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j0nblayz

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 21, 2007
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Looks like Spigen has a new line called PowerArc focused on the iPhone 12 line. One item that was interesting is the arcfield charging pad, a MagSafe alternative. Though it is 7.5w only however from what I read the apple MagSafe doesn’t charge consistently 15w, rather drops really quickly to about the same rate as 7.5w. So with that being said I thought this would be a great alternative from a reliable company.

I put my Amazon order in yesterday and should be arriving today sometime. Great price, $31CAD. It’s also on the US amazon for $24.99 with a instant additional $5 discount. This price is amazing!

Here’s some info on the spigen site:

I’ll post some pics and a review after I get it today :)
 
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I've never heard of that.
Here’s the article I read, and there’s few more out there I saw


Snippet from the article:
During our tests charging an iPhone 12 using an Apple MagSafe Charger, 15W fast-charging only lasted for a few minutes, before dropping to 7.5W and finally down to about 5W.

I should also state, from what I read you can achieve ~15w in certain conditions. But personally for me 7.5w is enough for my daily use cases
 
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ArcField finally arrived from Amazon. Upon opening the package, I noticed the box was already opened :( inside i can clearly see the device was used, also noticed that the ArcField puck itself seems to be not fully closed, as if someone tried to open up the device. I contacted Amazon, but in mean time i squeezed it together so i can do a quick test and take some pics. Obviously i will not be keeping this and will be expecting an exchange, but mean time i wanted to test out the product.

Box and device
F11byga.jpg


Thickness comparison with Apple OEM Magsafe, seems to be exact same thickness
skPoEz3.jpg


Width comparison, arcfield is tad bigger than apple magsafe
CLqVpKV.jpg


Top Comparison
UQKULs2.jpg



Initial thoughts, so far really like the ArcField. One thing i like about it is the side that connects to the phone is plastic, and so far doesnt looks like it will leave a mark on my leather case. Magnetic strength is about the same as the apple MagSafe, maybe tad less but still very strong and can hold the phone up. Weight wise seems to be identical, maybe bit less on the arcfield. Look wise, i prefer the slick look of the ArcField. Another interesting point, i get the charging animation on the phone with the arcfield, i believe this was not suppose to be the case, but its a bonus. I thought when animation shows, that meant its doing 15w? Anyways that was a surprise to see. Hopefully this is not some Spigen clone i got.

I’ll do some more charge time testing and provide more feedback. And will keep you all posted with Spigen support regarding exchanging of the product.
 
I didn’t have a USB power tester (ordered one and should be here in couple weeks) but did some quick charge timing test.

69% - 2:04pm
70% - 2:06pm
71% - 2:07pm
80% - 2:21pm
82% - 2:24pm

seems to be charging the same rate as my other 7.5w wireless chargers so that’s good. True test would be with a USB power tester and testing from empty to full, will do that when I get the USB power tester.

the puck didn’t get hot at all, but warm but no where close to being hot which is great.

also really like the look of the puck, slick black with a nice simple logo on the back.

ill continue using it more during the day and provide more feedback. So far seems like a solid product :)

update: spigen support got back to me, they are sending another device for free :) great Sevice! They did mention that all inventory and shipping logistics is done by Amazon and they will be looking into this concern.
 
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I didn’t have a USB power tester (ordered one and should be here in couple weeks) but did some quick charge timing test.

69% - 2:04pm
70% - 2:06pm
71% - 2:07pm
80% - 2:21pm
82% - 2:24pm

seems to be charging the same rate as my other 7.5w wireless chargers so that’s good. True test would be with a USB power tester and testing from empty to full, will do that when I get the USB power tester.

the puck didn’t get hot at all, but warm but no where close to being hot which is great.

also really like the look of the puck, slick black with a nice simple logo on the back.

ill continue using it more during the day and provide more feedback. So far seems like a solid product :)
I seen this on Amazon too and was wondering the quality of it. Thanks for your first impression and review. One big major concerns was the heat this may create because I had bad experience with the MagSafe and returned it all. I might give it a try.
 
I seen this on Amazon too and was wondering the quality of it. Thanks for your first impression and review. One big major concerns was the heat this may create because I had bad experience with the MagSafe and returned it all. I might give it a try.
I agree, the apple MagSafe seems to get pretty hot when I use it, this one not so much. But I still need to do some longer testing with the ArcField to see if it gets any hotter, so far seems to get just a bit warm. Maybe it may be due to the fact only does 7.5w
 
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Here’s the article I read, and there’s few more out there I saw


Snippet from the article:
During our tests charging an iPhone 12 using an Apple MagSafe Charger, 15W fast-charging only lasted for a few minutes, before dropping to 7.5W and finally down to about 5W.

I should also state, from what I read you can achieve ~15w in certain conditions. But personally for me 7.5w is enough for my daily use cases
I was under the impression that the 15w charge was consistent with MagSafe. But looking into it online that apparently is not the case. Makes me wonder how Apple will spin this when they eventually remove the port and their solution is slower than wired charging.
 
I agree, the apple MagSafe seems to get pretty hot when I use it, this one not so much. But I still need to do some longer testing with the ArcField to see if it gets any hotter, so far seems to get just a bit warm. Maybe it may be due to the fact only does 7.5w
It would be nice to have an update once you have used it for a bit longer. Especially on how hot is gets.
 
