TechRadar Verdict
The Anker MagGo series has a lot to offer and while pricey in some scenarios, the quality and thought process in creating the products really shows and that's what keeps Anker's accessories ahead of the pack.
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As an Apple iPhone user, the Anker MagGo series caught my eye as soon as I saw them pop-up on social media. From a power bank to car holders, desk stands and so much more, there's a lot to check out.
What is MagSafe?
Introduced with the iPhone 12 series, MagSafe is Apple's proprietary wireless charging technology. MagSafe consists of a strong magnet under the back case of an iPhone from the 12 or 13 series.
Mounted to the back of the phone, while the main aim of the technology is to enable easy wireless charging on iPhones, the strong magnets also bring about potential for accessories which can use the magnets to their advantage.
Anker 610 Phone Grip
The Anker 610 is a simply magnetic phone grip which is super slim, easy to use and has a pretty strong grip on the phone. The magnet is rated to hold up to 800gm of weight, which equates to about 4 iPhone 12 devices. The ring works with iPhone's MagSafe cases too.
The ring on the holder is pretty smooth and should fit most fingers. It rotates 360 degrees and can be flipped up to 125 degrees. This enables you to have the phone tilted upwards on a table facing you in portrait position for easy scrolling or standing tall when in landscape mode to watch a video.
The Anker 610 is an innovative product and does serve a purpose but it comes with a few cons. For example, while it's great that the magnetic ring stick on nice and firm, in positions such as me holding the phone (in this case an iPhone 13 Pro Max) with my whole hand, the magnet does tend to come off.
Another little con is the ring itself. Since the ring and the magnet are concentric circles, pulling out the ring itself can be a bit of a nuisance specially when you don't have longer nails.
Nit-picking aside, the Anker 610 does do everything asked from it when in use. It's versatile, provides an easier way to hold the phone and at AED 79 is extremely affordable.
Anker 623 Wireless Charger
With the launch of Apple's magnetic MagSafe charging system came a flurry of chargers from third-party manufacturers. While most of them have a generically similar shape and size, the Anker 623 comes in with a unique soda-can like shape.
While tiny, the charger has some weight to it and can hold its own even with devices on it. When you first look at the charger, you can visibly see the MagSafe-compatible wireless charging pad on top. Tilt this pad 60 degrees and you find another surface to charge AirPods or any earbuds with Qi charging.
Inside the box, you also find a small 20W Anker PD wall charger and a 1.5m USB type-C cable matching the colour of your charger. A really nice touch on the charger is the non-slip texture on the bottom of the charger as well as an LED light which surrounds it. The light gives you an idea of the charge level even when the display of the phone is not visible to you.
One thing I instantly appreciated about the charger was its immensely small footprint. The 60 degree flip of the charging pad, lets you use keep your phone at an angle you prefer (as long as there aren't earbuds charging on the pad behind).
Speaking of the charger for the earbuds, a small annoyance is that when you have a phone like the iPhone 13 Pro Max, access to the buds can be a bit of a stretch.
At AED 399, the charger isn't badly priced. Far cheaper than Apple's own AED 529 MagSafe charger and at par with Belkin's BoostCharge Pro, the Anker 623 looks better than the competition and takes up much lesser space.
Anker 613 Car Charging Mount
Coming in at AED 349, the Anker 613 is definitely one of the more expensive offerings in the market as far as car chargers go. That being said it's not like Apple makes their own version, so you might as well get one that's reliable and from a proven brand.
My current car holder and charger setup is a AED 80 car holder and an AED 30 Apple car charging cable. Considering this, the ask for the Anker 613 is quite a bit. But there are quite a few pros to this setup.
Firstly, you car ends up looking so much neater. Not only is there just one cable which goes to the charger, Anker provides tools for cable management in the box itself. Secondly, the charger holds the phone in both landscape and portrait modes. Last but definitely not least, the Anker 613 allows zero fiddling when putting the phone on and taking it off the charger. One-handed placement on the MagSafe charger holds the device and a small pull takes it off.
The charger also allows for a 134 degree angle adjustment which makes it easy to adjust for different car setups. Thanks to this, there is a bit of wobble in the car holder while on the road but considering how cheaper models wobble, I can't really give the Anker 613 negative points for this one.
There are other cheaper MagSafe car holder options in the market like the Otterbox and Belkin Car Vent Mounts, but personally I've never liked placing anything on my car vents, so those just aren't options for me.
Anker 622 Magnetic Battery Pack
Another great application of Apple's MagSafe technology is a battery pack. While Apple's own device comes in at AED 419 for a 1460 mAh battery, the Anker 622 is 5000 mAh battery at just AED 299.
No cables, no extra bulk. Just a charger that snaps on the back of your phone and does its thing. Not just that, the USB type-C port on the charger is bi-directional. This means you can even charge another non-MagSafe device with a cable.
There's also a kickstand on the back of the charger, making it a stand to use your device vertically as well as horizontally for content consumption. The battery pack also works with Apple's MagSafe cases.
In the whole Anker MagGo series, this is by far my favourite product and I think it's a must have for anyone who needs to charge their device on the go. Whether you need some extra juice for calls or on an outdoor adventure, the Anker 622 would be my definite suggestion for iPhone 12/13 users.
Final Thoughts
If you use an iPhone 12 or 13 series device, the Anker MagGo series of accessories should definitely be on your radar. There is definitely something for everyone in the series.
We didn't get the check out the Anker 633 and 637 desk charging devices but the other four have really shown that you can be confident picking up something from this series.
