I have strong opinions about chargers, which is why I'm not invited to many parties. And when it comes to car chargers those opinions are even stronger, because I hate chargers that are fiddly, slow, or that fall off when I go around corners. So i'm intrigued by some new chargers from ESR, including what the firm says is the world's first Qi2 (pronounced "key 2") car charger.
I've got an ESR charger in my car that's very similar to this one, but mine is solely MagSafe rather than the more compatible Qi2, which will also work for Qi2 compatible Android phones. I can attest that it stays put and doesn't take up too much dashboard space. However for now this is best considered for iPhones from the iPhone 12 onwards: because Qi2 is based on MagSafe, Android adoption hasn't really begun yet.
Qi2 charging wherever you may roam
The Qi2 car charger delivers 15W wireless charging and has a strong vent mount with a support arm that stops it falling off, and you can also mount it on top of the dash. It's easy to adjust for good viewing angles and it's relatively cheap: the RRP is $29.99 / £35.99 but it's currently around 25% off on Amazon.
It's part of a whole family of new ESR chargers that also includes a Qi2 travel charger, a 3-in-1 model with 15W charging for your iPhone, 5W for your Apple Watch and another 5W for your AirPods. It also has a small USB-C charger for your watch that you can attach to devices such as your iPhone 15, enabling you to top up your Apple Watch from your phone or a power bank. That one's currently $64.99 on Amazon US and £62.99 on Amazon UK.
Last but not least there's a desktop charger for home or work. It too is a 3-in-1 for phone, watch and earbuds, and again the power is 15W for phone and 5W apiece for watch and earbuds. The magnetic stand enables you to choose portrait mode for FaceTime or landscape for Standby Mode. You can have that one in black or white for $72.99; it's coming to the UK for a similar price soon.
