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If you ever drop in and visit me at my house, I want to make one thing clear: please don’t mind if you spot cables and chargers here and there. I am not a messy person, but given the number of devices I own, it is only natural to have cables and power adapters everywhere. For someone who lives in the Apple ecosystem, there’s a good chance I have all sorts of chargers – and I am sure it’s the case with you as well.
I never thought of a solution that simplifies charging until I started using the Stuffcool 3-in-1 Rover wireless charger. For Rs 4,990, the charging station acts as a multi-device charging dock and charges the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods at one go, in a neat package.
This past week, I tested Stuffcool’s new 3-in-1 wireless charger to find out if wireless charging stations are still a novelty or if they have improved over the years. Here is my review.
Sleek and foldable
The charger is made from premium space-grade anodized aluminium. (Image: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)
When I first saw the Stuffcool Rover, I didn’t think it was a charger. Made from premium space-grade anodized aluminium, it has an unconventional design that folds out and can be taken on outstation trips, which I do frequently. Compared to other wireless chargers, it’s super compact. This thing measures 15.6 cm long and 7.5 cm wide, so it doesn’t take up much space on any nightstand or desk setup.
I have moved this charger from one location to another, and it looks great wherever you keep it. Its MagSafe-compatible charging pad is suspended on a vertical arm above its base. It’s powerful enough to hold your phone firmly in place either horizontally or vertically. In fact, the phone didn’t come off when I turned the entire charger upside down.
I can turn my iPhone from portrait to landscape orientation while on the charger. (Image: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)
One advantage of this design is that I can turn my iPhone from portrait to landscape orientation while on the charger, and it still charges in both directions. It’s something other wireless chargers don’t offer. As it comes with its own power adapter, I don’t have to plug the charger’s cable (USB-C compatible) into my laptop to power this thing on.
Anyway, the Rover is designed in such a way that there’s the charging unit at the base of the device. It’s intended primarily for AirPods, but you can charge your iPhone if you want to use it. It’s a great add-on, but mind you won’t get the same charging speed as you would get from the MagSafe pad for the iPhone. You will find a charger for the Apple Watch at the back of the device, which needs to be flipped. And, I must say this setup looks very neat.
You will find a charger for the Apple Watch at the back of the device. (Image: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)
There’s a charging indicator on the base, which lights up in green when the devices are charging and turns blue when no device is currently on charge.
What to look for in a wireless charger
Before you consider a wireless charger, make sure to do some research. There’s a lot to consider when getting a wireless charger, such as its size and shape, power requirements, charging rate, heat management, noise levels it emits (if any), and the brand’s reputation.
This charger provides full 15 W MagSafe charging. (Image: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)
As I have been doing for many years, I always test the performance of a wireless charger by placing an iPhone with a fully drained battery on the charging pad, and then measuring the phone’s battery level after 30 minutes and then again after an hour or so.
Putting the Rover 3-in-1 wireless charger to test
A wireless charging station like this is designed for people who own multiple Apple devices— an iPhone, an Apple Watch, and AirPods—and want to charge all of them at once. Perhaps the biggest advantage is that these three-in-one chargers work without you having to plug cords into any of your devices. I wanted a solution like this for ages, given how frequently I travel for work. Of course, there are pros and cons of using wireless chargers which I will explain in a bit.
First things first, the Rover charging station supports Apple’s MagSafe system, which makes wireless charging a little easier and more consistent. The big benefit of MagSafe is that the phone sticks to the pad at a sweet spot when it’s connected, allowing the phone to be charged at a faster wireless charging speed — up to 15 W versus 7.5 W which you get from many of the earlier Qi chargers.
There’s a charging indicator on the base. (Image: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)
This charger provides full 15 W MagSafe charging, making it the fastest option if you have an iPhone 12 or later. While I tested it, the MagSafe-compatible pad delivered charging at 15 W to the iPhone 15 Pro, while also charging the Watch and AirPods as well. To be clear, only the phone charging pad uses MagSafe, while the AirPods and Apple Watch surfaces do not. In fact, Stuffcool says you get 3 W wireless charging speeds for AirPods and 2.5 W for the Apple Watch.
However, if you want the fastest possible charge for your iPhone, you still need to use a cable. Again, going wireless is more about convenience and less about speed. The limitations of a wireless charging option make it more suitable to charge your device overnight. But again, a device like the Rover 3-in-1 wireless charger also gives you the ability to use your iPhone as a smart display on your desk or in the kitchen.
At Rs 4,990, Stuffcool’s Rover may seem expensive to some, but if you want a single charging station that can power your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods at the same time, I think a multi-device wireless charger looks like a better solution.
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