Tech
These 3-in-1 Wireless Chargers Can Juice Up Your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods at the Same Time
Other 3-in-1 Chargers to Consider
We have tested several other 3-in-1 Apple charging stations. Here are a few we liked:
Zens Office Charger Pro 3 for $104: I’m a fan of some of the interesting, out-of-the-box designs that Zens turns out, but this 3-in-1, while well-made and perfectly functional, doesn’t really stand out. It’s Qi2 certified (15W for iPhone, 5W for Apple Watch, 5W for AirPods), looks nice, and comes with the cable and charger, though it has a barrel port.
Lululook 3-in-1 Charging Station for $76: This is a perfectly competent 3-in-1 with Qi2 certification (15W for iPhone, 5W for Apple Watch, 5W for AirPods). It’s compact, you can angle the iPhone pad, and I like the gold finish of my review unit, but I prefer the Twelve South above, or the ESR if you don’t want to spend as much.
Aukey MagFusion 3-in-1 Pro for $130: Devices get warm when charging wirelessly, and heat is the enemy of battery health, so you may want built-in cooling. Aukey’s MagFusion 3-in-1 Pro resembles a microphone, with a handy adjustable magnetic pad for iPhones that includes a fan to keep things cool. There’s an indent behind it to charge your Apple Watch (the strap droops around) and a spot on the base for AirPods. The fan inevitably makes some noise, but there’s a button on top to quieten it when you want to sleep.
Otterbox 3-in-1 Charging Station With Magsafe for $50: Folks seeking a more compact option will appreciate this solid aluminum 3-in-1 charging station from Otterbox. It can charge all your Apple gadgets (15W for iPhone, 5W for Apple Watch, 5W for AirPods) and comes with a 6.6-foot cable and a 36-watt wall charger. The integrated Apple Watch charger allows for Nightstand mode, but it is the weak link here, and I sometimes find that my watch twists slightly.
UAG 3-in-1 Travel and Desktop Charger for $170: This was close to earning a recommendation until I clocked the price. It’s a very smart 3-in-1 charging kit that folds flat and comes in a snazzy zip-up bag with a 4-foot braided USB-C cable and 25-watt power adapter, including plugs for the US, UK, and Europe. You can prop your iPhone at different angles on the MagSafe stand, and it works well with StandBy mode and Nightstand mode for your Apple Watch, but it’s not Qi2 certified, so you won’t get the stated 15-watt charging for an iPhone. Ultimately, it’s just too damn expensive.
Aukey MagFusion Z Qi2 3-in-1 Foldable Charging Station for $58: This clever 3-in-1 charging station folds flat very neatly and feels durable, but it’s kinda heavy for travel. I found my Apple Watch tended to list to one side on the charger and didn’t work with Nightstand mode unless I folded it above the main charger, which is also the position required for the iPhone to sit in landscape orientation for StandBy mode.
Journey Glyde 4-in-1 Portable Charger for $170: Reviews editor Adrienne So almost voted for this multidevice MagSafe power bank to get a separate recommendation until she noticed the price. It’s a 10,000-mAh-capacity power bank that can charge up to four devices at a time and uses the Qi2 charging standard. However, our pick for this spot is so much cheaper, and the Glyde does not have a kickstand.
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Photograph: Simon Hill
Woodie Milano Foldie for $131: Combining Nappa leather with aluminum and glass, this 3-in-1 charger folds neatly away and looks very stylish. There’s a circular MagSafe iPhone charging pad (15 watts), a central pad for AirPods, and you can charge your Apple Watch flat or pop the charger up for Nightstand mode. You can also fold it into a wedge shape to charge your iPhone in StandBy mode with your Apple Watch on the back. You get a USB-C cable in the box, but you’ll need your own wall charger.
Scosche Baselynx 2.0 Modular Charging Station for $75: What if three spots are not enough? Scosche has you covered with this modular charging station. The basic stand is a 2-in-1 for your iPhone and AirPods, but you can add an Apple Watch charger ($70), a toast rack-style vertical station with USB-C ports ($70), or even an AC outlet with USB-C port ($40). The trouble is, it gets quite big and expensive as you add modules, and I don’t love the way it looks, but it’s a neat idea.
Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 MagSafe-Compatible Wireless Charging Pad for $80: Support for Qi2 offers magnetic alignment for your iPhone and charging at 15 watts, and there’s a spot for AirPods on this compact double pad. A USB-C port allows you to charge something else, such as an Apple Watch, and you get a 5-foot USB-C cable and 30W power supply in the box. There is also a 3-in-1 pad ($90) that adds an Apple Watch charger on the right side.
