If you have several devices that you want to charge at the same time, your desk can look like a tangle of wires and other charging paraphernalia. I am not the neatest person when it comes to my desk so that’s not such an uncommon or uncomfortable situation for me. But for those who are a bit concerned with how their work area will look, wireless charging is probably the best solution to avoid such clutter. If you have several devices though, you might also need several wireless charging pads, unless you get one that can charge multiple gadgets at once.
Designer: Courant
For Mac users, Courant is an accessory maker that they constantly look to (if they can afford premium devices though). The MAG:3 is their latest MagSafe wireless charging device and this time it looks like a minimalist valet tray for your iPhone, AirPods, and other small items that you can place there to make your side table or desk more organized. It is available in both leather and linen finishes and in several colors for each so you can choose which one best fits your current work or home aesthetic.
The tray is made up of a 7.5W output wireless charger pad for your iPhone, a 5W, non-magnetic Qi wireless charger pad for other compatible devices like Airpods, and a 10W USB-C output at the back part to power other devices like your Apple Watch or another USB-C compatible device. There is also space for things like your wallet, watch, keys, eyeglasses, and other small things that you may need to place beside your devices so you won’t forget any of them before you leave your house or your office.
The carbon-neutral Belgian Linen finish is available in camel, charcoal, and natural colors while the gold-rated Italian Leather finish has the saddle or black color options. It is now available to pre-order on the Courant website but since Black Friday deals are almost upon us, you get a discounted deal for a limited period in case you want to save a few dollars.
I get the irony of reducing screen time when you’re probably reading this article on a smartphone… but let’s just face it. Staring at your phone has become a national pastime of global proportions. Prof. Anna Lembke of Stanford University calls smartphones “the Modern Day Hypodermic Needle” because of how deeply it affects humans without us really noticing or feeling the difference. The problem is a pretty insidious one, given that phones are designed to be addictive. Seeing a notification, hearing a ping, or even glancing at a red dot above the DMs button is enough to spiral us into 2-3 hours of screen time. A lot of apps promise to help reduce your screen time, but none of them do it as well as OVAL – a UFO-shaped ambient light that also doubles as a wireless charging hub for your phone.
Recognizable by its unique UFO-inspired sculptural design that sits on four legs, the OVAL is an ambient lamp and phone charger that helps create healthy long-term habits for individuals and families. The product’s name derives from its oval-shaped semi-transparent ABS outer shell, which houses wireless charging docks and two LED light strips inside.
With a simple tap on the top of the OVAL, one-half of the translucent shell gracefully lifts upwards, revealing the 4 charging docks underneath. Place your phone on the dock and shut the OVAL and it does two things – it charges your phone, while simultaneously preventing you from using it. The theory is simple – when your phone takes a break, so do you. Whether used as a family or in a group setting, the OVAL encourages social interaction and enjoyment of each other’s company without the constant presence of phones. To enforce things at first (because setting habits can be hard), the OVAL locks with a timer too. Set a timer on the OVAL’s Present app and it won’t open until the timer ends… or unless you manually engage the override in case of an emergency.
One Product – Multiple use cases.
Undistracted productivity.
Personal time.
Game nights with friends.
The OVAL’s design takes on a ‘carrot and stick’ approach of getting you to reduce screen time. The carrot or the reward being that your phone gets charged, and the stick being the fact that your device is enveloped in a translucent shell that makes it impossible for you to watch videos or read notifications.
The OVAL comes with four charging docks on the inside, allowing you to simultaneously charge four phones or even your AirPods (thanks to built-in MagSafe functionality). Take a half-an-hour break and that’s enough to significantly charge your device while also giving you 30 minutes of away time from your screen. Do it long enough and it becomes a habit that helps boost your productivity, makes you more mindful, and gives you a chance to really be present for whatever you’re doing or whomever you’re with. The Present app records your away time too, letting you track progress as days go by, and set goals that you can meet at the end of the week or month.
Although the primary function of the OVAL is to foster positive smartphone habits, it also serves as a charming and distinctive ambient lamp. Built into its translucent design are two LED light strips that cast a diffused glow in and around its space. The Present app lets you adjust both the color as well as the brightness of the LEDs, allowing you to set the mood of your room. Even with the lights switched off, the OVAL’s unique decorative design helps add a light mood to your spaces. “The design started with the challenge of merging a technological device with a decorative object to create a new typology of product,” say the makers at L&L Present GmbH. The company’s mission is simple: to create a world where we control technology again and not the other way around.
