USB car chargers are two a penny these days. They can be fairly cheap and most commonly have at least two 2.4A USB ports. However with more powerful smartphones releasing each year, the demand for more power is growing in order to charge their ever increasing battery capacities. We are slowly beginning to see the terminology ‘QC3.0’ become more common with wall charging devices and these are slowly starting to also appear in the car.
The Xiaomi Car QC 3.0 Fast Charger is once such device. It not only looks sleek and sophisticated, but it also packs two QC 3.0 USB ports that have a combined output of 36W, and it also has a USB Type-C/Thunderbolt 3 extension port on the side to carry through the fast 36W.
Packaged in a brushed silver casing, the Xiaomi QC 3.0 USB Fast Charger is a nice looking and well built charger. On top is a clear ring that wraps itself around the top of the charger and it also softly illuminates when it is powered – making it easier to locate in your centre console at night.
Charging your smartphone or devices is done by simply plugging it into either of the top two QC 3.0 USB ports and it will charge your devices at up to 36W. This power is shared if two devices are charging through both ports, so this power is split if two power hungry devices are charging simultaneously.
As we slowly transition our devices over to the new USB Type-C connection, with more realising each year, it is great to see this connection type slowly appearing on charging devices such as this one. By simply removing the rubber cover on the side, it was a surprise for me to see a USB Type-C male port instead of a female that you could simply plug into. A female to male USB Type-C extension cable will be needed if you wish to ‘extend’ the charging power of the Xiaomi. Sadly no such cable is supplied, and wth this extension port surround being fairly small in size, finding a suitable USB Type-C extension cable could prove to be a challenge.
So if you’re looking for a powerful dual QC 3.0 fast charger with the ability to extend its charge via its discrete USB Type-C extension port; at a retail price of just £10.89 ($13.86 USD) from GearBest.com, I would recommend you put the Xiaomi QC 3.0 Fast Charger on your list of potential buys.
