JUNE 2019 MACWORLD 67the box are the pad, a USB Type-A to
microUSB cable, and a 24W wall adapter
that’s Quick Charge 3.0 compatible. That
means, if wireless charging is going too
slow for your liking, just use the included
power adapter to charge your phone the
old-fashioned way.
Using our standard testing
procedures (go.macworld.com/tsrp), I
spent the last couple of weeks testing
RavPower’s pad and comparing the
results to those of previously
tested chargers.
With an iPhone XS, the Alpha
Series pad averaged a 40
percent charge in 60 minutes of
use. That makes it the third-
fastest, behind only the iON
Wireless Stand (go.macworld.
com/inwr) and the Nimble Stand
(go.macworld.com/nmbl) which
reached 44 and 45 percent
charge, respectively, in an hour.
As for its Android
performance, the Alpha Series pad didn’t
perform quite as well with our Galaxy S9
test phone. In fact, with an average time of
4 hours and 3 minutes to completely
charge the Galaxy S9, it was the second-
slowest wireless pad we’ve tested, despite
the company’s claim that it supports up to
10W wireless charging.
In some aspects, the slow charge time
with the Galaxy S9 is disappointing, but
knowing that I can just plug in the phone
and quickly charge it when I’m in
a rush—something most wireless
chargers don’t offer—is
consoling. Not entirely, but it
doesn’t hurt.BOTTOM LINE
This particular RAVPower
wireless charging pad is a plain,
black, hockey puck, but it gets
the job done and comes with a
24W wall adapter at an
affordable price ■mmmh
RAVPower Alpha
Series Fast Charge
Wireless Charging
Pad
PROS- Fast charging for iOS.
- Comes with 24W wall
adapter.
CONS - Not terribly fast on Android.
- Basic design.
PRICE
$29.99
COMPANY
RAVPower