QDOS SnapStand 3-in-1 for £80: This clever design feels sturdy and comes flat, and you can fold out and angle a magnetic pad for charging your iPhone (StandBy mode works fine). There’s a pop-out Apple Watch charger around the back, and the base has a pad for your AirPods. You get a black USB-C cable, but you’ll need a charger (at least 25W). I like that it’s partly made from recycled materials, and it folds away very neatly, but the charging speeds are relatively slow (7.5 watts for the iPhone and 2.5 watts for the Apple Watch).
Kuxiu Foldable Magnetic Wireless Charging Station for $80: With a very similar design to the QDOS above, but more functional-looking and squarer, this fold-out charger also has a magnetic pad for your iPhone (StandBy mode works), a fold-out Apple Watch charger in the middle, and a pad on the base for your AirPods. It comes with a USB-C cable and a 20-watt wall charger. The X40Q linked here is Qi2 certified, but the identical-looking X40Q is not.
Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock with MagSafe for $96: This was our old 2-in-1 pick for iPhone and Apple Watch. I like the soft-touch finish, the pad on top can move through 70 degrees, and the shelf for your Apple Watch works with any strap. The braided USB-C cable is permanently attached, but you get a 30-watt wall charger in the box. I don’t remember having issues when I first tested, but using it again, I found the weight of the camera end of my iPhone 14 Pro caused it to slowly droop when in StandBy mode. It’s also kinda pricey.
Anker 737 MagGo Charger for $90: This MagSafe 3-in-1 is sturdy and holds my iPhone 14 Pro securely. Support for landscape makes it a nice way to take advantage of StandBy mode to turn your iPhone into a bedside clock, but it does block easy access to the Apple Watch. It can fast-charge at 15 watts and comes with a power adapter and cable. It can be hard to grab the AirPods out of there, especially if you have an AirPods protective case installed. I just shove a finger from the other direction and push it out. The other slight disappointment is that the Apple Watch charger doesn’t support fast charging.
Twelve South Butterfly 2-in-1 MagSafe Charger for $100: This is an uber compact 2-in-1 charger that looks like a hockey puck. Open the Butterfly and you’ll find two pads that are attached via a rubbery silicone material. You can fast-charge an Apple Watch on one—even pop the charger up to take advantage of Nightstand mode— and the other circle lets you recharge your MagSafe iPhone at 15 watts. It’s a super compact solution, and Twelve South includes a 30-watt charger and cable with international plug adapters.
Native Union Voyage 2-in-1 MagSafe Charger for $100: For a slightly cheaper price, reviews editor Adrienne So also likes Native Union’s Qi2 butterfly solution, which doesn’t come with plug adapters but does come in a tidy travel pouch and has a cable.
Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station Stand for $80: This good-looking 3-in-1 charging tree is more affordable than our top pick, boasts Qi2 certification for 15-watt charging, and comes with a charger and cable. It just misses out on a place above because of the offset pad for the Apple Watch. It is slippery, so your Apple Watch may tilt, though I never had an issue with it not charging. Anker included stickers to combat this, but they are a fiddly and inelegant solution. It’s also a shame that the main pad for your iPhone is fixed, so you can’t adjust the angle. But these are minor gripes.
Mophie 3-in-1 Travel Charger With MagSafe for $75: This little travel kit comes with a felt carrying case, charging brick, and USB-C cable, and was our previous top travel pick. The square stack unfolds to reveal three wireless chargers in one elongated pad. The iPhone sticks magnetically to the center (15 watts), and the Apple Watch dock supports Nightstand mode (this 2023 model supports fast charging too). There’s a grooved spot for the AirPods. It feels great, is compact, and is pretty lightweight all around.
ESR HaloLock 3-in-1 Travel Wireless Charging Set for $20: This is a decent travel kit at a reasonable price. You can prop your iPhone in portrait or landscape orientation, display your Apple Watch in Nightstand mode (if you turn it backward), and there is a pad for AirPods. It folds with the included cable and wall charger in a faux leather pouch. Sadly, it only charges iPhones at 7.5 watts.
Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe for $100: This dinky, dense, 2.5-inch cube from Anker was our previous compact pick. It has a MagSafe pad on top (15 watts), and the top section hinges to a 60-degree angle, revealing a charging surface for your AirPods. The wee pop-out shelf on the side has a built-in Apple Watch fast charger. You get a 5-foot cable and a 30-watt charger in the box.
Satechi 3-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Stand for $93: This compact, attractive 3-in-1 is a little smaller than the Belkin, so it doesn’t take up too much room, and it folds down compactly for travel. The aluminum build is attractive and sturdy (the iPhone mount is made of stainless steel). This is on review editor Adrienne So’s bedside table, and it recharges her Apple Watch Ultra 2 from 70 percent to full in around 30 minutes.
