Hardware

Published on March 1st, 2023 | by Chris O'Connor

PowerPic Mod Wireless Charger Review

I’ve been doing a bit more outdoor work than I used to of late and it seems as a result of that, my charging port on my phone has started acting up a bit. So it was quite handy when Twelve South had a lovely wireless charger to review.

But the PowerPic Mod Wireless Charger isn’t just any old wireless charger… it could pass as a bit of modern desktop art and indeed it can display art thanks to it’s ability to hold a 4X6 image (for the young folk reading… that’s about the size of a standard photo (and yes I know there were/are other sizes… but the 4X6 arguably became the standard).

So what do you get? Well there’s a rather nice sturdy stand that holds the block onto which you can place your image. That block also holds the wireless charging tech in a nice neat cut out. Two sample images are supplied along with a 5ft USB-C power cable… it does not, however, come with a USB-C power adapter (though chances are you have one of these… especially as most devices these days that use wireless charging, most likely came with a USB-C power adapter as part of their “standard” kit (it still would have been nice to have one in this set).

Charging works well… my phone has a “wallet” style holder around it… so an extra bit of material for the charging to work through and it seemed fine.

In terms of the photo frame feature… this is where I do actually have one little issue with the design. There are essentially two parts to the charging/frame. There is the portion that holds the actual wireless charging “pad” and there’s the cover that sandwiches your image between the two. The problem is with the magnets used to hold the front to the main portion, or more precisely it’s with the fact that the magnets aren’t glued in place (or at least mine weren’t). What this means is that if you don’t put your image in carefully (you can actually manage it in a way in which the magnets are basically held in place)… there’s a chance they may be pulled from their mounting (ie stuck to their corresponding magnet… as they are intended to do “through” the image). It’s a small thing… but given how fiddly it is to try and slot the magnets back into their tiny holes and how easy it is for them to be pulled out via the other magnets… it just would have been nice if they were permanently fixed in place.

But, otherwise, it’s a really nice frame that can sit on basically any desk and not look out of place or ugly. It’s extremely handy to be able to simply put your phone down on the stand and have it charge without having to search for your cable and make sure it’s sitting in correctly.

The ability to put your own photos in the frame is a lovely touch and as long as the magnets don’t come out of their housing, it’s a lovely neat way to add your own personal touch.

A worthy addition to any desktop (though perhaps wait to see if they do make an update with fixed magnets).

About the Author

Chris O'Connor Father of four, husband of one and all round oddity. Gaming at home since about 1982 with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Moving on to the more traditional PC genre in the years that followed with the classic Jump Joe and Alley Cat. CGA, EGA, VGA and beyond PC's have been central to my gaming but I've also enjoyed consoles and hand helds along the way (who remembers the Atari Lynx?). Would have been actor/film maker, jack of many trades master of none.

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