No awkward positioning for charging
Excellent style
No loud fan
Excellent Stuff
Wanderers Base Station Pro was supposed to usher in a new era of cordless battery chargers, promising to make the dream of a multiple-coil cordless battery charger a reality when it was revealed almost a year earlier. After substantial delays, the business has been beaten to the punch, however Wanderers version is lastly here, taking the multi-coil method that Zens debuted (and Apple apparently failed at completely with the canceled AirPower) and pushes it even further with a thinner battery charger that can wirelessly charge up to 3 devices.
Bad Stuff
While the Nomad Base Station Pro– and the Aira FreePower technology that powers it– might one day be the future of cordless charging innovation, right now, the current variation is just too costly and too limited.
5W charging (other than on iPhones).
Really expensive.
The Base Station Pro is simply the first device that will include Airas FreePower hardware, and the company has huge ambitions for future devices (which presumably will not just be limited to Nomad). Aira imagines whole desk surface areas that are huge FreePower battery chargers that can power any device thats put on it, or a whole nightstand that will charge all your gadgets overnight.
The problem is that while the Base Station Pro makes the “cordless” part a breeze, the actual “charging” is quite restricted. While it can charge up to 3 devices simultaneously, its limited to just 5W cordless charging– the slowest basic speed– for almost any device. Nomad and Aira are only supporting a single exception, offering quick charging speeds of 7.5 W for iPhones (and only iPhones). If you have a Samsung Galaxy Note 20, a OnePlus 8 Pro, or any other gadget, youre stuck without any fast charging at all.
The leather and aluminum battery charger is inconspicuous on a nightstand or desk.
Just 5W charging for anything other than an iPhone.
That might look like a lot of effort, however the innovation works actually well. Theres no searching for a “sweet area” when placing gadgets on the Base Station Pro– simply drop your phone, earphone case, or whatever other Qi gadget youre charging on the leather surface, and itll charge. As I noted in my Zens review, its not a transformation as much as it is the manner in which cordless charging must constantly have worked.
Photography by Chaim Gartenberg/ The Verge.
When navigating around multiple phones, theres no picky positioning required– something that Ive experienced as a particular problem with Nomads previous Base Station. In my week of screening, the Base Station Pro did even better than the Zens Liberty, which had the periodic dropout when positioning gadgets on the sides of the pad. (Aira and Nomad likewise appear to have ironed out the various hardware and software problems that my associate Ashley Carman experienced when attempting a prototype at CES previously this year, too.).
The Nomad Base Station Pro is an early sneak peek of the future of cordless charging– but until the rate comes down and the charging speeds go up, that future isnt here.
From the outside, the Base Station Pro appears like a bigger version of the businesss existing Base Station cordless battery charger, with the very same slim profile, smooth black leather, and gray aluminum. The only port is a USB-C plug on the back for power, with three status LEDs on the front that indicate when a gadget is charging.
The Base Station Pro can only fast-charge iPhones.
With the Base Station Pro, its virtually impossible to miss when placing your phone down, unless its hanging so far off the pad that the charging coil isnt over the leather charging surface anymore.
The method that wireless charging should constantly have actually worked.
Things are very various on the within, though: rather of the standard 3 copper charging coils, the Base Station Pro has 18 and utilizes Airas FreePower wireless charging innovation. While Nomad is supplying the (excellent-looking) features, its Airas technology on the inside that makes the Base Station Pro various from almost every other cordless battery charger out there.
That limitation is particularly disappointing to see provided the Base Station Pros rate: $229, more than twice as much as the initial $99 Base Station (which used faster 10W crediting boot). For contrast, the Zens Liberty, the other major multi-coil battery charger readily available, costs $169.99, and while it can just charge 2 devices to the Base Station Pros 3, it can support up to 15W cordless charging and offers a USB-A port for an optional Apple Watch charger or a standard cable for charging things that do not support Qi.
The embedded coils on the Aira FreePower circuit board inside the Base Station Pro (left), standard charging coils on the initial Base Station (best). Theres no hunting for a “sweet area” when putting gadgets on the Base Station Pro– just drop your phone, earphone case, or whatever other Qi gadget youre charging on the leather surface, and itll charge. The problem is that while the Base Station Pro makes the “wireless” part a breeze, the real “charging” is pretty limited. While it can charge up to 3 gadgets at as soon as, its restricted to just 5W cordless charging– the slowest standard speed– for practically any device. If you have a Samsung Galaxy Note 20, a OnePlus 8 Pro, or any other gadget, youre stuck without any fast charging at all.
The ingrained coils on the Aira FreePower circuit board inside the Base Station Pro (left), basic charging coils on the original Base Station (ideal). [Images: Nomad/ Aira]
The key difference is that the Base Station Pro does not utilize traditional coils, like many other wireless chargers (consisting of Nomads multi-coil rival, the Zens Liberty). Aira says that the numerous coils also enable for a much better charging connection that exactly aligns with a devices own coil, resulting in less squandered energy, and therefore, less excess heat.
The LED indication lights instantly dim after a few seconds.
