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Charge two iPads at once with Qmadix Twin Tablet Charger 4.2

Qmadix 4.2 isn't much bigger than your average 12-volt to USB adapter, despite the fact that it outputs a little more than eight times the power with twice the ports.

Headshot of Antuan Goodwin
Headshot of Antuan Goodwin
Antuan Goodwin Senior Writer, Electrified Cars
Antuan started out in the automotive industry the old-fashioned way, by turning wrenches in a driveway and picking up speeding tickets. He now has nearly 20 years of expertise and experience behind the wheel of hundreds of cars, including electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, hydrogen, and traditional combustion vehicles. For each car he tests, Antuan covers more than 200 miles behind the wheel and evaluates driving dynamics; acceleration and braking performance; range; and efficiency. Antuan's goal is to use his extensive car knowledge to educate CNET readers and help with their next car-related buying decision. Whether you're EV-curious, an EV-enthusiast or a combustion-car loyalist, Antuan will bring you the unbiased advice, reviews, best lists and news you need. You can reach Antuan at antuan.goodwin@cnet.com
Expertise Nearly two decades of testing, driving, reporting on, writing about, reviewing, and editing content about electric and ICE cars. Category focus is on electrified cars, EVs, HEVs, PHEVs, ICE cars, EV infrastructure, EV chargers, EV adapters, EV news, auton Credentials
  • North American Car, Truck and SUV of the Year (NACTOY) Awards Juror
Antuan Goodwin
2 min read

To many of you, one USB car charger is just as good as the next, but if you've ever tried to plug your shiny new iPad or massive screened smartphone into a cheapy charger, odds are you quickly learned how wrong you were.

Qmadix Twin Tablet Charging Kit 4.2
Blue LED illumination makes it easy to spot and connect to the ports at night. Antuan Goodwin/CNET

Not all powered USB ports are created equally. Most USB car chargers output about 0.5A of charging power, which is a massive jump over the original "low load" USB standard of just 0.1A. However, tablets require a bit more juice still than these powered ports can supply. In the case of the iPad, 2.1A is the magic number. Anything below that and a simple recharge becomes an all-day ordeal. (Even then, the tablet will only charge while it's sleeping.) I've seen similar situations with large screened smartphones that ship with "high speed" or "high power" 0.85A chargers. You can charge on less (albeit slowly); you can play on less; but you can't do both.

The Qmadix USB Twin Tablet Charging Kit 4.2 that just landed on my desk has not one, but two, 2.1A (10W) powered USB ports that allow a user to recharge up to two iPads at the same time. If you're not the type to dual wield your tablet, you could also charge an iPad (or other tablet) and fast charge an iPhone (or other a high-end smartphone) simultaneously. The Qmadix 4.2 charger also ships with a dock connector cable (just the one) for connecting an iPad, iPhone, or iPod. Users of Android, BlackBerry, or other devices will need to BYO USB cable.

The unit's twin USB ports feature blue LED illumination, which is cool for styling, but more importantly makes them easy to spot and connect to in a darkened vehicle at night. Additionally, both ports are labeled 2.1A, creating a nice visual cue you can reference when bragging about your massive amperage to passengers.

Qmadix Twin Tablet Charging Kit 4.2
The Qmadix 4.2 charger (center) dwarfs the Scosche PowerPLUG (left), but is about the same size as our cheapskate USB charger (right), despite outputting over four times more power than both combined. Antuan Goodwin/CNET

What's more interesting is that the Qmadix 4.2 isn't much bigger than your average 12-volt to USB adapter, despite the fact that it outputs a little more than eight times the power. The low-ish profile design is nice. However, owners of vehicles with deeply recessed 12-volt outlets may want to take note of the 4.2's double wide design.

At an MSRP of $39.99, the Qmadix Twin Tablet Charging Kit is no mere impulse purchase. That's a lot of money to spend on a car charger, particularly when the market is filled with competitors like the $17.99 Scosche PowerPLUG 2.1A (a charger so low profile that it barely protrudes from the outlet). However many of these competitors also step down to a single 2.1A connection, which could be an issue if, for example, you're trying to power two headrest-mounted iPads from a single rear outlet. However, there are other dual 2.1A chargers on the market and if their prices are any indicator, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Qmadix charger's actual sticker price drop to a lower point shortly after it hits retailers.