The TwelveSouth HiRise 3 Wireless Charging Stand is a 3-in-1 charger for your phone, headphones and watch that charges them all at the same time.
There may not be much you can do with a charger in some ways, but I reckon this looks like a good piece of kit. It comes in either black or white finish and the black is a matt black which stands out nicely. It also has 4 rubber feet on the bottom so won’t be sliding around your desk or nightstand any time soon.
It’s got a fairly small footprint which makes it stand out from a lot of the other 3-in-1 chargers on the market and I really appreciated that on my desk.
The main stand area allows you to attach any phone that supports a magnetic connection. This is good for iPhone users with an iPhone that supports MagSafe charging. If you don’t have an iPhone or a phone that supports magnetic charging, you could charge your device on the wireless charging pad at the bottom that is meant for your AirPods case. This is where my first challenge with this charging stand appeared.
As I mentioned, the base in the front is where you can place your AirPods case in order to have it charge wirelessly and there is a small symbol kinda carved into the base so you can see where to place your case. The challenge is, when I say “small” I mean, really small and I found it hard to find the exact spot to place the case in order to charge it. Not a huge deal, but something I felt worth mentioning because it’s a bit frustrating if you put the case down and assume it’s charging when it’s not. If you were using the bottom area to charge a non MagSafe phone then it should be easier to find the spot.
The upper area where you can attach your MagSafe enabled phone to charge is interesting. I found that that magnet was not very strong and I was worried my phone would fall off. But then my wife tried her phone and found that the magnet was almost too strong. We both have the same phone, iPhone 13 Pro, but it looks like the case that I use must be thicker round the back compared to the case my wife uses. So if you have standard phone case it should be fine, but be aware that if the back of your phone case is a bit thicker than usual it may be an issue.
I found that I could mount my phone in either landscape or portrait orientation but the charger is clearly setup to be used in portrait orientation.
Behind where you attach your phone to the charger is a flat area where you can place an Apple Watch to charge. It has a slightly raised area to place your watch so in this case, it’s really clear where the watch charges. The challenge for me is that it isn’t raised enough. I have a standard strap on my watch and I found that my watch strap would touch the base and almost push the watch off the charger. It works, but would fit so much better if the raised areas was just a bit more raised.
Something to be aware of is that the TwelveSouth HiRise 3 3-in-1 Desktop charger does not come with a wall charger. In the box you get the HiRise and a cable only, although I don’t think this would be an issue for most people. These days, most of us have a few 20W USB-C power adapters floating around, but if you don’t, you will need to source one to use with the charger.
The TwelveSouth HiRise 3 3-in-1 charger is a great looking charger that will definitely tidy up your bedside table or desk and remove the need for multiple chargers and cables all over the place. It’s modern looking and doesn’t take up a lot of space either so big ticks there. It’s not perfect, but very little in this world is and my challenges may not be yours. Overall, a good addition to the charging options out there.
It is available for an RRP of AUD$99.99, although there is a discount of $20 at the time of publishing.
