When the first iPhones with wireless charging capabilities were introduced, many of the first wireless charging accessories designed for the new devices were plain, flat wireless charging pads.
Now that it’s time for companies to innovate and come up with more efficient charging solutions, we’re seeing more and more upright wireless charging stands like iOttie’s new iON Wireless Charging Stand.
Upright wireless charging stands offer several advantages over flat wireless charging options and are by far my favorite charging solution for the iPhone X and newer iPhone XS models. With a wireless charging stand, it is impossible to place the iPhone in the wrong position to start charging automatically, which is not the case with flat charging solutions.
When I use a flat pad, I’ve on more than one occasion placed the iPhone slightly to the left or right of the center of the built-in charging coil, meaning it won’t charge. Then I have to adjust multiple times and double check to make sure everything lines up.
With the little shelf available on the upright stand, there’s basically no room for error when positioning the iPhone, so it’s better for peace of mind, especially when charging an iPhone on a wireless charger at night. And, in addition to hassle-free charging, the upright stands offer the convenience of being able to see and view the iPhone’s screen at a glance.
iOttie’s iON Wireless Stand, like its flat charger, is one of the more unique wireless charging accessories I’ve seen. It’s actually almost identical in design to the iON Fast Charging Pad Plus and iON Fast Charging Pad Mini, but it’s a stand instead of a pad.
The iON Wireless Stand is covered in an attractive tweed-style fabric available in grey, beige and red, the gray pictured in my photo. It looks a little more professional than your average plastic charging stand, so I think it’s a great option for an office. It looks, of course, just as attractive at home on a desk or a night stand.
Size-wise, the stand has a fairly small base (just two inches square) so it’s not going to take up as much space as one of the flat charging options.
At the bottom of the ION Wireless Stand, there’s a grippy rubber pad to keep it in place without sliding around on a flat surface, and a plastic shelf below the charger holds the iPhone in place. The shelf is covered with the same rubber material to ensure your iPhone is protected.
My phone didn’t slip or move while on the iON Wireless Stand, but these upright chargers are more prone to knocks or knocks to be aware of. There is no side bar to hold the iPhone on this stand, so if you knock it well, your iPhone runs the risk of falling.
iOttie designed the iON Wireless Stand to be slightly narrower in width than the iPhone X and XS, so when your phone is in the stand, the stand is hidden from the front.
On the back of the stand, there’s a USB-C port where the USB-C to USB-A cord plugs into the charging brick included with the stand. On the right side, there is an LED that lights up when charging. LED is a distraction, but it’s not so bright that it can’t be used at night in a dark room.
What I love about the iON Wireless Stand besides the fabric design is the 65-degree angle of the charging plate that rests against the iPhone. It’s in an ideal position for glancing at the iPhone when a notification comes in or looking at it at night. It can also double as a stand for portrait or landscape video viewing.
Speaking of landscape mode, you can charge an iPhone on the Ion Wireless Stand in either portrait or landscape orientation because it has two coils inside, meaning the iPhone’s corresponding coil lines up properly in either position.
Like iOttie’s other wireless charging options, the iON Wireless Stand charges compatible iPhone models at 7.5W, the maximum wireless charging speed for Apple’s current crop of devices. Android devices charge at a fast 10W speed
7.5W charging isn’t much faster than 5W charging in most charging situations, but it will give you a bit more juice.
I drained my iPhone X to 1 percent battery life, put it in airplane mode, and placed it on the iON Wireless Stand for an hour of charging, which is the same testing protocol I use for all wireless charger reviews.
Within an hour, the iPhone X charged up to 38 percent, which is in line with charging speeds I’ve seen from iOttie’s other 7.5W charging options and other companies’ 7.5W charging pads.
Wireless charging is temperature dependent so 38 percent of the metric was with an ambient room temperature of about 74 degrees. When it’s cold in the winter, I’ve seen the 7.5W wireless charger get about 45 percent charged in an hour.
I tested the iON Wireless Stand with a standard Apple silicone case, but iOttie says it will work with 7mm thick cases.
bottom line
Now that Apple has adopted Qi wireless charging, there are hundreds of wireless charging accessories on the market at a range of price points. You can find cheap 5W wireless chargers on Amazon for around $10, and now there are plenty of 7.5W chargers out there that aren’t too expensive.
At $49.95, the iON Wireless Stand is more expensive than the plain charging pads you can find on Amazon, but I think for some people, the convenience of an upright stand and the iON’s design might be worth the price.
Compared to other premium upright wireless charging stands from Logitech and Belkin, iOttie’s solution is competitively priced at $20 less, making it an attractive choice for those looking for a quality charging stand.
How to buy
iOttie’s iON Wireless Stand can be purchased from the iOttie website for $49.95 or from Amazon for $44.95.
Note: iOttie provided MacRumors with an iON Wireless Stand for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and may earn a commission on purchases made through links in this article.
