Qi wireless charging is all the rage at the moment, since the iPhone 8 and iPhone X now supports the Qi wireless standard of charging. There are two types of desktop wireless chargers: flat/base chargers and vertical stand chargers.
The latter is the type I mostly prefer on the desktop or nightstand. It allows for easy glance-ability when any push notifications land on your lock screen, and if you’re like me and you have an iPhone X with Face ID, then unlocking the device is much more convenient to achieve with a vertical stand instead of leaning over or picking your iPhone X up from a flat/base charger.
The last wireless charging stand I reviewed was good, but there were a few niggles that could have been made it great. The black plastic just didn’t fit the decor of my office or nightstand environment either. So when I saw the $24.18 (£18.28) A8 Wood Qi 10W Wireless Fast Charger from GearBest.com, with its wooden effect ABS material, I thought it looked the part and I just had to check it out. Could this wireless charger be the one…?
Out the rather generic brown looking box, I was already in love with the wood-effect of the A8. Close up and in the flesh it does look a little plastic looking, but from afar it does look the part, you couldn’t tell it was plastic. The weight of the A8 is a little heavier than the other wireless stand I reviewed, but it is still not quite heavy enough; it is still easy to move it when placing or removing your iPhone from it. A little weight could be easily stuck to the rear portion of the stand if needed, but it unless you find a fancy looking weight, it could ruin the otherwise clean and natural look of this stand.
Unlike most wireless stands, the USB cable is integrated into the base of the A8. It is white in colour, so it continues the clean and natural aesthetics of the whole product – I am glad it wasn’t black! The cable is a generous 1.10 meters in length, which is long enough to be plugged into a compatible USB adapter – sold separately.
If you wish to take advantage of this stand’s fast charging functionality, it is recommended that you plug the A8’s USB cable into a decent 5v 2.1A+ or QC 3.0 wall adapter powerful enough to give it the juice it needs to max out its 10W charging ability. If you opt for a less powerful adapter, this wireless charger will charge your device at 5W, which is still enough to charge your iPhone overnight, but maybe not enough for the quick ‘top-up’ during the day.
Charging my iPhone X at 10W didn’t create any heat from the business end of the stand. Rotating our smartphone to a landscape orientation to continue charging the device is also possible, with the A8 allowing you to charge your phone whilst watching movies on Netflix for example. There is a tiny little blue LED hidden on the front of the A8’s base, which can be distracting if you plan on using this as a nightstand, however this LED turns off after 3 minutes to not disturb you any further, which is a nice touch that other makers should adopt too.
Overall, the A8 Qi Wireless Mobile Phone Fast Charger is a great wireless stand that not only looks the part on any desktop or nightstand, it’s price doesn’t break the bank, and it delivers fast wireless 10W charging for your iPhone 8 or iPhone X. So if you’re after a natural, clean looking wireless stand, I would definitely consider the A8 Wireless Charger in your short list.
