PITAKA MagEZ Slider 2022 REVIEW: Powerful Nightstand Wireless Charging Station

Pitaka wireless charging station for your Apple Watch, AirPods and iPhone 12/13

As we expand our personal tech, our need for USB charging sites increases.  Unfortunately, a precious few outlets garner all of the attention, while others remain routinely underutilized.   Thus, it will be interesting to observe how home power outlet placement may adapt over the next five to ten years. To assist with the perpetual power cord Tetris game, I often utilize hubs, docks, and surge protectors/power strips. As an Apple Fan, consider earmarking one of the plugs behind your nightstand for the Pitaka MagEZ slider.  

The MagEZ slider from PITAKA arrived in a 5 1/2 inches tall by 8 1/16 inches wide by 3 1/2 inches thick white retail package.  The cover provided the PITAKA name/logo along the top left, a “Pita Flow for Phones” Icon along the bottom right, the MagEZ slider product name along the bottom left, and information about the device. 

The description noted: “A Rotating 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Stand and Magnetic Power Bank. Made for iPhone 12/13 Series and Qi-enabled AirPods.”  The main focus of the cover was the imagery along the center of the panel.  You will find front and oblique-rear facing images of the Pitaka MagEZ slider that detailed the AirPods charging shelf, USB-C input port, rotating base, plus many of the visual details of the removable Pitaka battery. The dark images provided a nice contrast against the clean white background and allowed the trapezoidal lines to pop visually. 

The slipcover’s top panel provided six product-defining features:

• Magnetic Attachment
• MagSafe Compatible
• Passthrough Charging
• Rotating Deck.
• AirPods Compatible
• Reusable Gel Pad

The bottom panel displayed a QR code link to additional products and the same 3-in-1 description as the cover. 

However, the panel provided this information in five other languages (French, Japanese, German, Chinese, and Russian).  The rear panel, which ultimately proved to be my favorite, displayed a large labeled image of the charging base.  The labels documented:

1. The removable 4000 mAh magnetic wireless power bank and compatibility with iPhone 12/13 (with/without MagSafe case). 
2. Removable/Portable wireless battery.
3. Wireless charging with passthrough ability allows charging the battery and phone simultaneously.
4. Plug in the Pitaka USB-C Apple Watch Dongle and charge Airpods with the rear magnetic charging port. 
5. Compatible with MagEZ Juice 1/2 Power Banks. Lastly, the panel listed product manufacturing labels, and trademark information.

When I removed the slipcover, I found a solid matte-black internal box with shiny black accents.  The top cover listed the “Alternative Tech Life” slogan, while the front/back panels provided the Pitaka name/logo.  I liked the base color but felt a variant font color could have improved the design.

Next, I removed the lid and found an internal cardboard shelf with a triangular cutout for the 4.7-ounces trapezoidal charging base and an oval cutout for the 4.0-ounces battery.  Beneath the battery/charger shelf, you will find a 5 inches long by 3 1/8 inches tall by 2 3/8 inches thick accessory box with product catalog, USB-C charging brick, 40 1/2 inches long USB-C to USB-C cable, and magnetic stand for AirPods. 

The 1 1/2 inches wide by 1 1/16 inches tall by 1 3/4 inches long charging brick had a Type A wall plug oriented horizontally. The front face had a single, vertically oriented, offset USB-C output port.  Unfortunately, the blank space left a majority of the face unadorned and an opportunity unrealized. 

I would not say that I liked the included charging brick; the design did not allow for flush mounting, was not easily hidden behind a desk or nightstand, and locked the outlet to only the Pitaka device.  I would have preferred a 90-degree bend or a standard AC plug/cable design to the one provided. 

If I were to design the Pitaka 3-in-1 version 2.0, I would have included a second output port, either USB-A or USB-C, and a longer USB-C cable.  The cable length proved satisfactory for my nightstand but did not work for my workstation.  It may seem like a small design feature, but the ability to hide power plugs and charging cables is a huge deal to my wife.  Additionally, with so many devices requiring power, outlet space is at a premium.

