Car and Driver 2-In-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Vent Mount & Pad Review

By Meng Vang

Car and Driver 2-In-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Vent Mount & Pad Review

Smartphones have become very popular in today’s modern era. Because of this, it is important to have the necessary accessories to support them. With the Car and Driver CAD-9978 2-In-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Vent Mount and Pad by Chargeworx, this product is capable of mounting iPhone 12 series smartphones or other smartphone devices to the air vent of a vehicle. It is also a MagSafe device, which can provide 15W of wireless charging power compared to 7.5W with common Qi wireless chargers.

The charging mount of the CAD-9978 also doubles as a charging pad. This will allow users to use the charging pad in a desktop environment. This will also allow wireless charging support for non-iPhone 12 devices, including wireless charging enabled Android smartphones. The CAD-9978 is also very simple to disassemble due to its magnetic design, which makes it ideal for people who are always on the go. Car and Driver kindly sent us this unit to try out. Let’s take a look at what comes in the box.

Features

  • 2-IN–1 CAR MOUNT AND WIRELESS CHARGING PAD:
    • SET THE CHARGING PAD ON ANY TABLE OR DESK FOR
      AT–HOME AND OFFICE USE, OR TAKE IT ON THE ROAD
      WITH THE INCLUDED AIR VENT CLIP.
  • SAFE + SECURE MAGNETIC CHARGING:
    • POWER–REGULATED TO DELIVER BATTERY STRENGTH IN
      THE RIGHT AMOUNT.
  • 15W FAST WIRELESS CHARGING:
    • CAPABLE OF CHARGING YOUR IPHONE 50% FASTER
      THAN STANDARD WIRELESS CHARGERS.
  • COMPATIBLE WITH IPHONE 12 SERIES
  • STRONG AND SAFE MAGNETIC CONNECTION:
    • DESIGNED WITH CARE FOR EASY, DISTRACTION–FREE
      USE WHILE DRIVING. SECURE MAGNETIC HOLD
      ENSURES SMARTPHONES STAY IN PLACE.

Taking a look inside the box of the CAD-9978, we have the User Manual, a USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable, the vent clip with a ball head, a removable adhesive magnetic plate for non-magnetic smartphones, and the charging mount and pad itself. On the charging pad, it does have a warning sticker over the surface. Please read and remove the sticker before use.

With the warning sticker removed from the charging surface of the pad, we can see the magnetic surface with a charging label in the center. There is also an LED indicator light in the center, which turns red when there is power to the charging pad, and blue when it is charging a device.

The CAD-9978 has a USB Type-C port, which provides the necessary power to wirelessly charge a mobile device. When using it as a desktop charging pad, it can charge any mobile device with wireless charging capability. However, the magnet aspect of this product only works with iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max devices.

With the product fully assembled, it should look something like this. Because of the ball head design, this allows for adjustments to the Magnet’s position. The vent clip has a stiff spring, which allows it to tightly grip the air vent.

The CAD-9978 magnetic wireless charger had no problems holding the iPhone 12 Pro in place. Because a phone case could affect the performance of the magnet as well as charging speed, I suggest removing the phone case for the best results. If you are using a non-iPhone 12 device, you can also use the provided metal plate and place it between the case and the phone. However, do consider how thick the case is as a thicker case will result in poorer magnetic performance. Maintaining good grip via magnet is important especially when driving over rough terrain. Under normal city and highway driving, the magnet on the charging pad kept the iPhone 12 Pro nice and secure without falling off.

Some phone holders come with a rubber suction cup mounting mechanism where they mount directly onto the windshield. This is adequate in warmer locations, but not ideal for a location that experiences very cold winters. The rubber material becomes less flexible in cold weather, which causes the suction to lose its suction ability. After personally owning several dashcams and phone mounts with a suction cup mounting design, many have fallen off during the winter. As for the CAD-9978, I am very pleased as it mounts via vent. This is a better solution as it does not have to depend on a suction cup mounted to the windshield. This is ideal especially for winters that often fall below -20F.

When it comes to charging, I tested the charging speed with the iPhone 12 Pro without the case from 0% to 100% with a 2.1A USB Type-A port. Under this configuration, the CAD-9978 took approximately 4.5 hours to completely charge the phone wirelessly. A wired connection via Lighting to USB Type-A cable accomplished the same task in just shy of three hours. Of course, results may vary based on the applications on the device, the temperature of the device, and the charging source.

Using the Apple 20W power adapter with the standard Lightning to USB Type-C cable, the iPhone 12 Pro was able to charge from 0% to full in about an hour and 40 minutes. The cable that came included with the CAD-9978 is a USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable. Although the CAD-9978 can provide 15 watts of power as it is a MagSafe device, I was unable to use the provided cable with the Apple 20W power adapter. However, this is not the fault of the product. With a quick charging power adapter with a USB Type-A port, this could greatly reduce the wireless charging time.

The Car and Driver CAD-9978 2-In-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Vent Mount and Pad is a good product to take on the go. Because it serves as a charging pad, it is also ideal for home and office use. It is backwards compatible with older iPhones and Android devices with wireless charging capabilities, which is a huge plus.