Earlier this month, popular accessory maker Nomad unveiled its latest premium wireless charger: the Base Station Stand. Featuring an aluminum and leather design, the Base Station Stand packs a premium charging experience with two 10W charging coils, USB-C, and more.
Design
The new Base Station Stand is largely an updated version of the Wireless Travel Stand unveiled by Nomad in 2018, but with a few key differences. One of the biggest differences is design. Whereas the Travel Stand was a two-piece contraption that could switch between a charging stand and a charging pad.
The new Base Station Stand is made from a single piece of aluminum with leather accents. You lose out on the versatility of the two-piece design offered by the Wireless Travel Stand, but the sturdiness of the single-piece of metal design is very sleek.
The leather accents of the Base Station Stand ensure that your iPhone or AirPods are resting on a soft cushion. There’s also anti-slip padding on the bottom to hold it steady, which is actually very useful if you’re regularly picking up a larger device like the iPhone 11 Pro Max. There’s also a small LED indicator on the front that lights up when charging.
I’ve written before about why I prefer wireless charging stands over wireless charging mats/pads, especially on my desk. Using a wireless charging stand brings several benefits for use with Face ID. You can see your notifications at a glance, and interact with you iPhone without having to pick it up off a charging mat.
The design is one of the clear differentiators between the Nomad Base Station Stand and other wireless chargers on the market. It’s premium and sturdy, but you do lose some of the versatility offered by the travel-oriented Wireless Stand from 2018.
USB-C
The Base Station Stand is powered by USB-C, which is a tremendous upgrade over the Wireless Travel Stand’s proprietary power cable and power brick. Thanks to USB-C support, the Base Station Stand can easily be powered via the USB-C cables you already have for your other devices and accessories.
In the box, Nomad includes a 2 meter USB-C to USB-A braided charging cable, as well as an 18W USB-A wall adapter with US, UK, and EU plugs. Ideally, we would have liked to see Nomad include a USB-C wall adapter here as well.
Nonetheless, despite the inclusion of a USB-A wall plug and cable, the Nomad Base Station Stand’s USB-C port is a major upgrade over the proprietary cable used by the 2018 model.
Power
The most important aspect of the Nomad Base Station Stand is its wireless charging power. One key factor when picking a wireless charger is whether or not it has one coil or two coils. Nomad’s original charging stand featured a one-coil system which was somewhat finicky and required you to place your iPhone directly on the right spot.
This year, Nomad’s Base Station Stand packs a two-coil wireless charging surface that can provide up to 10W of power. This means it supports the 7.5W fast charging capabilities of the iPhone, and you can place your iPhone either vertically or horizontally on the stand. And because of the two-coil design, there’s no need to find the “perfect” spot to place your phone.
The Base Station Stand also supports AirPods and AirPods Pro. AirPods Pro have to be rotated vertically, but they charge without issue and I didn’t have any issues casually sitting the AirPods on the charger, but missing the Qi coil.
The ball is really in Apple’s court to take the iPhone’s wireless charging capacities to the next level. The iPhone is capped at 7.5W, but many Android devices can reach as high as 15W. Nomad’s Base Station Stand is perfect for iPhones as they are today, but I’d really like Apple to increase wireless charging speeds at some point soon.
Wrap-up
The Nomad Base Station Stand is my favorite wireless charging stand I’ve used so far. Previously, I was a big fan of the Logitech Powered, but the AirPods support added by Nomad sets it apart from the competition.
Of course, the premium design and features come at a price. The Nomad Base Station Stand is available from Nomad’s website now for $99.95. That’s more expensive than other wireless chargers, but you do get the aluminum and leather design, USB-C support, and AirPods support.
What’s your current wireless charging setup? What do you think of Nomad’s newest Base Station Stand? Let us know down in the comments!
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