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You want the truth? I have (too) many Apple devices. All of them need to be charged (duh), and Apple deciding to not include power adapters with the iPhone 12 was a personal affront to me.

The Belkin Boost Charge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charger with MagSafe is, presumably, the perfect solution to this asinine problem. For $149.99, the charging station sleek-ifies all of those cords that go toward charging the Apple Watch, iPhone, and AirPods. It also takes full advantage of MagSafe, which sets it apart from other charging stations.

Sure, this means it's really only useful for people with the iPhone 12 and actually pretty useless for any iPhone below that. But since I happen to have the correct iPhone for it, the Belkin Boost Charge Pro is a gorgeous and powerful addition to my charger options, and makes me curse my adapter-less phone a little less.

The Boost Charge Pro packs a lot of punch into a slim body. The three chargers don't actually look like three chargers; when you look at it, the station only clearly has two charging pads, for the iPhone and Apple Watch. The base of the stand both holds up the first two chargers and functions as the AirPods charger. Form and function? Check.

The whole thing only measures about 5.25 inches across the base and 4.5 inches high, so it doesn't take up much space on any nightstand or desk setup. It could easily be the sexy star of a minimalist home tech display, but it doesn't have to be. I am an indecisive gal, so I appreciate the flexibility. I have moved it from kitchen table to desk to bookshelf, and it honestly looked great in all three locations.

It comes connected to its power cord, which, thank god, is also connected to its own power adapter on the other end. The unit says it can deliver up to 15W of wireless charging, which comes to your devices via the magnetic, circular pads. That's the fastest wattage out there for wireless chargers at the moment, and the fastest speed the iPhone 12 will accept. Belkin says the phone charging pad is an iMore pad, and doesn't specify the origins of the Apple Watch and AirPods surfaces.

So the thing that sets this charging station apart is the thing that makes the latest iPhones cool: MagSafe. MagSafe has made iPhone accessories so much more fun lately, and Belkin definitely buys right in.

The phone and watch charging pads use MagSafe, while the AirPods surface does not. Makes sense, as no AirPods model has MagSafe built in… yet, probably. The AirPods charging surface does have a subtle LED light that turns white when your pods are correctly positioned to charge, and amber if they need to be adjusted.

The big benefit of MagSafe, other than feeling extremely satisfying to click on, is that it guarantees your wireless charger is in the optimal position to quickly charge your device. Charging speeds have always been an issue with traditional Qi wireless chargers, as human error tends to make us throw our phones down in the wrong position, not think about it for two hours, and come back to a phone that hasn't charged at all. MagSafe solves this, more recently in the iPhone 12 lineup and always included in the Apple Watch's design.

I mentioned that the overall look of this charging stand is sleek. Using MagSafe, while functional, also really adds to that polished look, specifically for the phone stand. The diagonal tilt lifts your phone off the base and makes it look like it's floating in space, and the magnets are strong and sturdy.

You can nudge the phone around pretty easily, but it doesn't come off unless you're very intentionally lifting the phone off the charger. I even gandered to turn the entire charger upside down with my naked, case-less phone stuck on it, and it, mercifully, did not come flying off.

Being able to nudge it around also means you can turn your phone from portrait to landscape orientation while on the charger, and it still charges in both directions. If you want to watch a show while charging your phone, the Belkin actually elevates it to a perfect position and holds it tightly.

Because of the floating design, you HAVE to have MagSafe work to keep your phone on the stand. With this stand, not having MagSafe work doesn't mean a slower charge or no charge; it means your phone falls off. And possibly breaks. We do not want that.

I tried using it with a phone case without built-in MagSafe, and it feels like there's a feeble attempt for the magnets in the Belkin to connect with the magnets in my phone. After about two seconds, the phone either slips and falls by itself, or the gentlest of taps will send it crashing down.

This isn't a unique failure to Belkin, as plenty of other MagSafe accessories I have tested (ahem, the Apple Wallet) can't really function unless they're directly on the naked phone or enhanced with a MagSafe case. It's annoying though, and if Belkin could somehow develop even stronger magnets that can connect with my phone through my MagSafe-less case, I would be over the moon.

MagSafe for the Apple Watch charger functions perfectly, as it basically just takes the Apple version of the charger and puts it on the stand. And the Watch doesn't have any kind of case to interfere. It's a perfect example of if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The 15W wireless charging is a significant speed uptick from typical charging pads, which are usually about 10W. The is one of the only other wireless chargers that promises the same wattage, so I put my devices to the test on both the Belkin and the Apple chargers to see who performed better. For the Apple Watch, I used the charger it came with, since it won't fit on the bigger MagSafe charger.

After 30 minutes of charging all three devices on the Belkin Boost Charge Pro, the results came in as:

The super small charge on the AirPods is because they were actually at 99 percent when I put them on the charger, so the case's battery increase is much more notable.

When I charged the same devices for 30 minutes on the Apple MagSafe Charger and the charger that came with the Watch, the results were:

When you just look at the numbers, the Belkin is pretty equal for the Apple Watch and AirPods, but clearly underperforms the Apple charger for the phone, which is arguably most important. But when you look deeper, it makes total sense that even with 15W wireless charging, the Belkin can't charge as fast as its Apple competitors.

Putting three chargers in one makes a pretty product and a useful, central charging hub, but it also theoretically slows down the charge. All three of the chargers on the Belkin share one 15W power adapter, whereas the Apple MagSafe Wireless Charger has its own 20W USB-C power adapter (that you have to buy separately... ) and the Apple Watch charger has a small 5W USB adapter.

Keeping that in mind, the Belkin's charging rate is strikingly comparable to both the Apple MagSafe charger and the wired Apple Watch charger. If my phone was absolutely dead and I popped it on this charger for 30 minutes before running out the door, I'd be happy with a 26 percent charge.

I'd still say that the whole vibe of the stand is that it's a nice place to store and charge your devices, so it's more perfect for popping them on to sit and charge for a good while at the end of the day.

The Belkin Boost Charge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charger does everything it sets out to do. It's nice to look at, it charges your devices well, and it uses MagSafe to make the charging experience both better and more beautiful. It's not the cheapest phone accessory, but it stacks up to its competition. Similar two- or three-in-one chargers include:

In addition, I must return to my original bone to pick: Apple products, specifically phones AND chargers, don't come with power adapters anymore! So if you're upgrading to the iPhone 12 especially because you like its MagSafe compatibility, not only do you have to get a power adapter for your main USB-C charging cord, if you want to use the Apple MagSafe Charger ($39), you will need ANOTHER power adapter ($19).

When you add up the cost of getting just one Apple wireless charger, you're already at $58, more than a third of the price of the Belkin. Soooo, when you think about the value of three chargers in one…. C'mon, the math isn't just making sense because sometimes I like to splurge on cool products. And I officially deem the Belkin Boost Charge Pro splurge-worthy.

Source: Mashable

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