The OVAL stands at 9.6 inches when shut (or 14.5 inches when open) and comes with a shatter-proof translucent ABS outer housing. A reliable metal tube helps facilitate the opening and closing functionality, and the four chargers inside output 15W for fast-charging your phones. The OVAL ships to the US, EU, UK, Australia, and Canada, and depending on your location, will come with a compatible plug.
Imagine having a power bank that charges your MacBook by 50% in just half an hour, or a power bank that can fast-charge 3 laptops, a phone, earphones, and a smartwatch all at the same time, or a power bank that looks slim, but has enough battery power to juice your AirPods 51 times from start to finish. Regular lithium-ion cells can’t pull that off – but graphene can. Built with cutting-edge Lithium Polymer Graphene Composite Cells, the BOLD 2 is pretty much officially the world’s fastest power bank for its size. Boasting a whopping 27,000mAh battery that can output 290W of peak power, the BOLD 2 has a capacity and power rating that outshines any power bank its size. It looks and feels like your average power bank but can simultaneously charge 6 devices at the same time, both wired as well as wirelessly. Take it from us – regular lithium-ion batteries are history…
The BOLD 2 comes from the folks at UZE, a Miami-based startup looking to reinvent how we charge our gadgets. The company unveiled the first edition of the BOLD back in 2021, with the same Graphene technology and a stunning 260W output. The BOLD 2 pushes those odds by offering a higher power output in the same, classic, crowd-favorite design. Measuring a mere 7.5 inches long, 3.4 inches wide, and 1.18 inches thick, the BOLD 2 looks just like your regular power bank, making it easy to carry along and use wherever you go. It occupies minimal amounts of space in your backpack as well as on your desk, but will charge practically every device around it.
The side of the power bank sports four USB-C ports, two 30W ports for regular devices like your phones and AirPods, one massive 140W port for laptops one with a 100W in-out that charges laptops but also lets you charge the BOLD 2 itself, supporting even pass-through charging. Look to the top and the BOLD 2 has two familiar patterns marking the power bank’s wireless charging spots – one with an indent and a 5W output for your Apple Watch, and another with built-in MagSafe and a Qi-compatible 15W output for your smartphone. Right beside it is also an OLED surface that delivers real-time intel on energy levels and charging status.
The BOLD 2 makes some literal bold claims with how game-changingly powerful it is. With its ability to deliver up to 140W from a single USB-C port, the BOLD 2 claims being the only power bank that’s able to charge your MacBook by 50% in just half an hour – that’s about the same speed as plugging your MacBook charger into a power outlet. Moreover, the built-in 100Wh / 27,000mAh battery lets you completely charge your MacBook twice, your iPhone 8 times, or your AirPods 51 times… all in under 75 minutes.
All that power is all thanks to the BOLD 2’s Lithium Polymer Graphene Composite Cells. Unlike regular Lithium-ion cells, they’re much more efficient, hold more energy, deliver higher power outputs, and last 4x longer than regular Li-ion batteries, allowing your BOLD 2 to consistently charge your devices for more than 5 years with a negligible drop in performance. A cutting-edge temperature defense system also adds a layer of protection, preventing overheating, overcharging, overcurrent, short-circuiting, and surging, while built-in power management features also help the BOLD 2 deliver the right amount of power to each device to charge them all rapidly and efficiently.
This isn’t UZE’s first rodeo with power banks. The original 2021 BOLD device saw over 5,000 users benefitting from its powerful capabilities, and UZE is betting on a future where all power banks will rely on graphene instead of regular lithium-ion. The BOLD 2 is perfect for all sorts of applications, given its ability to charge a wide range of devices. It’s perfect for photographers and videographers looking to power their laptops along with their drones, cameras, and other gear, or even for the nomad who wants to be able to work out of anywhere without worrying about needing to carry 10 different chargers. If you’re hard-pressed for a power outlet, the BOLD 2 acts as a wonderful charging hub, letting you use one single power socket to charge the BOLD 2 itself along with all your other devices.
The BOLD 2 comes made from anodized aluminum along with a polycarbonate charging surface – making it durable, lightweight, and naturally fireproof. At 1.54 lbs (698 grams), it’s perfect for carrying around with you wherever you go, and is rated safe for carrying on flights too. The BOLD 2 starts at just $159 and ships with a 1-year warranty. Besides, you can even grab one of UZE’s GaN chargers to fast-charge your power bank while it fast-charges your other devices!
