By now, we’ve seen a good number of desktop charging stations. Heck we’ve even seen some that have 10 USB ports, like this one from Anker. However, TYLT has done something different with the ENERGI Desktop Charging Station here, and it explains why the design looks a bit weird. The port on the right side, actually pops out and works as a 3200mAh battery pack. So you’re able to take that on the go in a pinch, if need be. It’s something simple, but pretty amazing when you think about it. It’s also great for those that are always on the go but need some juice in their smartphone.
Specs on this desktop charger are pretty simple. We have 5 ports which can output about 10A altogether. That means about 2A for each port. Now that’s not Quick Charge 2.0 or even Quick Charge 3.0. But at 2A, you’ll still see a pretty decent speed coming out of the TYLT ENERGI Desktop Charging Station, which is what everyone wants. The removable port which doubles as a battery pack is 3200mAh as already mentioned. Now that’s not a ton of juice, but it is enough to get your phone through the rest of the day. With most phones coming with a 3000mAh battery or larger, you like won’t get a full charge from it. TYLT also uses their SmartDetect technology here. In layman’s terms what this means is that the desktop charging station can detect the power that the device needs and can provide the maximum power without damaging the device. So in a way it’s like adaptive Quick Charge. It’s a type of technology that most companies have, although they each call it something different.
We’ve been using the TYLT ENERGI Desktop Charging Station for a few weeks now, on our desk, as you’d expect. We’ve used it for the Nexus 6P along with a few other devices. Now these are USB Type-A ports (how long before we start seeing these with USB Type-C ports?), so you can still use it to charge USB Type-C devices like the Nexus 6P, LG G5, and others with USB Type-C, by using a USB Type-A to Type-C port. Charge times are a bit slower than using the charger that came with the Nexus 6P. And that’s a bit expected, considering the output is lower here on the TYLT ENERGI Desktop Charging Station (2A vs 3A), but it did still charge faster than a conventional charger would – which is typically around 1.5A or 1.8A.
When it comes to TYLT, one thing is certain, they take pride in their products. Every product we’ve had our hands on from them has been quality. The TYLT ENERGI Desktop Charging Station is the same way. We’re looking at a polycarbonate build here on this desktop charging station, but it doesn’t feel or look cheap at all. It’s in a gray and blue color, which actually looks pretty decent. It’s actually pretty plain looking, with the TYLT logo on the sides of the charger. It can easily be tucked away on your desk and only there to charge devices when needed. On the front, there are the five ports and the one all the way on the right pops out as your battery pack. It’s blue while the others are gray. There is also a button to the right of it that you press to pop it out. It’s pretty simple to work actually. That battery pack has a micro USB and a regular sized USB Type-A port along with four LED lights. The micro USB port is only for charging the battery pack. In case you don’t want to pop it into the desktop charging station and have it charge that way. While the USB Type-A port is for charging your device. Of course the four LED lights are there to indicate how much juice is left in the 3200mAh pack here. To insert it back into the desktop charging station, simply push it back in. There is an arrow on the top which directs you the right way into inserting it back into the desktop charger.
Typically, many wouldn’t be too worried about the design of a desktop charger, but it is always nice to have a great looking charger sitting on your desk all day. Now if someone could figure out a way for cable management with these desktop chargers, so you don’t need to unplug them and hide them when not in use, or just have them laying across your desk, that would be great.
TYLT made the ENERGI Desktop Charging Station pretty small, although it isn’t super light-weight. Having said that, it’s still small and light enough that it can travel with you pretty easily. It shouldn’t take up much space in your bag, just be sure to remember the cable so it’ll actually be useful. These desktop charging stations can be really useful in the hotel room, as many rooms only have one or two open outlets, and this way you can charge everything from one outlet (if you’re like us and have multiple phones, smartwatches, tablets, etc when you travel).
This one isn’t perfect, but it is a great solution to charging many devices. It would be great if it did support Quick Charge 2.0 or Quick Charge 3.0 at least, considering most devices coming out these days support those standards at least in some capacity. It would also be nice if TYLT included a few micro USB cables with the ENERGI Desktop Charging Station. As it stands currently, you do need to make sure you supply your own cables. This is quite common, but it would still be nice to throw a few in. With the majority of devices using micro USB, USB Type-C or Lightning (Apple), TYLT could make separate versions that come with the appropriate cables (this is actually something they’ve done before).
Now to the important part, this thing is $79.99. And as much as I like how it looks and performs, it’s very tough to justify anyone paying $79.99 for a 5-port desktop charger that only does 2A in each port. Now if this supported Quick Charge 3.0, or had more ports, it might be a bit easier to justify it. Sure having the battery pack included isn’t cheap. But many other desktop charging stations are available on Amazon at about a quarter of the price, often times even cheaper than that. However, the saying “you get what you pay for” definitely does apply here. TYLT’s products are some of the highest quality products available in the mobile industry. So for $79.99 you aren’t getting a cheap charging station that could kill your devices. So keep that in mind.
Right now the TYLT ENERGI Desktop Charging Station is only available in the blue/gray configuration we have here, additionally, it’s sold exclusively at TYLT.com.
Buy the TYLT ENERGI Charging Station
