Scosche BaseLynx modular charging system
Every day, we plug our smartphone into a power charging cable and (if we use Android on a Huawei Mate device, as is the case here) we watch the screen show a graphical representation (as depicted in this image here) of the power ‘juice’ coming into the phone from the bottom of the screen where the cable attaches itself to the device.
That’s it, that’s what happens, there’s nothing much else to report… plugging in the smartphone to charge at the end of the day is just normal.
We (this is Inspect-a-Gadget, he/she/it is a virtualised multi-entity being) has become accustomed (gotten used, if you want the American) to doing this and not questioning the process.
The move from this ‘state of normal’ to wireless charging is more surprising that you might think.
Mighty Scosche?
Inspect-a-Gadget was sent the new modular charging system from Scosche (pronounced skōsh/skohsh) Industries and didn’t think much would change initially, if we could be bothered to plug it in even.
Actually, it’s a real release i.e. it’s like a new freedom – you just drop your phone down and that’s it. We realise that this is stating the obvious, but it’s more impactful than you might imagine if you haven’t switched to wireless charging.
The company says that the Scosche BaseLynx™ system is for anyone who needs to charge and organise their mobile devices, including: iPhones, AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, cameras, portable gaming systems, headphones etc.
But there’s a caveat to the above i.e. AirPods don’t charge wirelessly and nor do many headphones and the many iPads don’t yet (unless you have generation 2 or iPad Pro) charge wirelessly without a wireless charging receiver add-on unit, so when Scosche says that its unit is for ALL those products, what it means is that the organiser ribs are there to help organise all those items – some of which you will need to plug into the systems USB power cable slots.
This modular system gives you the freedom to use each module on its own, or to connect multiple charging modules and use just one AC power cable and outlet.
Foreign Object Detection (FOD)
All Scosche wireless chargers are Qi certified by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) and have safety features such as Foreign Object Detection (FOD). FOD automatically prevents charging if something other than a Qi-enabled device is placed on the charging surface.
The Vert Charging Station and the Dual-port Charging EndCap both feature 18W USB-C Power Delivery outlets, as well as 12W USB-A charging ports… and this means that power delivery charges devices up to 3X faster than a regular charger.
Is it perfect?
Well, it could be down to using a Huawei phone on the smartphone charging pad (the product is more directly targeted at Apple devices) or it could be some other reason… but not EVERY time we placed the smartphone down did we see the pleasing wireless charge screen display (as shown in this image) which brings forward the aforementioned feeling of freedom.
Sometimes you have to pick your phone up and drop it on a couple of times or switch it around the other way – but hey, that’s very much a niggle and a first world problem.
There are currently four BaseLynx modules and the company says that additional types of charging and storage modules are in development now that will integrate into the system when they become available.
