Nomad Stand One Max Magsafe charger review

This is my quick review about the Nomad Stand One Max wireless Magsafe charger. This review will be quite quick because this is one of those products that just work. No hassle, no complicated settings and no worries. Just pop your phone, Apple Watch or AirPods charging case on the charger and you’re charging.

What is the Stand One Max?

The Nomad Stand One Max is a wireless, Magsafe compatible, 3-in-1 charger for your (i)Phone, Apple Watch and AirPods made by Nomad. It offers a simple all in one solution, just one USB-C cable to connect to your power adapter to charge all your devices in one go. I love these all in one solutions since it removes a lot of clutter from your nightstand. In stead of multiple chargers and wires going across your night stand you just have one: simple and clean.

The Phone charging pad on the Nomad Stand One Max is Magsafe compatible so works with any modern iPhone. But the best news is that the new Qi2 charging standard is based on Apple’s Magsafe. That means the Stand One Max should also be able to charge new Android phones that are Qi2 compliant.

You may already know Nomad from the many other high end accessories for phones, laptops or your desk they make. They have many accessories made especially for Apple products, but also have products for Google or Samsung or other brands. One thing all Nomad products have in common is the high quality and clean and beautiful design. I’ve reviewed the Nomad Titanium Band for the Apple Watch before and I’m still very happy with that.

Price

The Nomad Stand One Max isn’t the cheapest 3-in-1 wireless charger out there. It costs 200 euro’s, which is a lot of money. But that money does buy you a well built charger from a reputable company. There are many cheaper options, mainly from one of the many Chinese marketplaces. But I’m always a little hesitant to try those.

If you are lucky you can buy a really nice product for not too much money from a Chinese manufacturer. But there are also a lot of cheaply made and unreliable products for sale. And with a charger the risk of buying an inferior product is double in my opinion. You could buy a device that could damage your phone or Apple Watch. Since I’m charging about 2000 euro’s worth of electronics on this charger I’d rather pay a little more to be sure it will work as intended with my precious phone and watch.

But the other thing that is even more important is safety. In my case this charger is on my nightstand right next to my bed and on the same floor where my kids sleep. I don’t even want to think about saving a few Euro’s by buying a cheap charger and having it burst in to flames at night. That alone will keep me away from cheap no-name products. I want products sold by a reputable company that will do all it can to keep me safe and protect their brand by selling wel designed and tested products.

Build of the Stand One Max

The Nomad Stand One Max comes in a luxurious box that has somewhat of an Apple feel to it. The presentation of the product in the box is fantastic. I know this is a product review and not a box review. But a nice box gives me the feeling people have put love and care in to a product. And that is certainly true for this Nomad product.

When you take the Stand One Max out of the box the first thing you’ll notice is the significant weight. It is quite heavy and you feel that the steel and glass are real, not plastic made to look like the real thing. An extra advantage of the weight is that the stand is very stable and won’t tip over, even when are a little rough when placing you phone on it. The bottom of the stand has a grippy rubberised coating that, combined with the weight, makes sure the charger doesn’t slide across the table. This might be a simple thing but in daily use it makes all the difference.

The front of the Phone pad is covered in black glass and the charging pads for the phone and Apple Watch are made of high quality white plastics. The arm that holds the Apple Watch charging pad is made of chromed metal and feels very sturdy. You can easily pick up the charger by this small arm with no worries it would break off or get damaged.

The charger isn’t collapsable so it probably isn’t the best choice for travelling. This is best for putting on your night stand or desk and keeping it there.

Power

The USB-C to C power cable that comes with the Stand One Max is 2 meters long and can be detached from the charger. That is a big plus, you can easily swap it out for a longer or shorter cable. And when you damage the cable you can just replace it without having to throw away the whole charger. The cable itself is braided, a little stiff but very durable.

The Stand One Max doesn’t come with an USB-C power adapter. For it to work at maximum speed you need a 30W power adapter. The one I’ve used for this review is a standard Apple USB-C 20W charger and that works fine, albeit a little slower.

When you connect the Stand One Max to a 30W power adapter you’ll be able to charge your phone with up to 15W. It also offers fast charging for the newer Apple Watches. And it can simultaneously charge your AirPods (when you have a wireless charging case of course, which I don’t have) with up to 5W.

Using the Stand One Max

This is going to be quick and easy:

• Step 1: plug the Stand One Max in to a compatible 30W power adapter
• Step 2: put you phone, Apple Watch or AirPods case on the charger
• Step 3: there is no step 3

Just kidding, but it is that simple. There are no buttons, no settings, no annoying LED’s noting. It just works.

Speed-wise I can’t say much about the full ability of the Nomad Stand One Max since I’m using a 20W Apple USB-C adapter, while Nomad advises to use a 30W adapter. But still; charging my iPhone is just as quick as using my original Apple Magsafe charger. So when my phone is down to 20% and I throw it on the charger while taking a quick shower I’m easily back up to 60+% and good to get through an other day.

The Apple Watch charger works with fast charging. It is also very quick. I can go from completely drained to 80+ in about 30-40 minutes.

Conclusion

Im very happy with the Nomad Stand One Max. I love the clean and simple design with no unnecessary LED’s or buttons. I love that I only have one cable to charge up to three devices at once. I love the durable build with glass and real metal and the weight it has got. And I love that it just works.

The look and feel are just what you may expect from Nomad: top notch. So while the Nomad Stand One Max is expensive, I think you do get what you pay for: A high quality, good looking, reliable and safe wireless charger.