A sleek alternative charging station: Belkin Boost Charge Pro 2-in-1 review

At last, a charging dock that doesn’t come in the usual black or white with a bit of metal. I’m already grateful to Belkin for that alone. The Boost Charge Pro 2-in-1 is available in sand and dark grey.

I tested the sand version, continuously using it over the last few weeks. The device, just eight centimetres tall, is definitely an eye-catcher. It reminds me of a jam jar with a lid that’s clearly too thick.

The Belkin design team has done a fabulous job. Not only is the charging station itself beige, but the power plug and cable are colour-coordinated too. Since the appliance can be placed in a living room or bedroom, the fabric sheathing of the cable also matches the successful overall design.

As a tech enthusiast, two things strike me as negatives. First, the cable is permanently connected to the charging station and can’t be changed. Better hope its 1.50 metres are long enough to reach your desired socket. And secondly, the mains plug is so thick that only flat plugs will fit into any remaining neighbouring sockets in a typical Swiss three-pin socket system.

Still, you could always just plug the USB-C end of the cable into an alternative wall charger or a live port on a monitor or computer.

How much current flows?

Can this beauty impress in terms of its charging performance too? In short: yes, it can. First of all, it complies with the strict EU Ecodesign Directive and consumes the exact maximum permissible 0.5 watts in standby mode. If the Belkin device is permanently connected to your power supply, it’ll add around three and a half kilowatt hours per year to your electricity bill.

More current flows while charging, up to 15 watts on an iPhone thanks to the Qi2 standard. Belkin has obtained Apple certification for charging Apple Watches, enabling the maximum 5 watts.

For my practical test, I used the Belkin station for around 100 charging runs with two iPhone models (14 Pro Max and 13) as well as the Apple Watch Series 9 and 10 models. My findings:

• The latest Apple Watch and the previous model charge as quickly as with an original Apple charging cable, i.e. well over 60 per cent in 30 minutes with a low power level at the start of charging.
• The fat iPhone 14 Pro Max recharges almost 30 per cent in half an hour on the magnetic dock, starting at a rather low power level around 20 per cent.

Yes, it’s slow even for an iPhone. A cable would be faster. But that’s not Belkin’s fault. Induction charging is simply less efficient. Only about half of the power goes into the battery, the other half generates heat. During charging, the power meter says the charger’s drawing 22 watts from the socket. The difference is lost.

Beautiful – but is it practical?

Once the jam jar charger is in its place, it’ll stay there. At 450 grammes, it’s pretty stable, and a rubberised underside prevents it from slipping around. Sometimes I like to put it in a new place, the surface just feels so nice. Time will tell how the Soft Touch coating copes with UV light, or if it’ll become greasy or sticky.

The iPhone is placed on the MagSafe dock. I can tilt the lid up to 70 degrees with a hinge, and my iPhone fits on in both landscape and portrait format.

The Apple Watch is located on the back. At around five centimetres tall, the puck protrudes from the base like a small springboard. Depending on where you place the Belkin station, this can be somewhat impractical since it’ll be difficult to see the display.

By the way, if you want to charge your Airpods, you can do so too. Just place the case on the watch puck or use the MagSafe surface.

I’m glad Belkin hasn’t ruined this successful design with an LED status light. Luckily, there’s none to be found. Some people may miss it, since there’s no flash indicating charging is actually happening. I’m not one of them. When in doubt, a quick glance at the display of the object charging is enough to reassure me.