ESR HaloLock Wireless Car Charger with CryoBoost Review: A Glimpse of the Future that won’t Land for Everyone

ESR HaloLock Wireless Car Charger with CryoBoost Review

ESR has created a beautiful wireless car charger using Apple’s MagSafe circular magnet to hold and charge an iPhone. Unfortunately, the ESR HaloLock Wireless Car Charger with CryoBoost may not work with all types of vents or vehicles.

Apple’s iPhone MagSafe has changed the accessory market significantly, but it is still a market in transition. Cables easily incorporate into a mobile charging scenario. When you start clipping things on existing vehicle features, that complicates things.

What we like

ESR made a double space age move with the $45.99 HaloLock Wireless Car Charger. First, they built a ring of blue LED around the magnet area. Blue LEDs equals science fiction inspired, at least for me. Second, they engineered the CryoBoost, which is a fan sitting behind the ring of blue LEDs forcing air through the charger and over the phone, helping to cool it during the transfer of power.

The elegant and future-inspired charging pad gives way to a somewhat clunky mechanical experience with the clamp and support foot that mounts the HaloLock Car Charger onto a vent. Owners will need to twist and turn the various components into a reliable configuration.

ESR claims faster charging with an 18W+ mobile power supply, but I did not have one to test, so I can’t evaluate that assertion.

The magnets are strong, especially when combined with a MagSafe compatible case. Even on bumpy roads, my ESR HaloLock never let go of my iPhone 13 Pro. The magnets also make it easy to shift the iPhone from vertical to horizontal orientation.

I keep writing iPhone, as that is the default choice, but with ESR, Zagg, and other selling magnets for Qi charging Android phones, the ESR charger will also work with other devices following an investment in a ring magnet to align the charging array.

If your vehicle’s vents fit the models above the green check marks, I can easily recommend the ESR HaloLock Wireless Car Charger with CryoBoost. If not, you may want to consider Mophie’s more forgiving Snap+ design, which comes without a clip or a stabilization feature.

What could be improved

The biggest improvement need comes in an area that ESR can’t really address—more flexibility in the types of vents the HaloLock will mount to. On their Amazon product page, ESR clearly only works with wide-slatted, horizontal or square vents. Unfortunately, I have an oddly shaped vertical vent on my Chevy Equinox which lends itself to the much simpler Mophie mount—the Mophie mount, however, is less secure than ESR’s charger when the ESR charger was mounted to a compatible vent. Both struggled with vertical vents with vertical vanes.

So, what does this mean in practice? My preferred location for a phone mount would be near my center console, with cables running straight up from the ports to the charger. Unfortunately, I could not find a stable position for the ESR HaloLock in that position, so, I mounted my HaloLock on the left of my steering wheel, which resulted in wires running over my steering wheel and just below my dashboard.

The ESR HaloLock ships with a USB-A to USB-C cable. As the world shifts to USB-C, I would like to see either two cables or one cable with a choice of connectors.

ESR HaloLock Wireless Car Charger with CryoBoost Review: The Bottom Line

For the right vehicle, the ESR HaloLock is a great choice. Its unique fan cools while charging, and the blue LEDs make for an attractive accessory. Buyers need to make sure they have the right kind of vent before making a purchase. Operationally, I found the ESR offered solid charging from my vehicle’s built-in USB-A port. 

ESR provided the HaloLock Wireless Car Charger with CryoBoost for review. Images courtesy of ESR unless otherwise noted.

Serious Insights is an Amazon Affiliate. Clicking on an Amazon link may result in a payment to Serious Insights.

For more serious insights on hardware and accessories, click here.