Nomad’s new 3-in-1 charging stand has MagSafe and one small flaw

But its design has a small miscalculation that prevents me from charging all those devices and simultaneously using my favorite new iOS feature, StandBy mode, which lets a charging iPhone in landscape orientation show you all kinds of fun, customizable widgets. You see, plopping down your phone on the charger’s upright MagSafe stand charges your phone at the full wireless MagSafe speed of 15W (great job there, Nomad — no notes). But if you’re charging your Apple Watch at the same time, it blocks the phone from resting horizontally, meaning you can’t use StandBy mode at all.

This only really affects someone who has an iPhone with an always-on display (iPhone 14 Pro and 15 Pro, for now) and has to occasionally charge their Apple Watch while they use StandBy mode. That may not be everyone who will buy this pricey charger, but I’m here to throw my arms in the air and say hello, yes, this is me, and I do this all the time while I’m at my desk and even sometimes while in bed. In particular, StandBy mode can be an excellent clock, with glanceable information like your next appointment or the current temperature.

Nomad’s marketing director, Chuck Melber, tells me, “We actually finalized engineering and tooling prior to the release of StandBy.” Bummer —  especially since you can use StandBy mode on all kinds of other MagSafe and MagSafe-compatible magnetic chargers.

On the plus side, that too-far-forward Apple Watch charger supports fast charging for Apple’s compatible watches (Series 7, Series 8, Series 9, and Ultras), which is a nice one-up feature over the Base One Max. But that otherwise very similar 3-in-1 charger dropped in price to $150 back in October, and it’s currently discounted to $105. So you’re paying an extra $75 right now for Apple Watch fast charging and your phone to be propped up.

The Stand One Max is yet another Apple-centric charging solution from Nomad that looks great and performs well, at a price — especially since it is not Qi2 when we’re likely to see a flood of Qi2-compatible devices hitting the market in 2024. This charger has just a little more quirk and compromise than I expect from Nomad.