TL;DR, this is my review of the Power 2 XVIDA Car Charger Suction Mount
Image credit: XVIDA
For quite awhile now, I’ve been searching for a magnetic qi charger for the M3, with a suction mount that would allow mounting to the back of the screen, so the phone could be placed somewhere closer to line of sight (for waze, not for texting!). Looking at Waze, way down in the phone dock cubby, was just not safe, and none of the current or proposed qi charging solutions for this area are very good (due to phone movement, heating, etc.)
My initial requirements:
1. Magnetic. Don’t like those fiddly “claw” clamps that detract from the minimalism of the M3 cabin.
2. Suction mount. As others have done with gooseneck mounts (see @chanmanx2k's photo), I want to be able to attach the mount to the back of the screen, again minimizing visibility of the mount and cabling.
Photo credit: @chanmanx2k - Non-charging magnetic holder
3. Qi fast charging. Because navigation chews up phone batteries.
4. Cooling. Either by placement near the vent, or built in. Navigation also causes heating, resulting in battery degradation and lower charging efficiency.
5. Capable of rotation. Many magnetic qi chargers only support portrait mode.
Surprisingly, this has been harder than I thought it would be. After months of looking, I finally came across the XVIDA charging system, which meets all of my basic requirements. I first contacted the company, to see if the mount could accommodate the 180 degree range of motion that would be necessary to mount it on the back of the screen. A friendly employee named Mark, wrote back almost immediately, and provided proof of concept:
Video and image credits: XVIDA
I immediately ordered the mount, and the magnetic case, sold separately, for my iPhone X. Unlike most magnetic mounts, that use a metal plate attached to your phone, the XVIDA takes things to the next level: it uses a specially designed magnetic plate, built into a case (or you can buy a $15 magnetic plate to attach to your phone or slip behind a thin case), to almost magically “dock” your phone to the mount. Literally, you just put your phone close to the mount, and it instantly gets locked into perfect position for mounting AND optimal charging efficiency. It’s amazing!
Image credit: XVIDA
When I finally got the mount, I began playing around with placement around the screen. The suction has a reusable adhesive, to help it stick. Unfortunately, I had originally wanted to place the mount on the bottom of the screen, with the phone suspended off the lower left side, but the curvature of the back of the screen, due to the base that mounts the screen to the dashboard, prevents that. Try as I may, it kept falling off in this location. Another obstacle to the under-screen mounting position, was the phone dock flip lid, which would collide with the mount, when opened and closed, if placed too centrally.
So, giving up on the under-mounting locations, I switched my attention to the upper portion of the screen, and it was successful. The adherence to the flatter upper portion of the screen back, is very strong. I experimented with different placements, and since I wanted primarily landscape orientation, I chose the upper left corner, with a slight overlap. In this position, nothing important gets obscured by the phone, and I still have a perfect unobstructed view through the windshield.
The last photo shows the view from the driver's position. You can see that I still have a completely unobstructed view out the windshield. Rotating to portrait does cause a little intrusion over the hood, and depending on the size of your phone, it can be hard to find a position that doesn't do this, or result in part of the phone screen being partially blocked by the steering wheel. Personally, I like the landscape orientation for this reason, and also because in this position, I can use the phone camera as a low rent dash cam.
Behind the charging pad, there's a built in fan, that is absolutely silent. Whether this cools it down or not, I honestly can't tell, but another advantage of this position, is that it does receive some ventilation from the dashboard air vent.
Charging is as good as my other fast Qi chargers, and I believe this should be supplying 10 watts of power from the 2A 5W front USB port (although iPhone fast charging maxes out at 7.5W). Even while using Waze and streaming music over Bluetooth, my battery showed a slow but steady increase in charge.
The mount arm is extremely stable, with minimal jostling over rough roads, and the magnetic attachment is very strong. I have zero worries that the phone is going to fall off going over bumps.
As for the case, I like it, as it's very similar to the Speck case it replaced. Super thin, understated matte black TPU. It feels good in hand, but I do have to say that I would have preferred a more grippy, rubbery texture.
Image credit: XVIDA
Conclusion: I've only had this setup for about a week, but so far, I really, really like it. I love being able to just throw my phone up against the charging plate and have it click into position and start charging. It's remarkably satisfying. I love how I no longer have to fiddle with the lightning cable and phone dock every time I get in and out of the car. And I love having Waze right at my fingertips, and right in my line of sight. Is it perfect? No. I wish the micro USB cable plugged into the base of the mount, rather than into the charging pad, to further minimize the appearance of any cords (even though you can't see the cord when the phone is on the charger). I wish the "arm" could rotate on the suction disc, so you could re-position it without having to "un-suck" the suction cup and potentially weaken the adhesive, but then again, I think this could also introduce some wobbliness that I wouldn't want, so never mind, I can live with it the way it is. I wish the 360 degree rotation knob was a quick release lever instead of a knob. I wish the rotate and swivel head had just a tad more range of motion. Finally, yes, it is a little expensive, but the quality is high, and I'm willing to spend more for something that looks and feels like it belongs in a Tesla. Overall, this thing is close to perfect, and I think, right now, the best option out there for a magnetic Qi charger for the Model 3. Highly recommended.
