henceforth. This meant the market was flooded with various wireless chargers which although isn’t a new feature and some phones have had it for so many years such as the LG made Google Nexus 5 back in 2013.
- Compact
- Convenient Charging
- Fingerprint Magnet
- Micro USB
Apple did bring about a change in consumers’ minds and made it a must-have thing. That’s where Spigen’s line-up of wireless chargers come in, they all have different features for a different target audience and the reviews for those will be coming shortly.
The most powerful one of the bunch is the Essential Fast Wireless Charger. This is designed with 2 coils so whichever way your phone is orientated, you will always be getting a wireless charge. This is designed to replace any existing phone stand you may have on your desk or night stand since it allows you to have easy access to view content or use your phone while charging due to the angle it is positioned at.
There are rubber feet along the base of the stand which allow the surface that this is placed on to stay damage free. They have a weird texture with a slightly foamier texture but do a great job at stopping the stand from sliding even on a glass surface. Spigen has made the entire stand from a matt black plastic which does make it more resistant towards dust pickup because it is a slightly milky shade. However, the finish is a fingerprint magnet with all your body oils being shown on the wireless charger. These can be a pain to clean so I would recommend maybe using a slightly damp cloth to clean this while the charger is unplugged from power.
You have the micro USB input recessed on the back of the case which is a bit of a shame since Samsung’s newest wireless chargers use USB C for charging and even though I am not able to use USB C on my iPhone, I would rather it be there for future proofing the charger. The cable also seems specialised since it has Turbo and 25W on the connector so I would be more concerned to keep this cable free from damage since a standard micro USB cable wont be up to the job.
The Essential Fast Wireless Charger can accept 5V at 2A or 9V at 1.67A with the output being capped to 5V at 1A or 9V at 1A depending on your device. The charger to power the higher voltage of 9V would need to be pushed through a QC 2.0 or QC 3.0 power adapter with the 9V of 1.67A of power. I was also sent an Essential QC 3.0 wall charger but that will have a separate review.
A small blue and red LED is located on the base of the charger with the blue light indicating a steady charge. When the charge is complete then both the red and blue lights will flash and there is a built-in overcharging protection to avoid your battery being damaged especially if you are somebody who charges their phone overnight which is something I personally do not do.
The phone charged without any issue when upright since it sits almost perfectly in the centre but I did find when in landscape orientation, if I did not put the phone in the middle 60% of the phone, it would not charge but this is more to do with the location of the Qi mat on the iPhone than due to the charger. There is an extra rubber pad inside the box which is meant to be applied on the base to further protect your phone from the plastic edges.
The micro USB cable is a standard 1 metre which may be enough for most people but since it is a detachable cable, you are able to replace this with a longer one however I did find it to be a bit difficult to find a longer one with the same specifications. I will update this review if I find any issues with using a standard cable compared to this and if there are any side effects.
One feature which I would have loved to have is the ability to change the angle of the stand itself which would give a lot more flexibility in terms of allowing you to pick a good viewing angle for your bedside or desk. This would probably require a radical redesign and may potentially even harm the charge speed so it would be a complete overhaul and probably a new product entirely than just a simple upgrade.
The overall price point that this comes in is a good one but you will have to factor in the cost of a QC 3.0 wall charger if you don’t already have one which at the moment is just shy of £12.
