Review: Belkin's Latest 3-in-1 Charger is Ideal for Apple Watch Series 7 Owners

[fwmireault]

You don’t see that many genuine MagSafe chargers out in the market

Exactly, it’s very rare. 14 months after the launch of MagSafe for iPhone, Belkin is still the only third party company who makes MagSafe certified charging devices, and I bet it will be the only one with fast charging for Apple Watch for a long time. I get that there's a premium price and that it's not everybody who needs the 15W wireless charging for their iPhone, but that puts the Belkin chargers in a different category from the other third party accessories in my opinion

I still prefer their original stand

I agree with you, the original design was much better in my opinion. Belkin said in a Q&A on the product page that they plan to release more products with fast charging for S7, let's hope that it will include the design of the previous MagSafe charger

 

[TrapDoorSpider]

For that price, the iPhone shouldn't just stand up vertically; it should do summersaults... and magnetically fly to other room. What are they doing with all this money? Buying real estate after every sale? You can buy 4 alternative products for the price of 1 of these off-brand cons!

 

[SFjohn]

It’s interesting and I’m tempted. However I can’t quite get past the extra (wasted) power needed for the iPhone & AirPods. Wires are working well for now. When Apple gets rid of all external ports on their iPhones, then it will be time to switch.

 

[Rafterman]

Especially for Belkin quality. It’s like throwing away money.

I agree its overpriced, but I never had a problem with Belkin quality.

 

[Wolffie]

Anker on Amazon

 

[DrTek]

My question. Is the Airpod charger also MagSafe compatible? Or just QI?

 

[4jasontv]

Why do these things need an LED? All the intended devices tell you if they are charging.

I agree its overpriced, but I never had a problem with Belkin quality.

They made some pretty rubbish USB hubs.

 

[mrow]

I really dislike the firm factor. Better configurations abound; why this waste of space…

100% agree. Last years model was much better. It has a small, round circular base with a “T” coming out of it. The watch goes on one side and the other side has a MagSafe charger. They still sell that model I believe. I’ve got two of them and the quality seems very top notch to me.

 

[svish]

Seems like a very good wireless charger. But price could have been less. Maybe $99.

 

[bob24]

Anker on Amazon

It is not a comparable item.

The Anker one doesn’t have a built-in Apple Watch charging puck (it only has a slot to put one in). So the puck is going to be extra and possibly generate additional cable clutter (their integrated connector for watch charging pucks is USB-A, so it won’t support the USB-C fast charging pucks which come with a series 7) . Also it isn’t MagSage so half the charging speed for the phone.

 

[Abazigal]

100% agree. Last years model was much better. It has a small, round circular base with a “T” coming out of it. The watch goes on one side and the other side has a MagSafe charger. They still sell that model I believe. I’ve got two of them and the quality seems very top notch to me.

You mean this one? I also like it because it leverages on the strengths of magsafe by essentially suspending the iphone in mid-air. If I am going to be resting my phone flat on a charging slab, who cares whether it’s magnetised or not?

 

[imlynxy]

150$!!!!

Please do not tickle my Jingle Bells

 

[mrow]

You mean this one? I also like it because it leverages on the strengths of magsafe by essentially suspending the iphone in mid-air. If I am going to be resting my phone flat on a charging slab, who cares whether it’s magnetised or not?

Yep, that’s in. Both of mine are the white color though. Yeah, I’m really struggling to figure out who would prefer the form factor of this new one over the one we have.

 

[madge28]

There are plenty of $30-40 options on Amazon that do the exact same thing. I have one from MAKAQI and it's perfect. This is a stupid waste of money.

When you say "the exact same thing" does it include fast-charging the Series 7?

 

[madge28]

Yep, that’s in. Both of mine are the white color though. Yeah, I’m really struggling to figure out who would prefer the form factor of this new one over the one we have.

