Twelve South Valet Review: Custom MagSafe Charger

Twelve South’s latest accessory is a custom leather-trimmed butler that charges your iPhone using an elevated MagSafe-compatible perch and is impressively customizable.

Like it or not, chargers are a necessary evil in our lives. Realistically, it’s likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

When examining the available models on the market, of which there are many, there are several factors to consider, including design and performance. With its new wireless charger, Twelve South focused mainly on the former.

Twelve South Valet Review: Elevated Design

The clear inspiration here is your typical accessory that someone might have at home. A small tray to hold the rest of your pocket such as keys, wallet, coins, receipts and other small items.

This is not the first time that the company has added a charger to such a device. Both Courant and Nimble fit into this category.

Courant went with genuine, pebbled leather, which looks nice and classy, ​​and Nimble went with eco-friendly cactus leather with genuine wood trim. I have no complaints about either of them, but Twelve South has some tricks up its sleeve as well.

The entire butler is under eight inches wide and under ten inches deep. It sits an inch and a half in the air, which seems like a decent size, though perhaps a bit on the small side once the phone is positioned.

Genuine Nappa leather covers the entire charger, including the edge and the charging perch. The leather comes in two body colors – either soft cream or black.

The trim comes in ecru (off-white), brown, black, and taupe, all of which can be matched with any body color. One of the most unique aspects is that the rim is completely removable.

This gives owners the ability to remove the trim and replace it. It’s held in place magnetically and Twelve South sells them themselves for $25 each.

Courant chose to place the charger on a large raised area halfway down the charger, while Nimble chose to integrate a metal stand that can lift into the air to support StandBy mode. Twelve South sits in the middle, with a square leather-covered perch on one side.

I like this design because when the phone is not there, you have more space for your small things. It also keeps it off the main surface and creates a great floating effect.

By the way, the iPhone Air looks beautiful on it. It really sells the lightness of the phone as it seems to float above the leather surface.

When the phone is laid down to charge, the three downward-pointing lights will turn on momentarily and then turn off. This helps provide feedback that your phone is properly positioned and charging, although the magnets help with this as well.

I like how the charger looks on a table or nightstand. It is elegant, classy and all natural leather colors look beautiful.

Twelve South also offers you many placement options. Since there are three lights, they can be seen regardless of where the charger is placed. This is a very clever little touch.

Part of cable management is also location consideration. It comes with a color-matched USB-C to USB-C cable and a 36W power supply.

The cable is inserted into the underside of the charger. It leads out to any side you need between the raised silicone feet.

There are four small cable clips on the bottom for easy cable maintenance. It will keep the cable perfectly centered on any of the four sides, so you can position it anywhere in your home.

Twelve South Valet Review: Charging Performance

Twelve South Valet is a dual charger with two outputs. There’s a Qi2 charger for your iPhone on top, and a secondary USB-C port on the bottom for something else.

This USB-C port is capable of 35W output power, although not when a Qi charger is used. The Qi2 charger will provide 15W of power and the included USB-C power adapter has a power of 36W.

So you can do 35W for an iPhone, iPad or Mac when used alone, but this will be reduced if you use a Qi2 charger at the same time. It’s not a deal breaker in itself, but it’s something to be aware of when you’re trying to charge your gear.

I’m a bit concerned about Twelve South’s decision to go with a standard 15W Qi2 charging pad instead of the newer Qi2.2 spec which is capable of 25W. Ultimately it depends on how you use it, but it doesn’t quite add up for me.

Twelve South positions this as a butler-style charger designed for an entryway, shared space, or on a dresser. It is not intended to serve as a bedside charging solution for overnight use.

If it were to go on the nightstand, I’d insist on features like StandBy mode to tilt the phone to the bed. Even in Twelve South’s marketing images, it is placed on shelves or cabinets in the home, studio or office.

Speaking to Twelve South at CES, they said a possible scenario is like putting your phone down to charge while you’re about to head out. I am in all those places and scenarios specifically will insist on charging as fast as possible.

These are exactly the times I need a quick charge because I’m only putting my phone away for a short time rather than leaving it overnight. If I only have 15 to 30 minutes before heading out, I want to recharge as much energy as possible.

I’m not oblivious to the fact that adopting Qi2.2 would inflate the price even further, and I know that not everyone wants, needs or has a device to support those speeds. However, for me, it’s a big problem in my constantly on-the-go life.

Especially when the charger is expensive anyway. If I’m paying over a hundred dollars for a fancy charger, I want it to last and use the latest technology, not last-gen speeds.

12 South Valet Review: Chargers are personal

Chargers are like cases to me. There are seemingly endless options and they come in so many shapes, sizes, colors and speeds that you can find the perfect one to suit your lifestyle and devices.

I tend to burn through a lot of battery – after all, I shoot all day – and rarely have the luxury of slowly charging my phone. I also want the accessories I bring into my home to look as good as they work.

That’s why I’m so torn about this charger, because I love the aesthetics. The design is exceptional and the build quality and materials are fantastic.

I wish more accessory manufacturers would embrace premium materials that offer alternatives to the sea of ​​plastic options on the market. The leather here, for example, gives the piece a warmer and more inviting feel, rather than presenting itself as another addition to cold technology.

The Twelve South Valet elevates any space it occupies, bringing the convenience of a MagSafe charger and storage space. But I’d rather pay extra for higher speeds that will last me for years to come.

It’s one thing to be a premium product with cutting edge technology; another is to be a premium product using outdated technology. If you’re using an older device or don’t mind slower charging, then this is absolutely something you should try.

Twelve South Valet Review: Avg

• Beautiful Napa leather in several colors
• Modular design with replaceable trim
• Leather covers every part, including the bezel and charger
• Decent size to hold common pocket items
• Color-matched cable and charger included
• Customizable cable management
• Bonus USB-C output for secondary devices with higher performance
• The magnetic perch looks great with a floating effect

Twelve South Jack Review: Cons

• Expensive, premium price tag
• Charging speed 15W Qi2 latest generation
• Could be a bit bigger
• You cannot charge both devices at maximum speed at the same time

12 South Valet Rating: 3 out of 5

Where to buy Twelve South Valet

You can purchase the Twelve South Valet directly from the Twelve South website for $179 in eight different color configurations.