This week for Tech Yeah, I have an item that is pretty cool, but also laughably expensive. Sorry Anker, but jeez. What we're looking at here is the Powerwave Go. This is an appropriately named device because this is a wireless charging stand that can charge your phone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, and yes specifically the Apple Watch. Now that I have and am using an apple watch, this device is a lot more useful for me. So let's break it all down.
The smallest charging area is a little nook that is designed for AirPods. Realistically any wireless earbuds that will fit here can charge, but obviously, the device design dictates that it's for AirPods. I can charge the TCL Moveaudio s600's on here, but ironically, I cannot charge Ankers own Soundcore Liberty 2 Pros or Liberty 3 Pros. So that's the little nook thing in the stand, but the Anker Powerwave Go is appropriately named because the charging stands for the phone and for the watch are detachable modules that you can take with you. So if you're running out and your watch is a little low, just grab the charger and take it with you. It's like a little charging puck with a USB-C connector on it.
Similarly, the charging stand for the phone is a 10,000mah battery that you can just pop off the dock and take with you. The battery has built-in wireless charging, obviously, but also a USB-C plug at the bottom of it. The charging puck for the watch does not have a built-in battery, but you can plug the puck into the end of the battery and charge your watch and your phone at the same time. Anker calls this Travel mode. Also, you can plug the puck into any USB-C port on your computer, and charge your watch that way, and Anker calls that Desktop mode.
Plus when the battery is in the base, it's a nice charging stand that holds your phone at a good angle for viewing incoming notifications and the like. The power station comes with an Anker 20W power delivery charging plug for powering the station.
The battery is a typical battery. It's about the size and depth of a phone, so it's not terribly cumbersome. As I mentioned it has a single USB C port on the bottom and a power button with four charge indicators on the side. The top is a grippy textured covering so that your phone doesn't slide off. The wireless charging is good up to 5mm so you don't have to take your case off your phone to get it to charge.
One quirk I noticed with the charging stand for my phone is when I set my phone on it, it didn't always start charging right away. I sometimes had to futz with the battery or the power button on the battery to get the lights on the side to turn on in which case charging would commence. I asked Anker about that, and haven't gotten a response yet. So we'll just shrug and move on. An additional bonus for the stand is because the battery is detachable, this stand folds down and fits into luggage quite nicely, so I definitely appreciate that.
Now we get to the ouch part - this stand retails for 179.99 and just wow. That's a lot of cheese for a charging stand. Even one that is very convenient and configurable like this one. Let me just tell you, folks, I love this stand and I've used it every day for the past three or four weeks. I've had real-life scenarios where I need to grab the battery on the go, secure in the knowledge that it was charged and ready. But $179 is a lot to ask for that. There Is no shortage of three-device wireless charging stands out there and Anker is one of the best at charging tech, no doubt, but that is a commanding price tag.
Is it worth it? I don't think so to be honest. There is a lot of convenience built into this device, but I don't think it's that much convenience. Really the only reason I bring this up on tech yeah is because of all that convenience, it really is super cool to be able to do all of that with one gadget, but yeah, the price is ouchtown. That being said, there is a link to this below and if you pick one up you'll be helping out the show and you'll have my thanks.
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