Looking for a subtle charger for your car? You’ll like this

Feb 10, 2018 13:31 GMT  ·  By

Doca is a Chinese company that most people barely heard about, and its activity is mostly focused on building chargers and power banks for mobile devices.

And while many of the cheap phone accessories built by Chinese firms leave a lot to be desired, here’s a little product built by Doca that’s really worth a look at.

Using a generic huuuge name that pretty much describes its purpose, “QI Wireless Car Charger Mount Holder, DOCA Mobile Cell Phone Air Vent Magnet Car Cradle Charging Holder for iPhone X iPhone 8/8 Plus Galaxy Note 8 S8/S8 Plus S7 Edge and Others Qi Enabled Phones,” this accessory can charge your phone wirelessly - obviously if the phone itself supports wireless charging - without taking too much space on your dashboard.

As I’ve said when I reviewed the other car charger from Doca, every little inch on your car dashboard is critical, so nobody wants to use massive phone holders no matter how useful they are.

Doca magnetic wireless car charger

This magnetic wireless charger/phone holder, on the other hand, doesn’t eat to much dashboard space and, what’s more, it works with a wide array of phones out there, including the newest iPhones, Samsung’s Galaxy S and Note series, and other devices that support wireless charging.

The car mount itself comes with both a clip to place it in the air vent or with a support that uses adhesive to securely stay on the dashboard. While the adhesive isn’t the best friend of premium car interiors, I’ve tried it on Alcantara and not only that it firmly stays in place, but it can also be removed without damaging the fabric.

This thing is extra strong.

In the box, you’re also provided with a swivel ball that allows easy adjusting of the viewing angle. This is particularly important for drivers because this way, no matter the car interior design, you can always find a proper angle to see the full phone display.

The magnetic holder comes with a built-in retractable USB cable, and again, this is quite a neat touch that you won’t find elsewhere. The retractable cable helps you avoid cables laying around inside your car, though the release clip on the case is super-powerful and pulls the cable back in rather aggressively.

Doca magnetic wireless car charger

In order to have your phone securely attached to the charger, you need to place a magnetic plate on the back of the device. This is without a doubt a double-edged sword.

First and foremost, the pros. The box includes a very thin magnetic plate that you can easily place between the back of the phone and a case. A small piece of double-sided duct tape is also included to securely stick the plate to the back of the handset, while four strong magnets are placed on each corner to center your phone.

A phone case is a must-have.

Once the plate is in place, the charger/mount can firmly hold the phone, even when driving over speed bumps. What I noticed is that the mount is very secure with both a case and without one, though it goes without saying that nobody’s going to stick a magnetic plate on the back of the phone if a case isn’t used.

The cons start with the damages that a magnetic plate could do to a phone. On a Google Pixel XL, for instance, whenever we attached the magnetic plate to the back of the device, the display was automatically activated, even though no touch input was generated on the screen. At random times, the screen turned on all by itself, most likely as a result of the magnetic field.

Doca magnetic wireless car charger
Doca magnetic wireless car charger
Doca magnetic wireless car charger
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The other setback is that the charger itself absolutely needs a case. Without one, the patch needs to be placed on the back of the phone and it obviously looks ridiculous.

Charging takes place relatively fast, and going from 5% to 100% on a Samsung Galaxy S8 takes a little over two hours and a half with Waze running in the background and the screen turned on. This is good performance if you ask me, though it’s worth emphasizing that with wireless charging, the phone gets really hot, especially if a navigation app runs on the screen.

It doesn’t come with fast charging, and its maximum output is 5A/1A. This is still good enough for the majority of drivers, mostly because it mixes a charger with a phone holder and it doesn’t eat up too much space on the dashboard.

Also, using the air vent clip could cause phone damage due to the heat, so always have this in mind if you don’t use the secure adhesive mount on the dashboard.

I’ve heard people complaining about its long-term reliability, but during my two-week test everything seemed to work correctly. I’ll continue using this charger for a little longer and update the article should any issue be discovered in this regard.

In the end, this is a very neat little accessory that’s worth a try if you want to go wireless inside your car. Plugging it into a car charger is still needed, but since it’s so small and costs just $28.99 at Amazon, it’s really something that deserves a chance. Keep in mind that your phone must support wireless charging and a case is absolutely a must-have. Otherwise, you need to look elsewhere.

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Doca magnetic wireless car charger
Doca magnetic wireless car chargerDoca magnetic wireless car charger
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