Spigen has been around for years and is well-known for making cases for a variety of smartphones, but it also recently broke into the charging accessory market under the PowerArc brand. And just in time for Apple to stop including the charger with new iPhones, Spigen's PowerArc has launched a wall charger aimed at the iPhone 12.
The PowerArc ArcStation Pro wall charger uses gallium nitride (GaN), a material enables smaller and more efficient chargers, to stuff fast charging speeds into a smaller package. The $19.99 ArcStation Pro isn't much bigger than Apple's 5W wall charger that used to come with every iPhone, but offers up to 20W charging speeds with USB-C PD 3.0.
The measurements of the ArcStation Pro are 39.5 x 34.5 x 27.7mm. To compare, Apple's 5W wall charger is 50.8 x 25.4 x 25.4mm, while Apple's 18W wall charger that came with the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max measures 57.15 x 41.27 x 25.4mm. Apple did recently introduce a 20W wall charger that it sells for $19, but it looks to be similar in size to the 18W charger.
In addition to its small size, the ArcStation Pro has another benefit that frequent travelers — or at least those that used to travel frequently — will appreciate. The prongs on this wall charger fold in to make it more compact, something that Apple's wall chargers can't do.
Because it's got 20W USB-C PD charging, the ArcStation Pro can recharge Apple's iPhone 12 and models all the way back to the iPhone 8 at their fastest speeds. In my testing, a fully drained iPhone 11 Pro Max 16 minutes to charge to 20% when plugged into the ArcStation Pro, reaching 50% in 34 minutes. Charging the iPhone 11 Pro Max all the way up to 100% took 2 hours and 2 minutes.
The ArcStation Pro can fast charge lots of other devices, too. That includes Apple's iPad Pro, iPad Air (3rd generation), and iPad mini (5th generation) tablets as well as many recent Android devices.
One other detail of the ArcStation Pro to know about is the LED on its face. This lights up blue when the charger is plugged into power, and while it's not crazy bright, I can see how it could be a bit bothersome you're a sensitive sleeper and you've got the ArcStation Pro plugged into an outlet near your bed at night.
When Apple revealed earlier this month that it would not include a wall charger in the box with its new iPhone 12 models, it said the decision was meant to help the environment because there are more than 2 billion Apple wall chargers out in the world. The thing is that Apple is including a USB-C to Lightning cable with the iPhone 12 series, and the 5W power adapter that Apple included with its iPhones released before the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max uses USB-A.
This means that some iPhone 12 buyers are probably going to need to buy a USB-C wall charger to go with their new iPhone. Even if you're interested in Apple's new MagSafe wireless charger, you'll need a wall charger to plug that MagSafe into. If you find yourself in either scenario, the ArcStation Pro is worth a look thanks to its small size, folding prongs, and price tag that matches Apple's own 20W fast charger.
