Are there any suggestions for a small device that charges an Apple I phone, 16, AirPods, and an Apple Watch at the same time. I will be spending one week in France and one week in London. The last device I used no longer charges. Thanks
Posted by
California Central Coast 🐚
609 posts
How small is small? I use an Anker hub with 6 USB ports and USB-c converters on 3 of them.
Posted by
Vermont, USA
864 posts
My friend travels with something similar to this:
He loves it for the convenience of being able to charge everything all at once, and his folds down pretty compactly.
Not sure which brand he specifically has, but you could do some searching to see what’s rated best and lightest/most compact.
Posted by
Colorado
25 posts
I’ve travelled with this for over a year now and it’s been perfect:
It is pretty compact and the Anker brand is reliable IMO.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32683 posts
A charger like this one should work well for the three devices you mentioned - https://www.anker.com/ca/products/a121b-100w-3-ports-gan-charger?variant=52842114679152&collections_chargers=undefined&Sort_by=Recommended . It has three ports and also accepts input voltages of 100-240VAC. According to the notes at the bottom, it auto adjusts for low current devices such as AirPods and Smart Watches.
You will of course need appropriate Plug Adapters specific to the countries you'll be visiting.. I'd suggest taking more than one of each type, as they're easy to misplace. You'll also need appropriate cables for each device. Note that one of the outputs of the charger is USB-A and the other two outputs are USB-C.
Posted by
Victoria, Australia
83 posts
The one proposed by Deb is similar to the one I have had for several years. Very compact when folded and depending on the input, will charge all 3 at the same time. If you just use a 5w output, it will not work so well, it needs at least 15w to charge everything at once. Therefore, you need the 3-in-1 foldable charger plus the USB C input from a separate charger.
Posted by
Arctophilia, Northamptonshire, England
36779 posts
pardon my old school, but could you not do them sequentially? neither the watch or ear buds take long at all, and if your iPhone is like mine it will be done in an hour or so...
that's how I'd do it anyway
Posted by
Victoria, Australia
83 posts
The point of the foldable charging station is that you can put it on the bedside table in a hotel room and fold it out into a triangular prism or tent shape. The iPhone lays upright on an angle to charge and the screen becomes a clock which dims with the lights out. Ideal for looking at the time when waking in the middle of a different time zone without fumbling for the phone.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks so much for all of the information you all provided.
Posted by
Michigan
618 posts
there are some travel/foldable options in this article: https://www.macworld.com/article/668468/best-apple-watch-chargers-stands-docks.html#best-3-in-1-apple-watch-iphone-airpod-chargers
The Anker and Twelve South options caught my eye, personally.
Posted by
Vancouver, BC, Canada
1616 posts
I bought previous version of this 100W GAN charger from Amazon during a Black Friday sale for about 50% off. I have been using it for about a year and it has been great. It comes with three adapters which pretty well covers most types of outlets in the world. Because the adapter clicks onto the charger, the charger will not fall off like when using a flimsy cheap adapter plug. Plus it is powerful enough to charge up my laptop, which means that I do not have to pack the bulky OEM laptop charger.
Posted by
New Hampshire
10 posts
This is what I purchased for my trip coming up.
Posted by
63 posts
Those 3 in 1 chargers are lifesavers for travel honestly. One cable instead of carrying an entire spaghetti disaster in your bag 😂 just make sure it supports fast charging for the watch too.
Posted by
Duluth, MN🌲
12234 posts
pardon my old school, but could you not do them sequentially? neither the watch or ear buds take long at all, and if your iPhone is like mine it will be done in an hour or so...
Nigel, most of us tend to charge everything when we're sleeping at night. It just makes it easier that way since we're out and about during the day doing all the tourist things. 😊
That said, I do bring a portable charger with me, as sometimes my phone needs recharging when I take a lot of photos during the day.
Posted by
anyplace picturesque
98 posts
Neither of us has an apple watch nor do we travel with a tablet or laptop so it's only iphones and headphones/buds. The weightless little apple charging bricks take up very little space nor do the cords, so we each have two sets, and each of us has a short extension cord with triple female recepticles (and an appropriate regional adapter on the male end). That lets us charge phone, ears and camera at once. As convenient as a multi-charger may be, we feel like there's safety in numbers.
Posted by
Arlington TX
1033 posts
I take an iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch and small purse phone charger. I take 2 3 foot cords because I still need a lightening cord as well as the USB c cord and 2 small charger blocks and a few euro plug adapters. I have learned through the years that having an outlet close enough not to need a long cord is not guaranteed so I just take 2 long ones and call it good. And I do charge sequentially. But the one thing I have found most important is to take my small phone charger OUT of my purse when I get back to my room and get it charged up for the next day! For some reason it takes forever to recharge completely and it is so essential for me to have that back up for my phone.
Posted by
SF Bay Area
470 posts
My airPods use lightning cable, my iPhone uses USB-C. And my Apple watch is so old, it doesn't hold charge for 24 hours. I have long travel days sometimes (30 hours door to door) with driving and 3 flights. I find that I need to charge my watch during the travel segment, so I carry the standard watch charger cable with my travel USB cord (dual insert for C and lightning) to charge on the plane.
I bought the trifold charger shared above for a separate trip years ago, but I think I may have bought a bad brand because it didn't charge well at all. I tried to give my devices a booster charge for an hour when stopping at the hotel to refresh, and the thing barely charged it. I experienced same issue in 2 different hotels. I'll look at a new one, maybe after I upgrade my watch. I recently upgraded my charging block to something more powerful. I have a designated tech pouch with all cables and blocks only for travel.