In 2019 iPhone and Mac accessory maker Scosche came up with an innovative all-in-one charging solution, BaseLynx, which is a modular charging system that can be customized for the devices you have.
Scosche sells its BaseLynx at Apple retail stores, offering two modular kits with add-ons that allow it to be set up to charge Apple Watches, iPhones, iPads and more. Individual pieces start at $40, while complete charging kits cost $149 to $199.
Since the setup is modular, you can only buy chargers for the devices you own If you have an Apple Watch and an iPhone, for example, you can only get those chargers, but if you have an iPad, you can add a USB-C endcap or a vertical charging station.
It’s customizable to your setup, and the individual pieces are reasonably priced for the most part, though some are a bit more expensive than you might pay for a standalone charger from another company. Basically the pieces are at the higher end of the average price of individual charging components.
Scosche offers the Apple version of BaseLynx in an exclusive white and gray color, while the version sold on the Scosche site comes in black. Scosche sent me the standard charging kit, which includes an MFi-certified Apple Watch charger, a 7.5W Qi-wireless charging pad, and a vertical charging station that can charge three devices at once.
Each piece of the BaseLynx is made from a white plastic material with gray accents, and the pieces snap together and can be arranged in different configurations. Size-wise, the charging components are a bit large and this setup is going to take up a lot of desk space. I would have liked to see less excess plastic around the borders and on the pieces in general, as slimming down some of the elements would have saved a lot of surface area.
For example, the Apple Watch charger is as big as the ‘iPhone’ charger, and it’s bigger than it needs to be. Even the wireless iPhone charger itself is quite a bit larger than other wireless iPhone chargers I’ve owned. On the plus side, the entire unit is powered by a single power cord, so it saves some plug space. It doesn’t ship with a cable, so you’ll need to supply your own. To avoid lots of extra cables, you’ll probably want smaller 1-meter and 0.5-meter cables to use with it.
The Qi-based wireless charging pad offers 7.5W of power, so it can charge an iPhone at maximum wireless charging speed. Wireless charging is best for charging at night or during the day when you don’t need your phone because it’s slower. Expect to get about 25 to 40 percent battery within an hour, depending on temperature conditions and which iPhone you have (larger batteries like the iPhone 11 line are going to take longer). I liked the gray fabric of the charger and that it held my iPhone (and AirPods) securely while charging.
As for the vertical charging station, there are three gray rubber sections to hold your devices, along with two 12W USB-A ports and one 18W USB-C port. More and more devices use USB-C these days, so I would have liked to see two USB-C ports instead of two USB-A ports. This may not be the case for everyone, but even with the iPhone, I prefer slower USB-A charging over USB-C to Lightning. The slots are large enough to fit a device as large as an iPad Pro or even a MacBook Pro, but since it charges up to 18W, it’s best used with similarly sized devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Nintendo Switch.
In testing, all ports and charging surfaces worked as expected, and I didn’t run into any unexpected issues with setup. I only had a few ingredients, but there is an option to add more. It’s a bit confusing though, because Scosche doesn’t specify how many modules can fit together.
Each component is assigned a point value, and a single power cord can support 15 points. For reference, an Apple Watch charger is one point, a wireless charging pad is two points, an endcap is three points, and a vertical charging station is five points. The setup I have for testing here is a total of eight points, which means I may add an endcap and another wireless charger in the future.
bottom line
BaseLynx’s modular setup is useful, and the range of available charging options makes it easy to build a charging station that works for the devices you own. It’s also easy to upgrade as you get new devices or add new modular components.
I’m a fan of single power cables because I hatred cord, but I wish the design was a bit sleeker and slimmer, especially for components like the Apple Watch charger. This charging station can’t fit into small desks and counters because of how much space it takes up, so it’s not really a space-saving solution.
With prices for a kit starting at $150, it’s also pretty expensive, but for those who don’t want to pay the full price right away, the cost can be amortized over time by purchasing charging components piecemeal. The components (minus the endcap) all work on a standalone basis.
I hope in the future that Scosche adds optional components that include additional USB-C ports, as this is one area where it falls a bit short.
How to buy
The standard black BaseLynx setup can be purchased from the Scosche website or from Amazon with a multi-device kit starting at $90. The white BaseLynx setup can be purchased exclusively from Apple.
