Native Union Drop Wireless Charger
There are lots of wireless (Qi—pronounced chee) chargers out there. Don’t be fooled by the inundation the market has seen since so many smartphones are wireless charging capable. Many are cheap, chintzy, plastic junk.
In fact, I was waiting to post this article but after having read some “experts” share the top-ten list for wireless chargers and recommended some that are just simply not worthy of “best chargers for your smartphone” title, I wanted you all to hear about one that seemingly no one ever mentions. Read: they don’t get affiliate link money. Simply put, I don’t think anyone would claim some of these are the best if they had ever used or owned them.
Native Union, on the other hand, is a company I keep a close eye on because their gear is always high quality, great design, and generally competitively priced. Their Drop charger is one device that I picked up about a year ago having been tempted to buy one for some time. It was my initiation into their ecosystem of gear and sold me on their quality and design.
It isn’t my first wireless charger—I was replacing my Mophie charger so that I could use it in a different room. I keep this charger next to my bed. They come in multiple colors: slate, rose, and indigo. I chose slate—if Apple were to make this device, they would have called it space gray. It also is well suited to the decor in my bedroom.
Charging AirPods Gen 2
Made from aluminum and rubber, it has a nice weight to prevent it from slipping or moving too much when dropping one’s iPhone or AirPods on to it. The rubber pad also prevents scratching or scuffing one’s device.
The design is really what caught my attention, however. Wireless chargers all do the same thing but some, as mentioned before, are not well designed. Not only solidly built but also a minimalist appearance and a single white light that illuminates when charging is active. The light, however, is quite dim. And this isn’t a negative. It illuminates just enough to indicate that the charging process is functioning without being distracting at night.
Drop Wireless Charger uses a USB-C connector so it may attach to a wide range of power adapters—it comes with one USB-A to USB-C cable to use with whatever power source one has. I use it with a 12w adapter from an previous iPad.
With 7.5w charging, it is considered ‘fast charging’ though you can get a faster charge from a wired connection (18w for example), I find it is really a matter of convenience.
And that is probably the main point for having a Qi charger. When people ask me, “why not just plug it in,” it isn’t so much a matter of what has been done for ages in the past as it is a matter of convenience and simplicity to “drop” a device onto the charge and walk away—it is a worthy addition to one’s technology collection. Technology’s primary function is to make something complex or inconvenience into something easier and more convenient. A good quality wireless charger achieve that without question.
Charing iPhone 11 Pro — Also pictured, Apple Watch Series 5 with Surf Blue Sport Band
As all Qi chargers do the same thing, the options one has comes down to quality, design, and price. Native Union always delivers on all three. This is just one of the options they provide but definitely one that I love and recommend.
At $60 it is a bit more than some from other companies but as with most things, one pays for a bit extra quality and design. For an extra $10 over much of the competition, it is simply a better device. You can find wireless chargers for $30 and probably less but they just are not of the same quality. I literally use it every day and will look at Native Union’s selection of not only charger but other devices and accessories the next time I’m in the market for such gear.
Drop Wireless Charger from Native Union
$60
