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Hands-On With Tesla's $300 AirPower-Like Wireless Charger
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I’m glad people are still interested in this, because there’s definitely a market. Hopefully Apple gets their engineers back on it at some point soon.
I'd argue that this fills a pretty different niche. Having a pad that can charge three things placed virtually anywhere on said pad is, imo, better than three magesafe pucks sitting on the desk. It also has an angled setting to use/see notifications on the device, which is a nice touch. Afaik, AirPods cases also don't work with MagSafe, but will with this.
Is it worth $300 for those features? Idk, really depends on the user I guess. For me, MagSafe (for my desk) isn't worth the cost of entry over and included cable as it's really not much different. In a car mount scenario, MagSafe wins handily.
Let's keep in mind that my original comment was the following:
"You can be in the Apple ecosystem and still own nothing that has Magsafe because only high-end iPhones use Magsafe."
I own a Mac mini 2010 (upgraded to 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD), MacBook Air 2012, Apple TV 4K (2021~2022?), Apple Watch SE and iPhone SE 2020. If that's not "being in the Apple ecosystem" I don't know what to tell you.
First of all, 799$USD is not "entry-level". The iPhone SE is the entry-level model.
The iPhone SE (third generation) does not have MagSafe even though it was released in 2022 at the same time as the iPhone 13 lineup.
So you're basically saying that everyone with an iPhone SE 2022, or an iPhone older than 12, 13 or 14, isn't part of the Apple ecosystem.
"You can be in the Apple ecosystem and still own nothing that has Magsafe because only high-end iPhones use Magsafe."
I own a Mac mini 2010 (upgraded to 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD), MacBook Air 2012, Apple TV 4K (2021~2022?), Apple Watch SE and iPhone SE 2020. If that's not "being in the Apple ecosystem" I don't know what to tell you.
First of all, 799$USD is not "entry-level". The iPhone SE is the entry-level model.
The iPhone SE (third generation) does not have MagSafe even though it was released in 2022 at the same time as the iPhone 13 lineup.
So you're basically saying that everyone with an iPhone SE 2022, or an iPhone older than 12, 13 or 14, isn't part of the Apple ecosystem.
OK, I actually bought one of these on 5 February 2024. I became accustomed to charging on the induction charger in the car, which is really convenient. If I drive very much my phone is always charged, even while in an Otterbox case. (apologies, but an Android, Galaxy S23 FE). I wanted that in my house. This wireless charging platform worked great and it looks nice. The alcantara surfaces and aluminum body are super. However, three months later it has stopped working. No idea why, and seemingly no recourse or answers from Tesla.
Tesla won’t get $1 from me while Musk is in charge.
Back in December, Tesla announced the launch of a $300 multi-device wireless charger able to charge three Qi devices at one time. There are notable parallels to Apple's now-canceled AirPower charging mat, so we thought we'd check it out to see what it's like.
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Design wise, the charger is a flat, angular platform made from aluminum with an alcantara fabric top, which Tesla says was inspired by the Cybertruck. There's some subtle Tesla branding at the front, an LED light to let you know when charging is taking place, and an integrated USB-C cable.
The charger is heavy and well made, but the integrated cable is a negative because if it breaks, there's no way to replace it. Tesla includes a 65W wall adapter that's also modeled after the Cybertruck, plus a removable stand that can be used to transition the charger from a flat orientation to more of an angled orientation.
The Tesla Wireless Charging Platform is able to charge up to three devices at one time from any position on the charging base, which is how Apple wanted the AirPower to work. Three devices can receive up to 15W of power, though iPhones will be limited to 7.5W since this is Qi charging.
Unlike the AirPower, Tesla's Wireless Charging Platform does not work with the Apple Watch, but it is compatible with Qi-based iPhones and AirPod models. Given the size of the device, you're probably not going to be able to charge three large smartphones, but two smartphones and a set of AirPods works.
Tesla's charging mat is using FreePower, a technology from Aira that we have seen used in other Qi-based wireless chargers. The Base Station Pro from Nomad, for example, used FreePower and it was remarkably similar to the Tesla product. The Base Station Pro ran into trouble because it was not able to work properly with the iPhone 12 and later due to firmware issues, and it remains to be seen if the Tesla charger will have similar problems with future smartphones.
The Tesla Wireless Charging Platform works as advertised, and generally, you can place a device anywhere on the platform to get it to charge. Position does still matter somewhat, though, because you still need to make sure you have a good alignment with a coil to get the full charging speed.
At $300, and with only Qi-based charging, it's not worth buying the Tesla Wireless Charging Platform unless you're a Tesla superfan. At this point, a MagSafe charger is a much better use of your money if you're in the Apple ecosystem.
What do you think of Tesla's charger? Let us know in the comments below.
Article Link: Hands-On With Tesla's $300 AirPower-Like Wireless Charger