I totally see your point! The only reason why I prefer this form factor is because I charge my phone on top of my bed head and I wanna be able to just put my phone on the magsafe pad without sitting up or looking at it (when I'm already lying down and about to sleep)

But I'm pretty sure not a lot of people have this particular need lol

 

[priamXus]

To anyone crying about price give me another option that won’t take up 3 plugs, will fast charge at 15w and look good.

 

[jazz1]

Especially for Belkin quality. It’s like throwing away money.

Unfortunately my earlier model non-magsafe iPhone and Apple Watch charger died after about 2 years. It was pricey but look well made, and I expected a longer use life.

 

[DogGone]

I have a great charger stand. Phone in an upright position. Behind at the top of the upright is a watch charger and at the bottom is a AirPod charger. All in the space taken up with an iPhone laid flat.
This unit cost way less than $150 and takes up less than a third of the space.
There aren't many Belkin products that I like. They tend to be less practical and more expensive than other comparable units.

 

[mrwuf]

Yep, that’s in. Both of mine are the white color though. Yeah, I’m really struggling to figure out who would prefer the form factor of this new one over the one we have.

I have the white one and love it. Was hoping they'd just re-release it with the Series 7 QC, but I guess they're saving me a ton. No need for a Series 7 either now. Whole reason I want it is QC, as if I forget to charge my S5 or S3, it takes 45+ min to get enough for a workout. Was hoping to switch to one device, as Apple's multi-watch implementation is also poor.

 

[bob24]

It wouldn’t be super elegant and this is just me thinking, but is it possible that the new design is due to Apple tipping-off Belkin that going forward MagSafe will need to support larger and heavier devices (which thus would need to lay flat in the surface of the charging puck)?

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www.macrumors.com

 

[Marrrum]

Is this similar to what apples AirPower device would be like?

 

[exogenous]

One charing ring to rule them all and magnets to bind them?

 

[Candurin]

I have the “older” Belkin 3-1. I wasn’t overly concerned with ultra speed charging on all our devices.

I keep my 13pro, AirPods Pro and watch 5 on them. Everything is fully charged by morning (and would have been even with far lower charging speeds).

I did it solely for less outlet usage and less clutter on my nightstand. I snagged it when Belkin had it for closer to $100 before thanksgiving.

They are charging a premium for a form factor that is far less convenient than their previous model. Sigh.

 

[bob24]

Is this similar to what apples AirPower device would be like?

They might have future plans to fix this, but as it stands, what Apple has done is the exact opposite of what AirPower was aiming for. And IMO it is a bit of a mess.

AirPower was promising 2 things:
1. free device placement on the charging area
2. only one type of charging surface interoperable and compatible accross all Apple devices (AirPods, iPhone, Apple Watch)

Where we stand on those 2 promises at the moment, as illustrated with the latest Belkin charger (and others):
1. Specific device placement required (guided by magnets for the watch and the phone)
2. Each device requires its specific charging surface and those aren’t fully interoperable, if at all (MagSafe for the phone, regular Qi for the AirPods, and proprietary for the Apple Watch)

 

[mansplains]

Yeah me too, until I started to track my sleep. Before, my watch was charging overnight so I never had the need to fast charge.

Same here. I had it on charger overnight until sleep tracking was added.

One use case whereby quick charging is nice is if you are wearing the watch overnight for sleep tracking. I put it on the charging dock while I do a bit of reading in bed before going to sleep, and sometimes with the “old” charging speed it doesn’t have time to reach 100% before I put it back on my wrist for the night.

I would have mine on the charger for a little bit before bed as well, it wouldn't be 100% but in the morning it'd be closer to 40% on the low-end, and that was sufficient to get me through most of my day. After I'd be off work I'd charge again.

I thought a new S7 with a fresh battery would help, but it actually tends to drain more battery than I would have expected (after a night‘s sleep and a full day it is around 30%).

That's crazy, I only owned a Series 2 and Series 3, and I may have had better battery life!