Nomad’s new Stand and Base charge slower but cost less

Want a fancy-looking charger for your MagSafe-compatible iPhone but don’t want to pay such a hefty premium price? Nomad is offering a new pair of chargers that do just that, and the key is cutting out Apple’s true MagSafe compatibility and its required Made for iPhone tax.

The $70 Nomad Base and $80 Nomad Stand launching today are nearly identical to the existing Base One and Stand One, but unlike those models, these new chargers are not officially “Made for MagSafe.” Instead, they are simply wireless Qi with magnets for alignment, and they top out at 7.5W rather than the 15W of true MagSafe, but the compromise on charging speed is made for the sake of your wallet.

Physically, the new Base and Stand chargers are the spitting image of their pricier MagSafe counterparts, except the white models are now all white (not silver and white) and the black models have a blacked-out charging pad instead of the contrasting white found on true MagSafe chargers. Does it matter in use? Not at all, but if you’re paying Nomad money, then you want top-notch fit and finish — and these black-on-black obelisks look great. It’s a fairly minor thing, but the black Base and Stand look much sleeker this way, and after trying both of them out for a short while, I prefer them to their MagSafe-equipped “One” versions.

Just about everything else from the new Stand One and Base One is here now in the new Stand and Base, including the same CNC-machined aluminum and glass build, the built-in two-meter / 6.6-foot USB-C cable (which I still wish were detachable), and the lack of an included USB-C power adapter. (You once again must provide your own with minimum 20W output.) But the $30 discount on these is substantial enough that I can forgive their single-use purpose and lean more toward enjoying them for their fine build quality and construction.

When you’re paying $100 or $110, it’s hard to ignore that these single-device chargers get close to the price of two-in-one and three-in-one alternatives. While, at $80 and $70, these new chargers still are not cheap, they don’t seem quite as much of a reckless expenditure — especially since the regular act of charging your phone overnight doesn’t really require 15W MagSafe speeds.

Plus, the all-black model is a nice upgrade in the looks department. If I’m going to spend $80 on a charger that trades some functionality for aesthetics, then let’s go all the way with the aesthetics. Saving money in the process is an even nicer perk.