If you’re anything like me, you do a fair bit of travelling. There are plenty of travel chargers that you can chuck in a backpack, but they’re all larger than your typical plug. More than that, you’ll usually need a cable, which can get tangled up in your bag. But this new charging brick can juice up your smartphone without any cables or recharging.
Twelve South’s new PowerBug is a charging brick that doubles as a MagSafe charger. The concept is brilliantly simple: plug it into a wall and drop your iPhone onto the front.
There are no cables, no battery to charge, no docking – just magnetic charging directly from the wall. You can stick your phone on the charger in portrait or landscape mode, with support for StandBy mode in iOS. It’s perfect for checking recipes in the kitchen, scrolling while brushing your teeth, or pretending you’re listening on a FaceTime call.
What makes PowerBug particularly clever, though, is how travel-friendly it is. This isn’t one of those chunky adapters that eats up half your backpack. It folds flat, with stowable prongs, so it’s ideal for slipping into a carry-on or your “tech bits” backpack pouch. Whether you’re crowding around an outlet in a grimy airport lounge or contorting under the seat in front of you on a long-haul flight, this charger doesn’t get in the way.
Plus, while your iPhone’s busy wirelessly charging at 15W, a USB-C port on the bottom can pump out up to 35W to top up a second device. If you’re using this in the kitchen, for example, you could plug your HomePod mini into the PowerBug.
It comes in two colours – Slate and Dune – both of which are sleek and suave. It’s polished enough to leave out in plain sight, which is saying something for a plug. PowerBug is available now for $50/£50/€60 directly from the brand. You can get versions tailored for US, UK, and EU outlets.
