NIMBLE STAND REVIEW: A THOUGHTFUL, WELL-DESIGNED WIRELESS CHARGING PAD

So you want to do your part to help improve the environment without giving up the luxuries technology affords you? So does Nimble.

Nimble is a relatively new company whose approach is to design high-quality, well-designed, eco-friendly battery packs and wireless chargers.

Each product comes in eco-friendly packaging and includes a bag to recycle old electronics through Nimble for free.

The Nimble Stand is covered in fabric made from recycled water bottles & hemp. The fabric face is interrupted by only a small plastic strip toward the bottom, that

when pressed from the back pops out to serve as a ledge for your phone. A kickstand folds out from the back, holding your phone at a fairly steep angle.

Alternatively, you can lay the stand flat on a surface—a rubber grip on the bottom will hold it in place, freeing you from worry that it might move across a table or desk and potentially send your phone toppling.

Power is provided to the wireless charger via the included QC3.0 wall USB-C adapter and the USB-C input on the left side of the stand. Just above the input port, there’s an indicator light and a standard USB port so you can charge a smartwatch or another device without using two outlets.

Performance-wise, the Nimble Stand is Qi compatible and provides 10W output for Android devices, and 7.5W for the iphone.

When charging an iphone XR over the course of an hour, the Nimble Stand averaged 45 percent of an overall charge—mind you, on a larger-capacity battery than in the iphone X and XS we’ve used to test in the past. This average bests the ION Wireless Stand ( go.macworld.com/ionw) and is currently the fastest wireless charging pad we’ve tested for any IOS device.

Charging performance on a Samsung Galaxy S9 showed impressive results as well. On average, the Nimble Stand took 162 minutes to fully charge an S9. That’s good enough for second-best out of the pads we’ve tested thus far. (The best being our top pick for Android, the Anker Powerwave 7.5 Stand [ go. macworld.com/pw75], which charged the S9 from empty to full in 146 minutes.)

Overall, I have just one minor gripe about the Nimble Stand: On one occasion the ledge that pops out of the stand slid back into the housing of the pad without any interaction on my part, letting the phone fall to the table. But overall that incident is outweighed by the stand’s impressive performance, attractive design, and reasonable price.

Indeed, this $50 wireless charging pad does it all. ■