When Apple first revealed the Belkin 3-in-1 Wireless charging stand during their iPhone
event, I thought it was wildly overpriced.
$140 for a charging stand sounds insane, but then after a while, more and more MagSafe
charging stands started to show up online.. And I started to realize that this Belkin
stand has major advantages over the others.
When orders opened up, I decided to buy one and test it, and now that we finally have
it here in our office, I’ve gotta admit that I’ve really started to like this stand
because of the fact that it gives you a high-quality all-in-one solution.. But before I tell you
if the Belkin 3 in 1 boost charge Pro is worth $140, lets dig deep into the product itself.
I’m gonna split this review in a few different sections, my first impressions of the quality
and design of this stand, the actual functionality and charging speed, how this stand compares
to others in terms of value and price, and finally.. My conclusion on if you should buy
it.
Upon taking it out of the box, I was pleasantly surprised by the weight, making it feel very
well-built and strong. This is important because this stand uses MagSafe, Apple’s new technology
packed into the iPhone 12 lineup, which allows it to magnetically connect to the stand while
charging.
And because of the nice weight, you can take your iPhone off of it without having to put
one hand on the stand, which is one of the most important things to look for.
Getting back to the design, I absolutely love the chrome finish on the bar, feeling very
premium, and all of the plastics are very high quality as well.
The base of the stand also has a nice rubbery texture to it which feels nice and it should
help keep your AirPods perfectly in place.
The bottom of the stand also comes with the same texture, so it doesn’t move around
at all while on your desk.
Now just in terms of looks, I’ve gotta say that this is absolutely the best looking stand
that I’ve ever seen, and it would fit perfectly in a modern home.
It just looks so minimalistic, not having a bunch of cables around, and thanks to MagSafe,
the stand is incredibly slim and not bulky, since your iPhone just floats there in midair
hanging on with Magnets.
And by the way, the magnetic connection is very strong, even with the heaviest iPhone
12 Pro Max, so there were no issues with that.
I also like how the soft-touch rubber finish is also on the iPhone charger, so you know
that it won’t crash or scuff your iPhone over time, like we’ve seen with the MagSafe
charger online.
One of the best features about it is that it comes with it’s own built-in Apple Watch
charger, which is totally unique because with virtually every other stand on the market,
you have to bring your own Apple Watch charger, and sometimes, you even have to take off your
band.
But since Belkin is working directly with Apple, everything is built-in seamlessly,
and I like how Apple spaced them out perfectly, so if you want to use your iPhone in landscape
mode while on the stand, it won’t bump into the watch, even with the Pro Max model.
Now as for charging your AirPods, there’s a little subtle light on the stand which shows
you when it’s charging, making it look very clean and simple, and of course, you can charge
other things like another iPhone if you’d like.
As far as the main power cable, I’m surprised by how far Belkin went to make this look very
clean. You just route the barrel plug into the slot and the cable comes out of a discrete
slot in the back, making for the most minimalistic look you can get.
And it comes with a 40W power adapter to ensure that you have enough power for everything
you need, so in terms of the build quality and looks, I’ve gotta give it a 10 out of
10.
Now moving onto the features and specs, this is absolutely the most feature-packed charging
stand for Apple devices ever made.
Many other stands require you to bring your own Apple Watch charging puck since it’s
a proprietary connector that Apples owns the license to, but this stand from Belkin has
it completely built in.
There are many MagSafe charging stands out there, and Amazon is flooded with them. However,
every single one of them that comes with a charger built in doesn’t actually support
MagSafe charging. All of them are limited to the same 7.5Qi charging which iPhones have
had for years.
This Belkin stand is quite literally the only charging stand on the entire market that supports
Apple’s new 15W MagSafe charging standard, only because Belkin is working with Apple,
so it’s completely unique.
Just for some perspective, we did a charging comparison between a bunch of different charging
methods, and as you can see, 15W MagSafe charging is MUCH faster than 7.5W Qi charging, especially
within the first half an hour.
