This roundup is part of This Year in Gear, a look back at the year’s most notable releases. To stay on top of all the latest product news, subscribe to our daily Dispatch newsletter.
Anker PowerPort Atom PD 4
Price: $100
From: amazon.com
“The PowerPort Atom PD 4 can fast charge multiple devices, with two USB-C and two USB-A ports (both which are decked out with high-speed charging technology) at the same time. And it only takes up one wall outlet. With this one adapter, you can charge your USB-C laptop, wireless headphones, smartphone and smartwatch. ”
EasyFinder
Price: Free
From: easyfinderapp.com
EasyFinder allows you to create your own keyboard shortcuts to open that specific app, document, folder or file directly. You can also change the name of said file or folder after the fact and EasyFinder will automatically keep track of those changes. You can also create custom lists of important files that can be quickly accessed via the desktop menu bar.
Mophie 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad
Price: $140
From: apple.com
“The Mophie 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad ($140) is specifically designed to your charge your Apple devices, and it’s only available on Apple’s website or brick-and-mortar stores. The charging pad is capable of wireless charging your iPhone at 7.5 watts, which is as fast as an iPhone can charge. There’s a dedicated cavity for your AirPods, so you can just slot the case in there without having to worry if the charging case is perfectly aligned. And the integrated charging stand for Apple Watch is optimized for Nightstand Mode, allowing the smartwatch to display the date, time and alarm (if you set it) while charging. ”
Mophie Powerstation Fabric
Price: $40+
From: zagg.com
Mophie’s 2019 power station line of batteries have a USB-C port that can act as an input or an output, meaning it can dish out charge when connected to another device (like a smartphone) or accept charge when plugged into the wall. In theory, it’s the only port you really need, but all the powerpacks sport at least one USB-A port as well.
Mophie Powerstation Keychain
Price: $PRICE
From: verizonwireless.com
“Mophie’s Powerstation Keychain has dimensions smaller than most wallets, and it
includes a carabiner and an integrated USB-C cable. With a retail price
of just $40, the 1,200mAh charger is ideal for clipping to the inside of
your commuter bag and forgetting all about it until that fateful day you find yourself
stranded and creeping below 20 percent. It’s good for about half a
charge on a modern smartphone — or just enough to see you through the
rest of your day.”
Nomad Base Station Pro
Price: $TBA
From: hellonomad.com
Nomad’s Base Station Pro is the closest thing we’ve seen to Apple’s failed AirPower initially slated to launch this year. Not only can the Base Station Pro wirelessly charge three devices at once, it uses a new technology called FreePower that does so at any orientation. In other words, you don’t have to perfectly align your devices on the pad in order for them to charge correctly.
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OtterSpot Wireless Charging System
Price: $130
From: otterbox.com
The OtterSpot Wireless Charging System consists of one 36-watt charging base and a series of portable power banks (called “OtterSpots”); the charging base plugs into the wall and, acting like any other wireless charging mat, will wireless charge your smartphone or the individual OtterSpots.
PowerPort Atom III Slim
Price: $35
From: amazon.com
This 30-watt power adapter is a little over half-an-inch thick (0.63-inches to be exact) and is capable of fast charging any of the latest iPhones and charging USB-C laptops; Anker claims that it can fully charge a 12-inch MacBook in two hours. The Anker PowerPort Atom III Slim is available right now on Amazon for $35.
SanDisk 1TB Extreme MicroSD
Price: $248
From: amazon.com
There is no such thing as unlimited storage, but Sandisk’s new 1TB microSD comes pretty close. It’s the highest-capacity microSD card that the company has ever sold. Plugged into your DSLR, the card could hold tens of thousands of RAW
photos or hundreds of thousands of JPEG photos. Plugged into a Nintendo Switch, it could hold over 70 copies of Breath of the Wild, notorious for taking up 40 percent of the system’s default space 32GB space.
Smart Brightness for Dark Mode
Price: $6
From: apps.apple.com
If you’re a big fan of Dark Mode, there’s a new app you should try. It’s called Smart Brightness for Dark Mode ($6) and, according to the company, it “smartly adjusts your Mac’s brightness according to white or dark content on your screen.” Basically, no part of the screen gets too bright when you’re using Dark Mode, and this could benefit your eyes in the long run.
Spansive Source Wireless Charger
Price: $170
From: amazon.com
The Source is a first-of-its-kind Qi wireless charger by Spansive. It’s a vertical charger, not too dissimilar from the myriad vertical charging stands you have seen, but it’s designed to charge multiple smartphones. Its teepee design allows it to wirelessly charge four smartphones simultaneously, plus there are two USB-A ports on the side so you can charge a total of six devices at once. It’s sort of like AirPower, or what AirPower should have been, but in vertical stand form.
Steelcase Flex Mobile Power
Price: Priced to order
From: steelcase.com
The Steelcase Flex Mobile Power is a system of portable batteries called Mobile Power units, each of which has several ports and is capable of charging up to three laptops for a full day. Each unit is also smart enough to detect which laptop has the lowest battery life and then direct more power that way. Each of the Mobile Powerunits is about the size of a large thermos and can easily be carried out anywhere in an office. The idea is that an individual or a small team can break away from their desk at any time. At night, the Mobile Power units go back on a proprietary charging tray so they can be ready for the following day. This tray can charge up to five units overnight.
V-Moda SpeakEasy
Price: $101
From: amazon.com
The Speakeasy is one of the latest headphone accessories by V-Moda, the audio company best known for its Crossfade line headphones, which DJs adore. It’s a Lightning cable with an integrated amp and 24-bit DAC, so it’s specifically designed to improve the audio on your iPhone or iPad (if you’re listening to wired headphones).
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