Wireless charging is nothing new to most of you. Nokia, Motorola and yes even Blackberry users have had the pleasure of this luxury for a few years now. My years of fidelity to Apple had one caveat, cords were a way of life. I was either looking for one, tripping over one, always being asked for one (sometimes by every iPhone user within a 6-mile radius) or buying a replacement for one. It wasn’t until Apple finally boarded the wireless charging train that I realized just how much of a nuisance charging cables are. Before my iPhone 8, I did not need a Qi charger nor did I have an opinion on any of the available offerings. Luckily, when Apple rolls out a new feature, it becomes the mobile standard, and it seems every mobile accessories company automagically has countless stylish options available. Witti’s Candi Wireless Charging Station stands out as one of the fashionable tech options.
Out the Box
Though my previous experience with Qi chargers was limited one noticeable difference when I opened the Candi is that instead of laying flat on the table it stands right side up, doubling as a stand. You can easily use the phone as a second screen or watch videos while the phone charges. Watch videos and easily see alerts at a glance. I can also remove the Type-C cable and merely use the stand. It is 170 grams and 4.5×4.5×2.2 inches making it very lightweight and easily portable. The charging plate itself is circular with a protruding lip. A 3-second blue LED indicator light to lets you know your phone is now charging. Won’t disturb your sleep.
Fast Charging
Candi is fast charging and delivers up to 10W to your phone. iPhone has supported 7.5W since the iOS 11.2 update. While shopping around for a Qi wireless standard charger, I noticed 7.5W seems to be the norm, and I also came across a few 5W. Just seeing these numbers meant nothing to me what mattered was, does it charge fast or not? The vast difference in pricing between Candi and other big name chargers did make me skeptical. They say you get what you pay for and Candi is barely $30. So is it money well spent? It doesn’t come with an adapter you can use via the USB cable provider, but if you have other adapters at home you can use the company recommends powering Candi with a Qualcomm 3.0 fast charge adapter or the phones original adapter for optimal charging. Anything less than 5V 2A may cause charging errors.
My Experience
When it comes to iPhones, one thing I’ve learned is an accessory can work today, if you’re lucky, and be a total waste of money by the end of the week. For testing for this review, I let my phone completely die. When I checked my phone at 30 minutes, it was 47% charged. It took about 1 hour 15 minutes to reach 100%. I used the phone intermittently while it was charging and I didn’t plug it into an adapter in the wall. I never removed it from the charger, but I played a few rounds of words with friends and did some light texting. My phone would never charge this fast with a lightning cable. I’ve noticed chargers that use USB-C type cords tend to charge a lot faster than using lightning or micro USB cords.
Witti is not a company I’ve heard a lot about and hadn’t worked with before. So when they reached out and offered for me to review some of their products I didn’t have high expectations and for $29.99 I felt like if it works beyond a week awesome! I was pleasantly surprised at the aesthetic and craftsmanship. Given the dimensions and the light weight of Candi, it is not flimsy at all and doesn’t look out of place among my Apple devices. Candi is not exclusively for the iPhone it supports any smartphone using qi wireless charging. I will be adding this to my Christmas list to give out as gifts, and for that price, I won’t be breaking the bank.
