Nomad Base Station Hub Edition
$99.9 5 FromNomad, hellonomad.com
Dimensions 20W wireless charging (total), USB–C, USB–ADESIGN
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 tricky, with the
Base Station frequently failing to recognise our devices.CHARGING SPEED
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.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 gear. 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.Cygnett TwoFold
$89.95FromCygnett, cygnett.com
Dimensions 20W wireless charging (total)Nomad Base Station Hub Edition
The Base Station looks great, but falls down where it
matters: charging time and ease of use. It’s hard to
endorse with the issues we had.
WEAKCygnett TwoFold
Arguably the less elegant mat, but Cygnett’s TwoFold is
exactly what wireless charging should be: simple,
convenient and a pleasure to use.
AWESOMEHEAD TO
HEADVERDICTMulti–device wireless charging mats
Reviews
52 AUG 2019 maclife.com