Hands-on review: STM Goods ChargeTree Go 3-in-1 charger
Image credit: STM
Charge!
Aside from its legacy in luggage, STM Goods is also known for some quirky lifestyle and smartphone accessories, where quirky mercifully does not mean "amusing but unnecessary" but instead its real-world antonym "actually unexpectedly useful".
We've encountered a few examples of STM's quirky iPhone goods, such as its chonky-but-fonky Magpod tripod and its Magloop kickstand-bottle-opener (file under: actually unexpectedly useful).
Now, we have the ChargeTree Go, STM's all-powering mobile device charger. Ever since we never got the mythical AirPower charging mat from Apple, many, many companies have obligingly rushed in with their own offerings to fill that multi-device charging void.
Image credit: STM
The ChargeTree Go is actually the evolved form of its STM predecessor, the ChargeTree Swing, which was mostly fine but did annoy some users with issues around Watch cycle-charging at night and how well it handled the largest Max iPhones.
The ChargeTree Go retains the Swing's form factor, namely a foldable, portable charger that laid flat will accommodate any size of Qi-supporting smartphone and which can also be expanded to stand upright on a desktop or bedside cabinet to simultaneously recharge an iPhone, an Apple Watch and a pair of AirPods in their case.
It's ideal for anyone who owns at least two of these three devices and saves you the hassle of carrying multiple chargers and cables when travelling. Note that there's no battery inside. This is not a power bank: it's a wireless Qi-certified charger.
This also raises the issue of the power adapter: none is supplied. Presumably the thinking is that most people already own a suitably powerful USB-C wall plug, so shipping another in the box is potentially redundant and a waste of precious electronic resources. Apple pioneered this rationale in 2020 when it permanently removed the wired earbuds and the wall plug from the boxes of its iPhone 12 onwards. Packaging could be reduced, shipping costs were lower, unnecessary e-waste was avoided, the Earth was saved etc.
So, you're going to need to supply your own wall plug before you can use this charger. Preferably, a hefty one that packs a lot of juice, as with three thirsty devices sipping from your ChargeTree you're going to need to supply a goodly amount of joules: 20W or greater is recommended (such as the adapter that Apple does still ship with its iPads, or the unit that STM itself sells for $20). A 1m-long USB-C to USB-C cable is included in the ChargeTree's box (along with a neat carry bag for the whole device), so it's just the plug you need to bring to this multi-charging party.
Image credit: STM
The power output of the ChargeTree is a maximum of 15W for phones (Apple iPhone 8 upwards, plus Qi-charging Android phones); 5W for AirPods and AirPod Pros, and 3W for the magnetic pop-out Apple Watch charger. As with the wireless phone-charging platform, any wireless-charging compatible earbuds case should respond to the Qi charging coils. We tried a couple of different brands (e.g. the Grell TWS/1) and the case was successfully recharged.
A cursory browse of Amazon reveals a slew of me-too multi-device charging products, mostly the inevitable cheap Chinese copies all riffing variations on the same theme, with the odd styling tweak here and there to differentiate.
Where the STM ChargeTree proves itself superior to similar charging products is in its overall flexibility and its slender form factor. As you can still charge a Qi-enabled phone even when the unit is folded completely flat, it's easy to fit the ChargeTree inconspicuously into wherever your life finds you at any one time.
Image credit: STM
The folding is a cool trick, as is that pop-out Watch-charging square, so if you don't have a Watch to charge it's not always there, getting unnecessarily in the way. When you are charging a Watch, the angle of the charger enables nightstand mode. The Watch charging pad is also already built in to the unit, so you don't have to fit your original Apple pad and cable or buy a spare. The ChargeTree Go comes fully equipped for its tasks and keeps everything very neat and tidy.
While the full RRP of the ChargeTree Go is on the high side, the (online) street price seems to be approximately two-thirds of the the official retail figure, which is much more reasonable. It's still more expensive than any of the slew of cheap Chinese no-brand, me-too looky-likeys, but that's because the STM take on the concept looks better, is built better and complements your beautifully designed Apple products better. Oh, and it comes in either black or white, so there's that, too.
RRP £99 (current price online, £66)
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