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Heat is one of the main drawbacks of wireless charging. If there's one thing that can shorten a smartphone battery's lifespan, it's charging while the device is hot. While wireless charging is undeniably convenient (I mean, what's easier than throwing a device on a charging pad?), this approach can speed up battery degradation over time.
Now, you could try cooling your charger by using the refrigerator, but that would undoubtedly raise some eyebrows. Instead, what if the charger itself had a built-in cooling system?
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That's exactly what Anker has done with its Prime MagSafe 3-in-1 charging station -- a perfect solution for those who own the trifecta of Apple devices: the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. It's also one of the sleekest charging stations I've tested.
Impressive specs and built-In cooling
On paper, the specs are impressive. The station features three wireless charging pads, with the main one a Qi2 25W charging pad (also known as the Qi2.2 standard) designed for the iPhone.
Since 25W is a significant amount of power to transfer wirelessly, heat management becomes crucial. It's at this point that Anker's innovation comes through -- the charging pad incorporates a thermoelectric cooler (TEC), also known as a Peltier cooler.
This is a Peltier cooler (not from the Anker Prime charging station). Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
A TEC works by creating a temperature differential when an electric current passes through two semiconductor materials. The "hot" side dissipates heat, while the "cold" side absorbs it, keeping the device cool.
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