We’ve become so dependent on our electronic devices that it’s not unusual to see or hear people panicking when their phones or laptops get drained without a power outlet in sight. While these devices have gotten more powerful, the batteries powering them haven’t made the same leaps and bounds in advancements. Our only recourse is to minimize their power consumption or try to delay the inevitable with a handy power bank that can only extend your phone’s life once or twice, and often after a long period of waiting. Fortunately, power banks have actually seen significant progress, as demonstrated by the innovative BOLD 2 graphene power bank that boldly goes where no power bank has gone before, quickly charging as many as 6 different devices at the same time, including a power-hungry MacBook to 50% in just 30 minutes!
Despite their portability and convenience, power banks are still limited by the same considerations as most batteries. You have to balance speed, safety, capacity, portability, compatibility, and ease of use all at the same time. It’s quite difficult to check all those boxes, which is why there are so many options and variations of the same product available, but it’s not impossible, as proven by the BOLD 2.
This ultra-fast power bank utilizes lithium polymer graphene composite cells, a technology that’s becoming more popular in these portable batteries, to deliver all that you can ever want in a power bank. Graphene’s unique properties allow it to output more power more efficiently, which ultimately leads to faster charging times. That MacBook is no match for the BOLD 2, letting you charge from 0% to 50% in half an hour, almost as if you were plugged into an outlet. In fact, any laptop that can charge over USB-C will be able to enjoy the same freedom from power sockets, thanks to the 140W USB-C port.
Different devices have different charging needs, of course, and the BOLD 2 has also got you covered. Two 30W USB-C ports would be enough for most phones, drones, and accessories, but there’s also a 100W port for more power-hungry devices like tablets and gaming handhelds. Even better, there’s a MagSafe charger for compatible phones and another specifically for the Apple Watch, so you won’t even have to bother with cables for a quick charge. That’s a combined output of 290W, something no other power bank can boast of, making the BOLD 2 truly the world’s fastest graphene power bank.
The BOLD 2 carries a whopping 27,000 mAh, which means you can charge a MacBook Air twice or an iPhone 14 Pro 8 times. The power bank itself charges at 100W, so it’s plenty fast, and you can even charge it and connected devices at the same time, thanks to pass-through charging technology. Never have to worry about tangled cords or needing multiple sockets when all you need is one outlet to charge them all.
Despite all these features, the BOLD 2 doesn’t compromise on quality or safety. With an aircraft-grade American anodized aluminum body, a fireproof polycarbonate wireless pad, and cutting-edge overheating and overcharging protection, this powerful power bank is made to be durable, safe, and long-lasting. And since it meets TSA/EASA guidelines, it’s the perfect travel companion, even when you’re high up in the air. Whether you’re a digital nomad, a creative on-the-go, a busy parent, or an adventurous traveler, the world’s fastest graphene power bank lets you stop worrying about battery life and start getting into the zone, wherever life or work takes you.
Wireless chargers are becoming more common, and there is also a growing number of designs for these accessories, some of them more interesting than others. Despite the different appearances and functionalities, all these chargers often become practically useless the moment you remove the smartphone from its surface. Some might look interesting and pretty on your desk or bedside table, but they remain passive objects that offer nothing more beyond decoration. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any room for improvement, especially when it comes to adding additional though unrelated functions. This design concept, for example, gives the wireless charger something else to do when nothing is charging on it, allowing it to provide added value in a way you might not have expected.
The earliest wireless chargers all came as flat horizontal pads because devices are required to stay still on a specific area right above the wireless charging coil. While the technology still remains limited that way, the introduction of magnets, courtesy of Apple, afforded a little more flexibility. You can now have chargers that are inclined at an angle or even raised a little above the base because they can hold the smartphone in the correct position all the time. What hasn’t changed, however, is that the charging surface remains flat and that this flat area remains unutilized when nothing’s charging on top of it.
The Dino Charger changes the formula a bit by adding one small component to the charger. The charger itself looks a little typical, just a pill shape with one end chopped off to provide a flat surface for a phone to latch on. When that phone isn’t there, however, you will be able to see a small circular display in the middle of the area, and that is where the charger’s other life begins.
The screen is around the same size as a circular smartwatch, and it functions almost like one as well. Despite its small screen real estate, it can easily show a few pieces of data through icons and images, like the weather, battery levels, and, of course, the time. It can even show a Bitmoji (or Apple Memoji), though the exact use of that function is left up to the imagination. Of course, this circular display will be useless when there’s a phone charging on top, but it’s possible for the phone itself to provide those functions while it’s charging.
