Which is the best wireless car charger for iPhone? I now have the answer because I went through several awful car chargers from Amazon — and I finally found a good one.
Filtering Amazon results to "Avg. Customer Review," which implies that the top listings feature the highest-rated products, I purchased two car chargers that ended up being duds.
One had an adjustable arm that, within weeks of purchase, disassembled itself beyond repair. One day, it clutched my iPhone 14 Plus too tightly, and while trying to free my device from its grasp, it broke apart.
I also purchased a car charger with a "sticky pad." After a month, the stickiness wore off and the car charger fell off the dashboard, taking my iPhone 14 Plus with it. Mind you, these were top-rated car chargers from Amazon. However, a stroke of luck hit me and I was asked to review the Velox Mini Qi2 wireless car charger — my prayers have been answered.
iOttie Velox Mini Qi2 wireless car charger: price and specs
You can find the Velox Mini Qi2 wireless car charger for $49 at Amazon.
iOttie Velox Mini Qi2 wireless car chargerIt delivers charging speeds of up to 15W for Qi2-compatible devices. For non-Qi2 devices, expect charging speeds of up to 7.5W.
So what, exactly, does Qi2 (pronounced chee-two) mean? Well, before we dive into Qi2, let's discuss the Qi standard first.
What is Qi2?
Qi debuted in 2010, as iOttie explains it. This wireless charging standard allowed people to charge their phones on Qi charging pads (as opposed to shoving USB and Lightning connectors into ports).
In 2020, Apple said "Hold my beer" and introduced MagSafe, a charging tech that makes it easy for users to properly align their iPhones, packed with built-in magnets, with wireless charging pads. This proper alignment means less energy loss and improved charging speeds.
This is all great and dandy for iPhone users, but because MagSafe is an Apple-exclusive technology, Android users were left out of the fun.
However, in 2022, the Wireless Power Consortium (the folks behind Qi) collaborated with Apple for the new Qi2 standard, a technology that basically merges MagSafe and Qi into one.
In other words, you can now get wireless charging and magnetic alignment with Qi2 via third-party sellers.
Which phones are compatible with the iOttie Velox Mini Qi2 wireless car charger?
According to an iOttie rep, the Velox Mini Qi2 wireless car charger is compatible with the following phones:
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- IPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
This means that, with these phones, you can get the max speed of up to 15W via the Velox Mini Qi2 car charger.
And as it turns out, Qi2 is coming to the iPhone 12 series, too (e.g., iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max), thanks to a new iOS 17 software update. As such, you should get up to 15W with this series, too.
You may be wondering, "What about Android?" Android devices with Qi2 support aren't out yet, but they're expected to hit store shelves this fall. In the meantime, if you insist on using an Android device, you can make it work by using a MagSafe case (like this one I purchased for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra). Keep in mind, though, that charging speeds will be slower.
iOttie Velox Mini Qi2 wireless car charger: What I like
As mentioned at the outset, I've already gone through two car chargers this year, and both of them ended up being unusable within a month.
However, I've hit the 30-day mark and the iOttie Velox Mini Qi2 is still holding strong.
Easy attachment
There are several ways you can set up a car charger. Some use suction cups, others use sticky pads. In my experience, these have proven to be unsuccessful methods.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / MashableThe iOttie Velox Mini Qi2, on the other hand, is designed to be attached to the air vents. It has a lip that can be inserted into one of the slats, and voila, your car charger is ready to host your iPhone.
No assembly required
I want to simply take the car charger out of the box and attach it to the air vents — that's it.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / MashableI don't want to attach part A to part B nor twist things into place. I want easy installation, and fortunately for me, this iOttie wireless car charger was an exemplar of that. I removed it from the box, installed it into one of my air vent slats, and plugged the charging cable (which has a USB-C connector) to the appropriate port — and it was ready to rock and roll in seconds.
It rotates and swivels
The iOttie Velix Mini Qi2 wireless car charger comes equipped with a versatile ball joint, allowing me rotate, swivel and tilt my iPhone 14 Plus.
You can also rotate it landscape-wise, too, if it tickles your fancy.
Strong grip
Even after hitting bumps in the road and making sudden turns, my iPhone 14 Plus didn't budge on the iOttie wireless car charger.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / MashableKeep in mind that my iPhone 14 Plus doesn't have a case, so I have no experience with how well it handles protected devices.
iOttie Velox Mini Qi2 wireless car charger: What I don't like
After penny pinching for my first two failed car chargers (they were between $20 to $30), perhaps this isn't truly a con, but iOttie Velox Mini Qi2 isn't competitively priced.
Pricey
You can certainly find competitors that are cheaper than the iOttie Velox Mini Qi2. Shelling out nearly $50 feels steep. I mean, come on, it's just a wireless car charger, right?
However, I did skimp a bit on previous car chargers, refusing to pay more than $30. And as you already know, that didn't work out well for me.
iOttie Velox Mini Qi2 wireless car battery charging
To test this wireless car charger, with my iPhone 14 Plus at 0%, I placed it on the Velox Mini Qi2 at 3:12 p.m.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / MashableAt 3:48 p.m., I was blown away to see that it was already at 90% just 30 minutes later.
At 4:16 p.m., it reached 100%.
In other words, this iOttie Qi2 wireless car charger took 64 minutes to fully charge my iPhone 14 Plus. Not bad at all!
Is the iOttie Velox Mini Qi2 wireless car charger worth it?
I don't love the price, but knowing that I have a sturdy, durable car charger that won't fall apart in a few weeks is always worth the splurge.
Plus, the magnets on this bad boy are damn-near herculean. Even with anxiety-inducing bumps and serves, the iOttie Velox Mini Qi2 isn't going anywhere. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone who wants a wireless car charger that won't give out on them in just a few weeks.
So yes, the iOttie Velox Mini Qi2 wireless car charger is definitely worth it.
