A few weeks ago, ESR launched a Kickstarter campaign for a new 100W 6-in-1 Charging Station, offering support for charging an iPhone via MagSafe, Apple Watch with fast charging, and AirPods, plus three additional ports (two USB-C and one USB-A) for charging additional devices. The campaign runs through September 1, and ESR recently sent me a preview unit to test out.
While my review unit arrived in a plain white box with no manuals or other documentation, ESR says the unit itself is identical to the final production units, so it should be reflective of what campaign backers will see when shipments begin in October.
My initial impression of the 6-in-1 Charging Station is that it's a bit on the large side, but perhaps that shouldn't be unexpected considering the number of devices it supports and the fact that all of the hardware is built into the base of the charger with only a removable 6-foot standard power cord rather than requiring a separate bulky power adapter. But if you've got enough room on your nightstand or desk, the bulk shouldn't be a major issue.
The charging station is made primarily of a relatively plain "Arctic White" matte plastic, although I would have preferred a black or gray color to blend in a bit more and perhaps be a little less prone to picking up smudges and other dirt over time. The only exceptions to the white color theme are the arms for the iPhone and Apple Watch chargers, which are a matte silver color that offers a nice bit of visual interest.
The overall design is fairly simple with a bit of tiering going on, starting with a baseplate that tapers toward the bottom, making it look thinner than it really is. The left side of the plate includes the arm of the MagSafe phone charger and a depression for AirPods charging, while the right side includes a second tier of the base where more of the charging hardware is housed, with the Apple Watch charging arm sticking up out of that. The three USB ports are located along the right side of the baseplate, which can be a positive or a negative for cable routing depending on your setup.
The phone sits up fairly high on the charging arm, which gives plenty of clearance for slipping AirPods into their charging spot below, but could also lead to setup challenges if you're planning to use it on a desk in front of a display, for example. When mounted on the charger, the top of my iPhone 14 Pro Max is about 9.25 inches above the desk or table surface, compared to several other MagSafe multi-device chargers I've used over the years that put the phone height more typically in the range of 6 inches to 7.5 inches.
The MagSafe charger includes ESR's "CryoBoost" technology, which includes a fan surrounding the MagSafe charging surface that's intended to keep your device cooler, allowing it to maintain maximum charging speed rather than having to ramp down the wattage to prevent damage from overheating.
In my testing with a phone not in active use, I didn't find any difference in speeds when charging an unattended iPhone 14 Pro Max from 20% to 90% compared to using Apple's MagSafe charger, with both chargers taking around 85 minutes. That's better than some other third-party MagSafe chargers, so it's good to see ESR's charging hitting maximum performance.
Where CryoBoost does make a difference is if you're trying to simultaneously charge and use your iPhone for watching video or using other apps that generate more heat. For example, leaving a fairly battery-intensive idle game running on my phone saw ESR's charger able to boost the battery level from 20% to 91% over a period of two hours, while the phone remained fairly cool. Trying the same thing with Apple's first-party MagSafe Charger saw the battery level only reach 57% over the same time period while the charger and phone became quite warm.
The CryoBoost fan is pretty quiet, and even at night in a quiet room with it on my nightstand I could barely hear it over the sound of crickets outside. But if you're in a particularly quiet environment and the fan noise is too much for you, you can easily turn it off by hitting a button on the charging base next to the AirPods charging spot. Otherwise you can consider it just a bit of white noise.
I did need to use that button nightly, but not for the fan. The charger also includes a blue LED light around the MagSafe pad that lights up while your device is charging. It's kind of a cool effect, but it can be distracting in a dark room when you're trying to sleep. That button on the base turns off both the light and fan, but it's not a permanent solution as y... Click here to read rest of article
Article Link: Review: ESR's 100W 6-in-1 Charging Station Helps Charge All of Your Apple Devices