I plugged the power brick into my wall outlet, the USB-C cable into the brick, and then into the back of the charger.  The 3 inches wide by 2 9/16 inches tall trapezoidal/wedge-shaped charger sat upon a 2 1/2 inches diameter manually rotatable bass. 

The front panel had a battery-shaped cutout with a lower USB-C prong, while the back panel provided a wireless charging icon.  I attached the 0.2-ounces, 1 7/8 inches long by 13/16 inches thick by 7/16 inches tall AirPods shelf to the back of the charger and noted that the magnet had two configurations after a 180-degree magnet rotation. 

I slid the 2 17/16 inches wide by 3 13/16 inches tall by 9/16 inches thick oval-shaped battery into the charging port, removed the lower gel pad n the rotating base, and reviewed the instruction manual. The MBP1-01 battery will accept 5v/2A USB-C along the lower input and will output USB-C at 5V/1.5A through the same port or wirelessly at 5W. 

The 4000 mAh/15.4W battery had a 2 3/16 inches diameter magnetic port at the top of the front panel, with a centralized PITAKA name.  You will find a bank of four LEDs beneath a small grey oval accent, and the 1/2 inch diameter power button along the lower segment. The rounded back panel had a dark grey/black textured layer, which enhanced the grip beyond the base plastic. The small battery proved to be quite portable and easily pocketable, while the magnetic attachment point was quite robust.

The PITAKA Model PD0202UC power supply promised 100-240V/0.5A input at 50-60Hz and was able to output 5V/3A, 15W 9V/2.22A, 19.98W 12V/1.67A, and 20.04W.  I plugged a Klein USB-C multimeter into the power brick and then into the PITAKA base and placed my AirPods Pro (inside of Catalyst Waterproof Case) upon the stand to charge.  Once the AirPods Pro rested against the charger, the Multimeter displayed 9.08V/0.38A. 

I set my iPhone 13 Pro Max on the magnetic ring and was impressed with the strength of the attachment.  Starting with 14% power at 1039 PM, the multimeter read 9.08V/.77A.  By 10:55 PM the power increased to 21%, 24% by 1106 PM,  32% by 1127,  37% by 1143, and 44% by 1201. By 12:31 am, the power had increased to 53%. This rate of ~1% every 2.5 to 3 minutes continued through the night, and my phone was charged by 5:30 am when I awoke. 

The following day, I slid the battery out of the case, pressed the button at the front, and charged my phone again.  I was pleased to find that I could charge the 4350 mAh phone battery from just under 50% to full with some battery to spare within the small, pocketable 4000mAh battery.

SUMMARY

Even though the charging brick was a bit of a letdown, the Pitaka base served as a base hub of sorts.  I plugged the Pitaka USB-C Apple Watch charger into the USB-C port on the side and loved the ability to charge my iPhone, Airpods, and Apple Watch wirelessly.  However, the presence of another USB-C output port on the wall block, for an iPad Pro would have been far superior to the current design. 

With modern GaN technology, the device could have easily output sufficient power for two fully functional USB-C ports.  The manually rotatable base allowed the ability to position one’s phone for optimal alarm clock viewing, while the reusable gel pad firmly affixed the base to my table. 

I loved the posterior magnetic wireless charging pad, the passthrough battery charging, the firm magnetic attachment, and the battery could be removed for portable use.  If the wall plug is not too far from the top of the desk, this device could provide a fantastic method to charge your Apple Watch, iPhone 12/13, and AirPods Pro (AirPods 2).

For this device to be a 10/10, I would increase the size of the battery from 4000 mAh to 10,000 mAh, I would increase the length of the included USB-C cable, would create a flush/narrow charging brick and would add one additional USB-C port to it. These features would turn an excellent device into a must-have Apple-friendly desk station.

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