The Dino Charger concept doesn’t drastically change the wireless charger’s nature, but neither does it take anything away from it by adding an orthogonal feature. It’s a simple redesign that turns what looks like a normal and boring wireless charger into an exciting multi-functional device, one that can potentially add value to your digital life without taking up additional space.
The birth and meteoric rise of the iPhone pretty much ended the use of physical controls on smartphones. Sure, there are still two or three buttons there, but only because designers and engineers haven’t come up with a foolproof touch-only replacement for them just yet. This trend of devices that can be controlled only by a tap or a swipe has crept into other products, especially those related to smartphones. Minimalist design and wireless charging technology both have a hand in a generation of wireless chargers almost devoid of any physical mechanism. While some might appreciate the simplicity of these designs, others might find them boring and even distant. The latter group of people might find this wireless charger to be a little bit comforting, bringing some level of active interaction back to our increasingly digital lives.
The earliest wireless chargers had to be flat and horizontal for a good reason. The limits of technology at that time required that devices and chargers have to be very close and with magnetic coils overlapping at a precise position. Now that magnetic wireless charging is a thing, one can even place a phone vertically on a wall-mounted charger. What hasn’t changed, however, is how these surfaces still need to be completely flat, which interestingly still resulted in mostly flat designs anyway.
MagSafe Trio, which might be too common a name for this design, is a concept that tries to bring a bit of life to the otherwise banal wireless charger. It does so by adding back some physical controls but without using typical buttons or switches. The charger requires a physical action before you can actually use a function, making the activity more intentional, deliberate, and, in a way, personal.
Pushing a spring-loaded button on the front, for example, makes the MagSafe disc pop up for charging a compatible iPhone. On the side, you have to twist and pull a knob to reveal an Apple Watch charger. The top of the box-like charger is admittedly flat to accommodate an AirPods case. There is a button there to switch on a soft light, though it isn’t clear if it also toggles the earbuds’ charging. That light also makes this charger concept a good night lamp for your bedside table.
The MagSafe Trio concept makes charging a bit more interactive and almost playful, but it might not appeal to those who just want to drop or stick their devices to a charger at the end of a tiring day. The design also leaves a few questions unanswered, like how the mechanisms will fit in such a small body or how it won’t topple forward with a heavy iPhone hanging from it. Still, it’s an interesting idea that brings a little bit of life to sometimes dreary and commonplace chargers. That said, the new wave of magnetic wireless chargers with unconventional designs is also attacking that problem from different and more practical angles, making it a bit more interesting to watch this space.
A good number of people today have one or even more smartphones, and it’s not uncommon that they would also have accessories like earbuds and smartwatches to go along with these. With the removal of the headphone jack from many modern phones, the adoption of TWS or truly wireless earbuds has seen an upward trend. Some even have wireless charging capabilities to match their partner smartphones, like the Apple AirPods and the iPhone. This is the reason why wireless charging accessories that can accommodate both these devices at the same time are also starting to become more popular, and this concept offers a more space-efficient design that also looks attractive on its own when not in use.
Given the limitations of current technologies, the earliest designs of wireless chargers had to be flat beds, often elongated to accommodate more than just a phone. This can be a waste of desk or table space, especially when the devices won’t always be there anyway. Magnet-powered variants like Apple’s MagSafe allowed for a bit more flexibility in that regard, and we’re seeing some more vertical designs rising to the challenge.
Tri-charge is admittedly a bit of a confusing name because it doesn’t refer to the number of devices you can charge on it. You actually only have room for two devices at a time, one phone that supports MagSafe or magnetic wireless charging and one earbuds wireless charging case. It doesn’t take into account smartwatches, which might not be as common anyway, though a possible design iteration could support that as well.
The name, instead, refers to the charger’s triangular shape, technically a tall triangular prism. The phone latches onto the inclined front of the shape, relying on strong magnets to keep it from falling off, while the earbuds case goes inside the bottom compartment. Both wireless chargers use a single cable, avoiding tangles and messy wires. Not only does it keep your desk or bedside table neat, the design also makes for an attractive decoration if there’s nothing charging on it.
The standard design makes use of wood and plastic, but it can also be made of other materials or finishes, including a fancy transparent body that reveals all its secrets. While there is now a growing number of vertically-oriented 2-in-1 or even 3-in-1 wireless chargers like these, the Tri-charge remains distinctive for having a purpose as a decorative object even while not in use as a charger.