What I paid:
Power 2 XVIDA Car Charger Suction Mount: $69
XVIDA iPhone X Case: $29
Image credit: XVIDA
For quite awhile now, I’ve been searching for a magnetic qi charger for the M3, with a suction mount that would allow mounting to the back of the screen, so the phone could be placed somewhere closer to line of sight (for waze, not for texting!). Looking at Waze, way down in the phone dock cubby, was just not safe, and none of the current or proposed qi charging solutions for this area are very good (due to phone movement, heating, etc.)
My initial requirements:
1. Magnetic. Don’t like those fiddly “claw” clamps that detract from the minimalism of the M3 cabin.
2. Suction mount. As others have done with gooseneck mounts (see @chanmanx2k's photo), I want to be able to attach the mount to the back of the screen, again minimizing visibility of the mount and cabling.
Photo credit: @chanmanx2k - Non-charging magnetic holder
3. Qi fast charging. Because navigation chews up phone batteries.
4. Cooling. Either by placement near the vent, or built in. Navigation also causes heating, resulting in battery degradation and lower charging efficiency.
5. Capable of rotation. Many magnetic qi chargers only support portrait mode.
Surprisingly, this has been harder than I thought it would be. After months of looking, I finally came across the XVIDA charging system, which meets all of my basic requirements. I first contacted the company, to see if the mount could accommodate the 180 degree range of motion that would be necessary to mount it on the back of the screen. A friendly employee named Mark, wrote back almost immediately, and provided proof of concept:
Video and image credits: XVIDA
I immediately ordered the mount, and the magnetic case, sold separately, for my iPhone X. Unlike most magnetic mounts, that use a metal plate attached to your phone, the XVIDA takes things to the next level: it uses a specially designed magnetic plate, built into a case (or you can buy a $15 magnetic plate to attach to your phone or slip behind a thin case), to almost magically “dock” your phone to the mount. Literally, you just put your phone close to the mount, and it instantly gets locked into perfect position for mounting AND optimal charging efficiency. It’s amazing!
Image credit: XVIDA
When I finally got the mount, I began playing around with placement around the screen. The suction has a reusable adhesive, to help it stick. Unfortunately, I had originally wanted to place the mount on the bottom of the screen, with the phone suspended off the lower left side, but the curvature of the back of the screen, due to the base that mounts the screen to the dashboard, prevents that. Try as I may, it kept falling off in this location. Another obstacle to the under-screen mounting position, was the phone dock flip lid, which would collide with the mount, when opened and closed, if placed too centrally.
So, giving up on the under-mounting locations, I switched my attention to the upper portion of the screen, and it was successful. The adherence to the flatter upper portion of the screen back, is very strong. I experimented with different placements, and since I wanted primarily landscape orientation, I chose the upper left corner, with a slight overlap. In this position, nothing important gets obscured by the phone, and I still have a perfect unobstructed view through the windshield.
The last photo shows the view from the driver's position. You can see that I still have a completely unobstructed view out the windshield. Rotating to portrait does cause a little intrusion over the hood, and depending on the size of your phone, it can be hard to find a position that doesn't do this, or result in part of the phone screen being partially blocked by the steering wheel. Personally, I like the landscape orientation for this reason, and also because in this position, I can use the phone camera as a low rent dash cam.
Behind the charging pad, there's a built in fan, that is absolutely silent. Whether this cools it down or not, I honestly can't tell, but another advantage of this position, is that it does receive some ventilation from the dashboard air vent.
Charging is as good as my other fast Qi chargers, and I believe this should be supplying 10 watts of power from the 2A 5W front USB port (although iPhone fast charging maxes out at 7.5W). Even while using Waze and streaming music over Bluetooth, my battery showed a slow but steady increase in charge.
The mount arm is extremely stable, with minimal jostling over rough roads, and the magnetic attachment is very strong. I have zero worries that the phone is going to fall off going over bumps.
As for the case, I like it, as it's very similar to the Speck case it replaced. Super thin, understated matte black TPU. It feels good in hand, but I do have to say that I would have preferred a more grippy, rubbery texture.
Image credit: XVIDA
Conclusion: I've only had this setup for about a week, but so far, I really, really like it. I love being able to just throw my phone up against the charging plate and have it click into position and start charging. It's remarkably satisfying. I love how I no longer have to fiddle with the lightning cable and phone dock every time I get in and out of the car. And I love having Waze right at my fingertips, and right in my line of sight. Is it perfect? No. I wish the micro USB cable plugged into the base of the mount, rather than into the charging pad, to further minimize the appearance of any cords (even though you can't see the cord when the phone is on the charger). I wish the "arm" could rotate on the suction disc, so you could re-position it without having to "un-suck" the suction cup and potentially weaken the adhesive, but then again, I think this could also introduce some wobbliness that I wouldn't want, so never mind, I can live with it the way it is. I wish the 360 degree rotation knob was a quick release lever instead of a knob. I wish the rotate and swivel head had just a tad more range of motion. Finally, yes, it is a little expensive, but the quality is high, and I'm willing to spend more for something that looks and feels like it belongs in a Tesla. Overall, this thing is close to perfect, and I think, right now, the best option out there for a magnetic Qi charger for the Model 3. Highly recommended.
What I paid:
Power 2 XVIDA Car Charger Suction Mount: $69
XVIDA iPhone X Case: $29