Case-Mate Fuel 3-in-1 Foldable for $77: Finished in a classy gray material, this 3-in-1 charges an iPhone in a case or any Qi smartphone, and it’s easy to fold flat and pack in a bag. It also has a built-in Apple Watch charger and a spot for AirPods. A cable and a 45-watt charger are included. I also tested the solid Case-Mate Fuel 4-in-1 ($150), which is quite good, but the unnecessary LEDs and Fuel logo put me off.
iOttie Velox Duo for $35: This was our 2-in-1 pick for a while. The black and gold combo looks great, the magnet is strong, and there’s a weighted base. On the downside, it only charges iPhones at up to 7.5 watts. The permanently attached USB-C cable is a good length, but you do have to provide a wall adapter.
Avoid These Chargers
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Photograph: Simon Hill
Not every charger will be a winner. Here are the ones we didn’t like.
Mous Travel Charger: While the compact folding nature of this charger and the low price impressed me, it gets kinda warm when you charge all three of your Apple devices, and the AirPods spot is finicky.
Infinacore T3 Pro: The T3 Pro is a 3-in-1 stand that looks and feels very cheap, and it got warm when charging my iPhone. Its saving grace is that it is cheap. It also has Qi2 certification and works with StandBy mode. I also tried the fold-out triple pad Infinacore T3 Wireless Charging Station. Aside from the ugly plastic design, the weak magnets meant it did not work well when folded into the triangular configuration (this also blocks a pad).
Groov-e Asteria Wireless Charging Station with Alarm Clock: There’s a wee clock on the front of this charging station, which can accommodate an iPhone, earpods on a pad around back, and an Apple Watch up top. It feels and looks very cheap, slides around a little too easily, the magnet is weak, and the clock seems redundant when you can set your iPhone in StandBy mode. I also tried the Triton 3-in-1 folding pad (£20), and it was okay. They are very affordable, but you must provide your own power adapter.
Zike 3-in-1 Z557C Stand: This 3-in-1 charger works perfectly well, but there are several better options above. The iPhone pad allows for StandBy mode but is not adjustable. The Apple Watch pad flips up or can be laid flat, and there’s a spot for AirPods on the gray felt pad. It has a barrel port, so you must use the power adapter supplied, but what I really dislike about this charger is the ridiculously bright and utterly pointless white LED on the front that stays on the entire time.
Alogic Matrix Ultimate: This 3-in-1 charger has a folding design, supports fast charging, includes a detachable 5,000-mAh power bank, and comes with a nice pouch, but it is kinda bulky, and the white finish picks up dust and smudges very easily. I have also had issues with other Alogic batteries failing and not supplying the stated capacity.
STM Goods ChargeTree Go: This charging tree station folds flat and can charge a trio of Apple gadgets. But there’s no quick-charge support, my Apple Watch kept sliding out of place during the night, and there’s no adapter included. It’s not cheap either.
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During our conversation, Brown compared Praxis to Israel—minus a world war and a holocaust, of course. “There were these stateless people who were scattered,” he says, and they had “this idea of Judea and building a state and returning to the OG homeland.” (Srinivasan has been even more direct in the past, saying, “What I’m really calling for is something like tech Zionism.”)
Of course, the beauty of a network state is that it can embody “the West” without actually having to be there. In addition to the Vandenberg location, Praxis announced that its team would be traveling to Morocco, Japan, and the Dominican Republic, among other countries, to explore the possibility of establishing an SEZ. While Brown says he does not consider Morocco to be Western, Praxis is willing to work with countries that are willing to give it land. Like Ion, Brown promises an influx of companies and tech talent that “can radically benefit” those places, boosting property values and creating jobs for local residents. It is unclear if those Moroccan residents would be considered “citizens” in a Praxian SEZ. In the meantime, through an initiative called Praxis Development, the group plans to buy up residential properties where its members can live as a stepping stone toward “real territory, real assets, and real power.”
“This is a colonial project, aimed at tech empire,” says Gil Duran, a former political consultant and author of the independent newsletter The Nerd Reich. “It sounds like colonization 2.0. When you go to another person’s country and create your own country there, no matter your excuse, no matter your rationale.”
Or, as the Praxis X account posted on September 1, “Cyberpunk East India Company.”
The most evolved version of the SEZ strategy is Próspera, a charter community, backed by Pronomos Capital, on the island of Roatán in Honduras. It has an arbitration system, low taxes, and a code of rules. (Vitalia, Ion’s original project, considered setting up a permanent location within Próspera.)
Próspera’s leaders say they do not consider it a network state, that their goal is “city-scale development that advances human progress and prosperity—within Honduran sovereignty and law.” The Honduran government, then led by Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado, granted the city its charter in 2017. But Hernández was arrested in 2022 for drug trafficking (he has since been convicted), and the new government repealed Próspera’s SEZ status, alleging that these types of zones violated the country’s sovereignty. Próspera then filed an $11 billion lawsuit against the Honduran government, alleging that the government had failed to “honor its guarantees of legal stability.” The case is ongoing.