Dubbed the LEGO Brick, this unique fan-made creation comes with a wireless charging mat alongside a dedicated platform to dock accessories like lamps, speakers, and battery indicators, or build out tiny dioramas with your own LEGO bricks… which leads me to a pretty weird revelation and opinion – LEGO should totally enter the gadgets and smart-things industry. The LEGO Bricks is the first great example of why…
Designer: İbrahim Can Erdinçmer
The LEGO Brick is a fun, quirky wireless charger that builds on LEGO’s promise of endless modularity and customizability, but here’s the catch. Tech nerds and geeks love modularity and customizability too. We like the idea of building out our own desktops, choosing what components to put in, when to upgrade, or swapping out things when we want. It’s exactly why we loved the PhoneBloks concept so much (I could totally see LEGO’s DNA in that concept). In essence, the LEGO Brick sits perfectly at the intersection between being a bricknerd and a technerd’s favorite desktop accessory. It juices your smartphone, watch, or TWS earbuds, while providing a neat square-shaped area for docking modules or displaying your building skills. Coils under the brick area supply power to the modules too, allowing them to run without any extra cables/ports.
The LEGO Brick takes the ‘boring’ out of ‘boring day job’.
What really sets the LEGO Brick apart from the sea of already-existing wireless chargers, most importantly, is its playful appeal. The brick doesn’t just let you personalize your workspace, it lets you add a sense of fun and whimsy to it. You could build out scenes from your favorite movies, create bonsai trees, or just build out tiny architectural structures. That square-shaped area is your canvas of creativity and fun, giving you the ability to either use it for productivity (thanks to the modules) or playtime. It helps provide stress relief when work gets a little too daunting and demanding, and even serves as the perfect fidget toy while ideating. After all, Ed Sheeran wrote the lyrics for his smash-hit Shape Of You while playing with LEGO bricks.
The LEGO Brick isn’t just all fun, though. It comes with its own modules that add a layer of productivity and features to the charging experience. The modules are designed to draw power directly from the Brick platform, powering on the minute they’re plugged into the signature studded board. The three modules that are displayed here are the cuboidal lamp, the minimalist Bluetooth speaker, and a nifty battery indicator display. Just off the top of my heads, other modules could also be things like a plug-in charger for the Apple Watch, chargers for AA batteries, a tabletop clock, an OLED photo frame, etc.
Although totally conceptual, the LEGO Brick shows perfectly why LEGO is well-positioned to be such a smart-things behemoth. Maybe it would require a little collaboration (IKEA collaborated with Teenage Engineering and Sonos to develop their own smart home products), but it would propel LEGO into yet another area of our lives where a little sense of fun and frolic would go a long way. I’ve said before that LEGO bricks aren’t toys, but are rather building blocks for unleashing true creativity. Add some tech to that and we really have a new area for LEGO to grow exponentially in!
Although it looks like an unassuming puck on your work table or bedside table, the Rotator has the fun ability to shapeshift between being a charging mat, and a vertical stand for your smartphone. Its cylindrical design with an angular cut running through gives it its unique point of interaction. In its normal state, the Rotator sits flat like a cylinder on your table. Rotate the upper half of the cylinder using the angular cut as a reference, and it flips over at a 60° angle, giving you a neat diagonal stand for your smartphone that also allows you to wirelessly charge it. Additionally, the puck-shaped Rotator also has an array of audio drivers within it that let it double as a Bluetooth smart speaker! “Existing phone holders are often lacking in functionality, only folding or charging. I want to maximize the functions of the mobile phone holder, and realize the combination of mobile phone holder, Bluetooth speaker, charging, screen brightness and sound control, so as to provide maximum convenience for users”, said designer Tianyang Yuan.
Designer: Tianyang Yuan
The Rotator’s design is interesting, in the fact that even though it looks rather plain, it’s filled with a bunch of surprises. For starters, the cylindrical puck isn’t static, but has the ability to lean over and become an angled stand. The place where you rest your phone houses a wireless charging coil under it that detects your phone and begins charging its battery instantly… however, the area around the coil has audio drivers built-in that allow the Rotator to function as a Bluetooth speaker. The upper surface also has two metallic studs that support your phone when you’re resting it on the angled surface… but look closer and those metal studs are, in fact, rotary knobs that let you control your phone’s brightness and your speaker’s volume.
The Rotator is a winner of the A’ Design Award for the year 2022.
