Hands-on: Does this MagSafe Duo alternative solve the problems of Apple’s own?

When Apple released the Magsafe Duo back in December 2020, most people (including myself), thought it was a great idea. A MagSafe charger that could charge your iPhone and your Apple Watch in a slim, foldable, and portable design. It was, also, one of the few chargers that would support the 15W wireless fast charging for iPhones.

But for $129 all you got was the charger itself and a short, 1 meter, USB-C to lightning cable. Meaning, that if you wanted to get the full fast charging power from the MagSafe Duo you needed to buy a 30W charging brick from Apple, which will,now, run you $36 (there are more affordable, non-Apple, 30W chargers available). And then the final straw was, what if you travel with a 3rd device like AirPods or a secondary phone? You can only charge 2 devices at once, one being the Apple Watch, with the MagSafe Duo.

My new favorite travel charger

In steps the Zeera MegFold foldable wireless charger. I have been using this tri-fold charger as my one and only travel charging companion. It does everything you would need it to do in the same form factor as the MagSafe duo while also including a 3rd wireless charging pad for a 3rd device.

Zeera Megfold charging specs:

• Charge iPhone, Apple Watch & Airpods at once
• First charging panel charges up to 15W (7.5W for iPhones)
• Second charging panel charges up to 5W
• Apple Watch charger charges up to 5W
• Unfolds flat, can be folded into a stand, can be fully folded into the single charger
• Compatible with Qi-enabled device
• Powered by USB-C
• LED indicators lights to indicate which panel is charging

This charger goes with me everywhere I go, whether it’s a hotel room, the office, an airplane, and everything in between. I like to carry around one single charging brick and one USB-C cable when traveling, this trifold charger allows me to do that and avoid bringing the dreaded lighting cable.

A few things to consider are that it does not come with a charging brick (Zeera recommends a 20W PD charger or higher) and that it is not MagSafe certified, it is MagSafe compatibile. Meaning that the MagSafe panel only charges iPhones up to 7.5W in speed (which is more than enough for an overnight charge).

The Zeera MegFold is available from Zeera’s website for $49.99, $70 cheaper than Apple’s MagSafe Duo.

9to5mac’s take

Even though the MagSafe Duo is a great option for those that want to stick with Apple-certified accessories, the Zeera Megfold gives Apple users another, high-quality, option at a much more affordable price while providing additional charging capabilities.

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