Credit: Moshi
There’s a lot to like about the $60 Moshi SnapTo car mount with wireless charging. It’s small, well designed, and looks great—not surprising since Moshi makes some fantastic-looking phone cases.
What I don’t like is that there’s no power supply included in the box. Instead, Moshi opted to leave it out since newer cars now have USB ports. The idea is that you’ll use the USB port to power the wireless charge pad. I understand the logic, but I don’t like the idea of having to give up a port to power a gadget.
Note: This review is part of our roundup of wireless charging pads. Go there for details on competing products and our testing methods for both Android phones and iPhones.
Also, the $60 purchase price doesn’t include a SnapTo case, which is required to use the pad. Those cases start at around $35 and are only available for iPhone models.
Moshi
If you have an iPhone, Moshi's mount and wireless charger can be a handy companion on the road.
By comparison, the iOttie Tap 2 Wireless is $10 cheaper and includes a 12V adapter that adds another USB port to the cab of my car. That’s the approach I would have loved to see Moshi take with the SnapTo car mount.
What SnapTo does include is the wireless pad with a vent clip attachment on the back, as well as a dashboard adapter that the vent clip can slide into for an alternate mounting method. Two metal tabs are included for installation in a compatible SnapTo case. You also get a USB-C to USB-A cable to connect the wireless pad to a power source.
If you own an iPhone, Moshi has plenty of SnapTo cases in a variety of designs that work with the magnetic mount to keep your phone in place. I held the mount upside down with my iPhone XS Max attached and shook it, and the phone didn’t budge one bit. The magnets are strong, and your phone shouldn’t go anywhere when you’re driving.
If you own an Android phone, the current setup won’t work inside a car unless you figure out how to line up and place the magnets on your phone yourself. I wouldn’t recommend it, but it’s possible.
The Qi-certified pad can charge at speeds up to 10W, but the overall speed depends on the power source you use with the charging pad.
To keep tests consistent, I used Samsung’s 9V fast charging wall adapter to power the SnapTo wireless pad for both tests. We detailed our testing methodology here, which explains why we only test charging an iPhone for an hour and all of the steps we take leading up to recording results.
Speaking of results, the Moshi SnapTo is one the best-performing wireless pads I’ve tested when it comes to charging an iPhone. On average, my iPhone XS Max charged to 42 percent after an hour. That’s the equivalent of charging an iPhone XS to 50 percent. The Nimble Stand is the only other pad that comes close to that speed, with a 49 percent equivalent charge on the iPhone XS.
Charging a Galaxy S9 on the SnapTo was slower, and I think it’s because without a case I had no way to make sure the phone and the pad were lined up to ensure maximum charging. On average, the S9 charged in 217 minutes, which puts it in the bottom half of all the wireless pads I’ve tested.
Your charging speeds will vary based on the specs of your car’s USB port, or the 12V car charger you pair with the mount.
If Moshi introduces more cases for more devices and starts including a 12V power supply, the SnapTo car mount would be an easy recommendation. It’s a good product that’s close to being great, but it’s not quite there yet.
