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I have an unreasonable obsession with finding the ideal forms and locations for convenient phone charging. But most charging stations can't meet my impossibly high standards. I want to be able to charge my phone without getting tangled in a mess of cables. That's it.
Wireless charging is one answer. We have a full guide on the best ones. But they all have one critical flaw: Wireless chargers work only when you set your phone down. That's fine when I'm at my desk, but if I'm scrolling on the couch or chatting with someone while in bed, they're pretty useless. Other charging stations—including one of my favorites, the little power cube you can tuck under the couch—have plenty of plugs for charging cables, but you still need a tangled mess of accompanying cables to sit in a drawer, on a side table, or on the floor when you're not using them. The Anker 647 charging stand seems to be the only thing that understands my pain.
It's the first-est of first world problems, but Anker nonetheless heard my cries. For the most part, the charger is a nondescript surge-protector-style charging block. It has six electrical outlet plugs, with three on each side. Any charging cable you can plug into a wall, you can plug in here, too. Additionally, it has two USB ports—one USB-C and one USB-A—that you can plug more cables into.
But it's the two retractable USB-C cables that made me fall in love with this charging station. On either side, there's a 3-foot cable that supports fast charging which you can pull out and plug into your phone or laptop. When you're done, pull on it again and the cable will automatically retract back into the station itself. It functions a bit like how window blinds work, locking if you pull in one direction, retracting if you pull in the other.
Since both cables are USB-C, they're compatible with a wide variety of devices. I've used it with my phone, two different laptops, and my Switch. One of the built-in cables supports up to 60W charging, and the other 45W. The higher wattage cable has a small laptop icon next to it to let you know that if you want to charge quickly while doing some heavy work, this is the one to use.
Anker pitches this station as being ideal for the center of conference room tables or shared workspaces. The product's page has plenty of pictures of people who are way too happy to be at work on opposite sides of a table, with all their laptops, phones, and wireless charging pads plugged in. I'm reasonably sure that it's great for that use, too.
However, I prefer to use it in two locations. One is sitting on a table or shelf next to my couch. When guests come over, they inevitably want some place to charge their phone, and having a retractable cable is a handy way to give them an option without making a mess in my living room.
The second is on my bedside table. If my partner and I are working on our laptops in bed, or we simply want to plug our phones in before bed, the retractable cables feel so much better than having a pile of different cables laying around. It just makes my bedroom feel cleaner and more welcoming when cables are hidden unless I need them. While wireless charging pads would also clear up some space, they still run into the problem of not being able to charge and use a device at the same time.
All that said, there are two minor issues I have and would love to see addressed in future models. Most prominently, the charging station has a small, circular light on the top that, as far as I can tell, exists solely to let you know that it's plugged in. While I appreciate the feedback, and it wouldn't be an issue for its intended purpose in office spaces, it's distractingly bright if used in a bedroom. I typically have to put a small box on top to block the light.
And speaking of putting a little box on top, the wide, flat space on top seems to be begging for a built-in wireless charging pad. I'm sure fitting two 3-feet cable coils into the same space as a wireless charger would be an engineering challenge, so I might be hoping for too much here, but if there were a variant of this station that could wirelessly charge a phone, it'd be my pick. Hey, maybe the phone would even block out that annoying light.
The Anker 647 charging station is a little bulky, but it packs enough power and flexibility to earn its centerpiece spot in whatever space you need to charge a lot of gadgets. It may be designed for offices, but it's become my favorite charger at home. All it took to elevate it over the competition were some retractable cables.
