Anker’s MagGo Bonanza

Well, I stand corrected. Days after lamenting the fact that MagSafe accessories for the iPhone are a mess, Anker went ahead and dropped no less than SIX MagSafe products in a family called MagGo.

Anker gives each item an arbitrary number (Anker 613 or Anker 610) instead of a name. This makes it difficult to refer to them individually. The gist of the rollout are three desktop chargers, one MagSafe battery pack with a built in kickstand, a Magsafe ring (ala PopSocket) and a car mount.

The 623 and 637 desktop chargers seem nice, but nothing to write home about. The former does sport two Qi chargers so you can top up two items simultaneously. The Anker 633 however looks really cool. It's a dual-Qi charger but the MagSafe portion for the iPhone is removable making it a portable battery too. This is genius. I love the idea of a desk stand for the iPhone that keeps it at 100% but a simple move to slip it up, takes the battery with you. Of all the announced products, this is the one I'm the most interested in.

The ring accessory is similar to many out there. This one happens to be MagSafe. Anker calls it the "610 Magnetic Phone Grip". It's essentially a ring mounted to a MagSafe ring. It makes your phone easier to hold. That's it. It's only $16 and comes in a few colors, making it a tempting purchase.

Not to be outdone is the car mount, the 613. At first when I saw the images I thought this was another car mount similar to the Moment mount I own. However this also charges your iPhone. Couple this with an angled arm that avoids covering a vent within the car and it's again a tempting purchase. I love my Moment mount. It's sturdy and never once has my iPhone fallen off. The magnets are hella strong. Anker's offering kicks things up. It feels pricey with the $70 price tag. Anker makes quality stuff, which justifies the price.

The best part of this MagGo announcement is the fact that Anker is taking MagSafe seriously with serious products. The effort is there. Yes it's a year removed from the introduction of this iPhone feature, but no other company has made this large of a commitment. Moment rolled out many products, however 90% of them focus on camera use. I love that Anker proved me wrong. I now want others to follow suit.