MacFormat UK – June 2019

APPLE CHOICE Head to head

90 | MACFORMAT | JUNE 2019 macformat.com @macformat

£89.95 FROM Cygnett, uk.cygnett.com

FEATURES 20W wireless charging (total)

Design +++++

The TwoFold’s white and silver look is very Apple-esque –

were it not for the Cygnett logo, you might mistake it for

(the now-cancelled) AirPower – so it’ll certainly fit in

with your other Apple kit. Its plastic body is light but

surprisingly sturdy, with a nice soft coating on the top

surface. Rubber feet keep it from slipping on your desk.

Ease of use ++++++

The TwoFold is wider than Nomad’s charger, so you can

be a bit more imprecise when placing your devices – we

loved how easy it was to find the sweet spot to start the

charging process. The two ‘+’ symbols on the surface are

rubberised, helping to keep your phone in place. It’s all

very convenient, as wireless charging should be.

Charging speed ++++++

An iPhone XR alone took 3 hours 13 minutes to charge

from 0% to 100%. With the same two-device test as

the Nomad, the XR charged in 5 hours 18 minutes, while

it took the iPhone X 4 hours 37 minutes to reach 100%.

Cygnett’s charger traded blows with the Nomad on

charging speed, but was far more reliable.

Extra features ++++++

The TwoFold doesn’t hold a candle to the Base Station’s

charging options – it has two wireless points (which is

fine), but nothing else. Each one has a (rather bright) light

below it to show it’s working. You still get to charge two

devices at once, but Nomad’s Base Station is the more

generous option in this regard.

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$99.95 (about £76)) FROM Nomad, hellonomad.com

FEATURES 20W wireless charging (total), USB-C, USB-A

Nomad Base

Station Hub Edition

Design +++++

The Base Station looks fantastic in all black, and it gets

points for creating its own style away from the white

Apple look. It has a soft (but admittedly thin) leather mat

to place your devices on, and rubber feet to keep it in place.

It’s made of aluminium, while the TwoFold is plastic,

making the Base Station feel rock solid all over.

Ease of use +++++

This is a compact charger; it’s just wide enough for two XS

Max phones in cases to sit side by side. The Base Station

uses smaller charging coils than the TwoFold, which

Nomad says is to speed up charging. Yet for us it just made

finding the right charging spot incredibly fiddly, with the

Base Station frequently failing to recognise our devices.

Charging speed +++++

Powering up a XR took 3 hours 45 minutes. Wirelessly

charging two devices at once was problematic; in repeated

tests, one or both phones got stuck between 80% and 95%.

In one test the XR took 4 hours 7 minutes, but the X got

stuck at 94% for half an hour, before finishing in 5 hours

26 minutes. Other times it didn’t resume charging at all.

Extra features +++++

The Base Station is kitted out with charging options. You

get space for two iPhones on the mat (or you can charge

one horizontally), and there’s an 18W USB-C port (for

fast charging) and a 7.5W USB-A port. That USB-C port

lets you charge a MacBook, albeit slowly. Three dots

on the front illuminate to indicate what is charging.

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TwoFold