RavPower Magsafe I had this in my cart (I thought it was Spigen)... I wonder how this one is comparing to Spigen.
Hard choice, both are solid company. Ravpower is little more but comes with a 20w power adapter.

One difference I see from what I read, spigen gives your the MagSafe animation when connected to the phone, ravpower doesn’t. Also can’t seem to find what wattage the ravpower charges at, guessing 7.5w also.
 
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Hard choice, both are solid company. Ravpower is little more but comes with a 20w power adapter.

One difference I see from what I read, spigen gives your the MagSafe animation when connected to the phone, ravpower doesn’t. Also can’t seem to find what wattage the ravpower charges at, guessing 7.5w also.
Hmm... I wonder if the Spigen has the magsafe chip in it that the phone can identify if it's a magsafe or not... oppose to the Ravpower, just being a magnet charger.

I also read on here that the magsafe chip is what let the phone pull higher wattage oppose to like a regular Qi charger...
 
Hmm... I wonder if the Spigen has the magsafe chip in it that the phone can identify if it's a magsafe or not... oppose to the Ravpower, just being a magnet charger.

I also read on here that the magsafe chip is what let the phone pull higher wattage oppose to like a regular Qi charger...
Interesting find, when I plug in the ArcField to a USB c port on my computer the animation doesn’t play on the phone when attaching the puck. However when using my 20w charger it does. My guess like your saying, maybe the animation confirms that it is charging at higher rate? Which makes you wonder, is ArcField charging at 15w? Can’t wait to get my USB power meter to see the actual charging rate.
 
Interesting find, when I plug in the ArcField to a USB c port on my computer the animation doesn’t play on the phone when attaching the puck. However when using my 20w charger it does. My guess like your saying, maybe the animation confirms that it is charging at higher rate? Which makes you wonder, is ArcField charging at 15w? Can’t wait to get my USB power meter to see the actual charging rate.
Great post, keep us updated 🙂
 
Did some quick battery charge test with “Amperes 4” app. Don’t believe it’s very accurate but only thing I can use until I get the USB power meter device. Interesting results, I did 3 test for following scenarios
- apple MagSafe with 20w charger
- apple MagSafe with 18w charger
- ArcField with 20w charger
- ArcField with 18w charger

I believe this test does a average wattage across a certain duration. From the results, I can see apple MagSafe with 20w does reach up to almost 13w. Also keep in mind as I was testing charging got slower as my battery was getting pretty full. From what I read when battery is low, chargers usually does higher wattage and lowers as battery gets full.

Here are the results
Apple magsafe

Vw1umhR.png


PowerArc Arcfield

0NeYhGx.png


So looking at the results, if you want the fastest charging, use apple MagSafe with 20w, however that may be the cause of the MagSafe getting extreme temperatures. Which is prob not the best for the battery.

if you want the ease of magnetic charger for lower cost and reduced heat concerns and don’t need the fastest charge, use MagSafe or ArcField with 18w.
 
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Did some quick battery charge test with “Amperes 4” app. Don’t believe it’s very accurate but only thing I can use until I get the USB power meter device. Interesting results, I did 3 test for following scenarios
- apple MagSafe with 20w charger
- apple MagSafe with 18w charger
- ArcField with 20w charger
- ArcField with 18w charger

if you want the ease of magnetic charger for lower cost and reduced heat concerns and don’t need the fastest charge, use MagSafe or ArcField with 18w.
Thanks for the detailed report. Which iPhone 12 model are you using? How hot does the Phone get when used with the MagSafe + 18W charger? Does it get uncomfortably hot, or just very warm?
 
Thanks for the detailed report. Which iPhone 12 model are you using? How hot does the Phone get when used with the MagSafe + 18W charger? Does it get uncomfortably hot, or just very warm?
I have an iPhone 12 Pro, and I stopped using the apple MagSafe as it was getting pretty warm with the 20w. My wife is now using it instead lol. She is however using it with the 18w which seems to help with the temp. I haven’t noticed getting too hot, more on the slight warmer side.

also note, I have no issues with ArcField leaving any marks on my apple leather case. The apple MagSafe would leave a very noticeable ring on my leather when using, but ArcField nothing, which is great news
 
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I have an iPhone 12 Pro, and I stopped using the apple MagSafe as it was getting pretty warm with the 20w. My wife is now using it instead lol. She is however using it with the 18w which seems to help with the temp. I haven’t noticed getting too hot, more on the slight warmer side.

also note, I have no issues with ArcField leaving any marks on my apple leather case. The apple MagSafe would leave a very noticeable ring on my leather when using, but ArcField nothing, which is great news
@j0nblayz , thanks for the helpful reply. Glad to know the ArcField does not leave marks on the phone/case. So the ArcField with the Apple 18w adaptor would not make my 12 mini too warm?
 
Can’t guarantee, but I got 2 ArcFields now and have been using both all day switching between the 2 throughout with 18w and haven’t noticed any heating issue at all. And still not a single mark on my leather case
 
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Can’t guarantee, but I got 2 ArcFields now and have been using both all day switching between the 2 throughout with 18w and haven’t noticed any heating issue at all. And still not a single mark on my leather case
Thats excellent info, thanks. I will seriously consider this ArcField.
 
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