MagSafe Battery Charger for iPhone 12 | Excitrus NitroCharge Pro 30

A few weeks ago Excitrus sent me a MagSafe-compatible battery charger for the iPhone 12. I wasn’t going to review it, but during the recent Texas power issues, I used it and was happy with the results. Excitrus sent the unit, but didn’t pay me for this review and didn’t see it before I posted. It’s the NitroCharge Pro 30, with a campaign on Indiegogo and expected ship dates this spring (the description has an affiliate link).

Design

It’s a 10,000 mAh battery pack with magnets built in to work with the iPhone 12’s MagSafe magnets. The front and back are a textile fabric that feels almost like denim or the original Pixel’s fabric cases, with a shiny band around the outside. On one end: a USB-C port for input and output, a USB-A port for charging and an LCD showing the charge capacity, plus a power button.

It charges like a standard Qi charger. Bring the phone to the coil area marked with a “+”, the magnets align and snap, and you press the side button to start charging (before or after you align). The magnets are strong enough to hold the phone, and you can use the phone while charging with no cords in the way. It isn’t limited to iPhones: as a standard Qi charger, it can charge other devices (phones, AirPods) at up to 10 W. Excitrus will include a metal plate to attach to any phone for magnetic placement, but they didn’t send me those, so I didn’t try them.

Using it in the outage

During repeated power outages in Texas last week, I needed to charge my iPhone 12 mini multiple times, and the NitroCharge was in my office. When we had power, I charged it with Excitrus’s 30 W charger; when we didn’t, I attached it to the back of my iPhone and kept using it.

Specs and charging test

• Up to 10 W Qi charging on many phones and 7.5 W wireless charging on the iPhone.
• The USB-A port is Quick Charge 3 compatible, up to 18 W.
• The USB-C port outputs up to 30 W with Power Delivery.
• It charges in about 1.5 hours with a 30 W charger (which Excitrus also sells).

Excitrus says it can charge an iPhone 12 up to 85% in 1 hour (the website doesn’t say wirelessly, but I believe that’s implied). I tested by draining my iPhone 12 mini to empty and charging it: 30% in about 35 minutes, 50% in about 70 minutes, and charging slowed after about 75%, taking over 4 hours to reach 85% while the NitroCharge dropped to about 50%. I didn’t use the phone, optimized battery charging was off and I used a MagSafe case, so their claim seems off (it could be via a cable). It shouldn’t be a deal-breaker: it charged my iPhone without cords and I could use the phone.

I also powered my MacBook Pro from the 30 W USB-C port, and it did charge, though I didn’t do a long-term test.

Verdict

It came in handy during the outages: it holds the iPhone 12 with MagSafe in the correct spot and lets you juice up without a cable in the way. Wireless charging will always be slower than wired, so assume faster speeds if you use a cable. I like charging and using the device without a cable, and the fabric finish and LCD feel nicely finished. If you want to pick one up, there’s a link to the Indiegogo page. If you’d rather have a desktop stand that also charges AirPods, see my video on the Satechi 2-in-1 magnetic charger.

Links

• NitroCharge Pro on Indiegogo (affiliate)
• Satechi 2-in-1 from Satechi
• Belkin Boost Charge Pro
• Sony A6400
• Primary Lens Sigma f1.4 16mm
• Secondary Lens Sony f2.8 16-55MM G
• Sennheiser MKH-416 mic
• Zoom F6 recorder
• Rode VideoMic NTG
• iPad Pro 12.9
• Used DJI OSMO 3 Gimbal for some shots
• Tascam DR-10L Audio Recorder with Lav