ESR CryoBoost 3-in-1 Magnetic 25W Charging Station (Qi2.2) review: compact and very fast

Macworld

At a glanceExpert's Rating

Pros

3-in-1 charging

Fast 25W for iPhone

Solid stand

Includes 50W wall charger

Cons

iPhone stand is not adjustable

Our Verdict
This is the fastest wireless charger we’ve tested in our real-world labs (so far) and this 25W version of the compact ESR 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station with CryoBoost remains a firm favorite.

Price When Reviewed
This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined

Best Pricing Today


Best Prices Today: ESR CryoBoost 3-in-1 Magnetic Charging Station (25W, Qi2.2)






Retailer


Price









Check




Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide






Product


Price




Price comparison from Backmarket



















ESR follows up its 15W Qi2 3-in-1 Charging Stations with a new Q12 25W (Qi 2.2) version that will shave some iPhone charging time off your schedule, while pepping up your Apple Watch and AirPods at the same time.

The popular 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Set was first available as a 7.5W MagSafe-compatible charger, then a faster 15W Qi2 version that was swiftly followed by a newer version boasting the company’s own CryoBoost cooling technology that pushed it to the top of our charging speed charts.

The company has now refined that speedy 3-in-1 charger with the 25W wireless standard alongside the temperature-controlling CryoBoost.




Simon Jary

Staying cool

The biggest efficiency-blocker in wireless charging is heat. If a device is too hot or too cold, wireless charging and indeed general battery performance is negatively affected—significantly enough that Apple will deny further charging until the iPhone has reduced in temperature.

Qi 2.2’s 25W maximum pushes this heat challenge to the fore, and all certified chargers require some level of cooling to help the charger maintain that level of power output.

ESR was one of the first to actively push cooling into its wireless chargers and so is well positioned to take some of the heat out of the 25W charging standard. Belkin uses something similar with its own ChillBoost tech being added to its rival UltraCharge Pro 3-in-1.




Simon Jary

ESR’s CryoBoost’s open duct system improves airflow and therefore cooling efficiency. ESR claims this can reduce connected device temperatures by 6.5°F, ensuring safer and more stable charging. It is meant to keep your phone below 93.9° F (34.4°C) during charging.

The charging pad is cooled by a fan, and ESR has reduced fan noise from 30dB to 25dB—don’t worry, you’ll barely hear it even if you put your ear right next to it. If you do need absolute silence there’s a button at the front that allows you to switch the fan off and on.




Simon Jary

Design

This 25W version retains the same classic slim 3-in-1 charging stand design as the 15W Qi2 model with the magnetic charging pad for iPhone raised 3 inches from the desk. At its base is a 5W Qi charging pad for your AirPods case.

The charger’s overall footprint is smaller than the previous model, measuring just 3.4 x 3.3 x 6.6 inches (8.6 x 8.4 x 16.8cm) and weighs 11oz (312g).




Take the detachable Apple Watch charging unit with you on your travels.Simon Jary

At the back of the iPhone charging pad is the 5W charging module for Apple Watch. This is officially Apple certified for Watch fast charging.

Handily, you can detach the Watch charger and take with you if you need to charge your Watch while away—and Watch users will know that the Apple device needs frequent charging. It can be connected to any USB-C charger or port—say one of your MacBook’s Thunderbolt ports.

On its own, the Watch charger unit weighs just 22g.

When carrying the Watch charging unit, remember to re-attach the easy-to-forget 3g lid to protect the USB-C connector.




Simon Jary

One negative about the design is that the phone-charging module is fixed and so isn’t adjustable in terms of tilting and angling. If you are happy with the set angle and don’t require further adjustment, this shouldn’t bother you, but if you are a phone fiddler you might want to look at a more adjustable stand such as the $129 Belkin UltraCharge Pro 3-in-1 that can be adjusted up to 70 degrees.

The ESR Charger ships with a powerful 50W USB-C wall charger and cable.

While the Qi2 version is available in black or white colors, for now the 25W model is in black only—and is on sale in just the U.S.

Performance

The 25W wireless charging tech requires ESR’s CryoBoost cooling, and in our tests the charger got an iPhone 16 Pro from 0% to 50% in just over half an hour, which is not too far off the time it would take if you plugged your iPhone directly into a wall charger via a USB-C cable.

In contrast a 15W wireless charger takes around 45 minutes to get a faded iPhone to 50%. The 15W CroBoost model of this charger was faster than average, measuring 40 minutes in our tests, but for the fastest speeds we recommend this 25W model to get you back to full power as fast as possible.

There wasn’t much to separate the 25W ESR 3-in-1 from the 25W Belkin 3-in-1. Both boast Qi 2.2 and active cooling, so this is as expected.

We test to 50% because charging slows down as the battery fills up—to protect the phone—so the best stage to look at is between 0% and 50%.

See our reviews and tests of the best MagSafe chargers for more options.




Simon Jary

Price

The 25W model of the ESR 3-in-1 CryoBoost Charger costs $119.99, a little cheaper than the Belkin UltraCharge Pro ($129.99/£79.99). The Belkin’s iPhone charging pad is more adjustable but a little lower to the desk and features a non-detachable Watch charger.

You can still buy the ESR 3-in-1 at plain Qi2’s 15W with CryoBoost for around $80 or less.

Check out more options in our best MagSafe charger and best Apple Watch charger roundups.

Should you buy the ESR 25W CryoBoost 3-in-1 Magnetic Charger?

This 25W version of the small-footprint ESR 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station with CryoBoost cooling technology is an upgrade on the 15W model with around 10 minutes cut off 0-50% charging time. That might not seem a lot but if you need power, you want it as fast as possible, right? If you use it only as a nightstand for charging while you sleep, you won’t need the extra speed boost—indeed a cheaper 7.5W wireless charger will do you just fine. But this is as fast a wireless charger as we’ve tested in our real-world labs and might save you precious moments when in a charging hurry.