Charging cables are one of the most important things for any piece of technology, yet they are often overlooked. The new ASAP Connect is an attempt to bring efficient magnetic charging over to USB and Apple devices.
The handy peripheral is comprised of an 18K gold plated USB cable and a little connector that is inserted into the port on your smartphone. Both of these have a magnetic neodymium connector that looks quite similar to the Apple MagSafe adapters; a series of gold pins that touch when the two adapters are clamped together.
Where it differs from the competition is in it’s beveled design, which allows the cable to be easily connected from any angle. The company demonstrated this with the GIF video below. The ASAP Connect is on the far right and connects with little fuss, while the others fail pretty miserably.
The cable itself is also available in a handy adapter form and supports all major fast charging formats, which is another definite bonus. Since it is just a cable in the basic sense, there should be no compatibility issues with the device whatsoever. Our only concern is that the little connector which goes inside the smartphone could be a little bulky for those who don’t use a case, since it does protrude from the handset slightly. The company does say that they’ve managed to reduce the tip to only 10mm, but it’s still not totally flush with the chassis.
The man behind the product, Vinson Leow, is currently running an Indiegogo campaign to mass produce the peripheral. At the time of writing, it’s already smashed the target, amassing $199,216 and destroying the original $30,000 goal. The ASAP Connect is expected to release October 2016; backers who pledge $14 or more will get the adapter plus one tip of choice.
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