Ion, for his part, says that he “would approach different things differently” in Viva City.
Back at Viva Frontier Tower, after the morning rave and a full day of sessions on health and longevity, Ion, now dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, leads a few dozen attendees on a tour of his pop-up fiefdom. While the AI-generated images on the group’s website portray a semitropical seaside paradise that looks like a cross between Monaco and Atlantis, in real life, the WeWork turned “vertical village” turned temporary network state is in various states of repair.
Meta announced Friday that Facebook and Instagram users in the UK will be able to buy ad-free subscriptions, extending a model already in place in Europe, to comply with regulation.
Starting in the coming weeks, UK-based users can opt out of personalized ads by paying a monthly fee of £2.99 ($4) on the web, or £3.99 via iOS and Android apps.
The US tech giant said the move comes “in response to recent UK regulatory guidance,” noting that the subscription model gives users a choice over whether to allow personalized ads.
The UK price will be lower than what is offered in the European Union, where ad-free subscriptions start at 5.99 euros ($7) per month.
Meta first announced its ad-free option in the EU at the end of 2023 to comply with tougher regulation intended to rein in big tech.
The company has long profited from selling user data to advertisers but this business model has led to multiple battles with regulators over data privacy.
The European data regulator last year told Meta it must not force users to pay for the right to data protection, pushing the company to tweak its model.
Meta on Friday criticized the “overreach” of regulators in the EU, where it must provide a version of its platforms with “less personalized” ads.
It meanwhile welcomed the “constructive approach” of the British privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The ICO said the subscription option would allow Meta to comply with UK law.
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Jimmy Kimmel returned to ABC this week. Sort of. About a quarter of ABC’s usual audience couldn’t see the talk show host this week after two major owners of ABC affiliates, Sinclair and Nexstar, refused to carry the show. Those right-leaning companies apparently felt that Kimmel’s joke—which included some disputed facts—was so unpardonable that they couldn’t expose their viewers to the comedian. They were also the first organizations to pull the plug on Kimmel, after Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr seemed to threaten action. That means that even the stations that did carry the show—as well as Disney, which owns ABC—might be courting the ire of a government official who seems eager to use his powers to silence critics.
Carr does have power. The FCC can grant and revoke broadcast licenses if stations don’t serve the public interest. It’s an artifact of a time when virtually 100 percent of viewers got their shows over the air, via television antennas. Local TV stations were granted slices of the very limited broadcast spectrum to beam their programs and had to meet certain standards to keep that privilege. But that era has passed. Local television stations now reach their audience via cable or internet bundles. Also, networks increasingly stream their programming through apps. Yet Carr still has the ability to bully networks and affiliates by threatening to take their licenses.
This raises a question: What’s the point of maintaining the current system? It’s certainly a mess for Disney and its fellow network owners like Comcast, which owns NBC, and Paramount, which owns CBS. Instead of kowtowing to free-speech-hating regulators, and toadying affiliates who are fine with censoring ABC programming, maybe Disney should bid farewell to stations that decline to run its programming. Disney already streams shows on Hulu (which it controls) and on its own app. There have long been examples of local stations owned and operated by networks. What if Disney or Comcast let contracts with troublesome affiliates lapse and then started their own local stations without using spectrum—both as apps and cable channels? Let Nexstar and Sinclair find their own programming, where they can tailor content to any standard they want. Disney can happily bypass the airwaves without worrying about FCC threats. They can even say those seven dirty words!
I ran this idea past a former FCC commissioner, who pointed out some potential problems involving existing contracts and such. But generally, he agreed that the idea not only made sense but was already in motion, on the largest scale. “It’s what Disney is doing by streaming ESPN and everything else. It is something that has to be coming,” he tells me, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Blair Levin, the former chief of staff to an FCC chairman, was even more sympathetic to my idea. “Broadcast is a melting ice cube,” he says. It’s only a question of how long it will take to thaw. Five years? Ten?
So my idea is less novel than I thought. The Kimmel conundrum has only turned up the heat on a doomed chunk of frozen water. Even as I chatted with former FCC officials, Needham, an investment bank that tracks media, put out a note that suggested even more drastic action is warranted. Disney, it said, should immediately begin streaming its entire schedule! The money it would reap from ads or subscriptions would more than make up for any losses, and Disney’s market cap would rise.
I don’t expect that to happen right away. The multiyear contracts and ongoing relationships between affiliates and networks lock in the current situation for a while. But when I asked an executive from a company that owns TV stations whether the current arrangement was sustainable, I didn’t get the pushback I expected. “It’s a real question,” he tells me, admitting the relationship of late has become more fraught.
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