Now I actually have some experience with multiple 2 and 3-in-1 chargers, most recently I’ve
been using this one that I bought about a year ago.
At first, everything worked fine, with regular 7.5 Qi charging support, but over time, I
started waking up to an iPhone that didn’t charge at all, which is extremely inconvenient
and annoying.
So I started to make sure that I had perfect placement on the stand every time, and at
times I still woke up to a low battery.
I then realized that my stand would only reliably charge two of the devices at once, so when
I’d set my iPhone down with my airpods and watch, one of the two would often stop charging,
and at times that would still happen with only 2 devices.
So that’s exactly why I decided to pay the $140 for the Belkin charger. Yes, it’s expensive,
but I know that Belkin is using MFI certified parts, so I shouldn’t have to deal with
these reliability issues anymore, and as a plus.. I get full 15W MagSafe charging.
Now with all of that out of the way, I want to break down the value of every component
packed into the Belkin 3-in-1 Boost Charge Pro, but first, I want to look at some other
alternatives to see how they match up.
Just for perspective, Belkin’s previous Boost 3-in-1 charger was priced at $140 and
it didn’t feature a built-in AirPods charging pad, and it only supported 7.5W Qi charging
and an Apple watch charger, with a slow usb output for the third, so this new one definitely
provides more value.
Satechi recently released a new MagSafe compatible charger for $60, but it doesn’t support
the Apple Watch, it doesn’t support 15W MagSafe charging, and it doesn’t come with
a charging brick.
They also have a 3-in-1 charging pad for $120, but it doesn’t support MagSafe, which is
definitely worth $20 to me.
Anker recently revealed their 3-in-1 charging stand at CES, but it doesn’t support 15W
MagSafe charging, and it’s priced at an even higher $160.
Here’s an interesting one, the Wood MagSafe stand from Grovemade. Now this one is meant
to be a decorational piece, just like Belkin’s charging stand, but you actually have to bring
your own $40 MagSafe charger, which is ridiculous because it’s already priced at $120.
This MagSafe charger from MoPoint is priced at $60, but it doesn’t support 15W charging,
it doesn’t support the Apple Watch, and it doesn’t come with a charger.
Logitech has a 3-in-1 stand for $130, but it doesn’t support 15w MagSafe.
And finally, Mophie has a very similar charging stand for $140, of course lacking MagSafe.
Of course there are many cheaper options on Amazon, which I’ll link a few down in the
description, but you have to add your own apple watch charger and in many cases power
brick, and they don’t work well, especially long term, which is why I’m now buying my
third
in 3 years.
So after looking at all of those stands, the Belkin one actually looks like a decent value,
with more bang for the buck if you care about having the faster charging speeds.
It truly comes with everything that you need, all built-in into an incredibly solid and
premium-looking stand, with the fastest charging you can get, with only a single cable coming
out the back.
And on top of that, it not only comes with a 2 year warranty, but it also comes with
a $2500 connected equipment warranty just in case any of your devices are damaged by
an electrical charge.
So here’s my final conclusion on if it’s worth it, and it comes down to 3 questions.
Do you want to charge 3 Apple devices with one product? Do you want the fastest 15W MagSafe
charging for your iPhone? Are you willing to pay a bit more for a minimalistic and premium
design that will likely be more reliable and last much longer?
If you said yes to all of those questions, then I would say that the new Belkin 3 in
1 wireless charging stand is definitely worth buying, especially since we know that MagSafe
is very important to the future of the iPhone.
And if you don’t like it, you can always take advantage of their 90-day return policy.
But I’ve personally I can already tell that my $140 is well spent, knowing that I’m
not gonna have any weird charging issues going down the road like I did with my previous
cheaper third-party charging stands, and that I’ll be using this for many years like my
original belkin charging pad which still works great while multiple cheap ones have become
unreliable.
Hopefully you guys enjoyed this review, and if you did, you can find the links to this
Belkin stand down in the comments below, and be sure to click that circle above to subscribe
for more videos like this one. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you in the next
video!