Is this the ultimate wireless car charger? My iPhone tells me yes

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?

ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.

When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.

ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.

ESR HaloLock with CryoBoost wireless in-car charger

Sometimes I test a product that I think I'm not going to like, but then it surprises me and even becomes a favorite gadget of mine.

This is what happened with the ESR HaloLock with CryoBoost wireless car charger.

I had a couple of concerns about this charger.

Also: The best wireless chargers for iPhone and Android phones

First, I've had bad experiences using MagSafe magnetic wireless chargers in the car. I live in rural Wales, U.K., where my daily driver is a truck. The combination of the truck and rough roads means that MagSafe car chargers become unreliable, with the phone moving or falling off the charger.

My second concern involves the mounting mechanism. This charger is clipped to the car's vent, and I've had these fall off at inopportune times. Again, rough roads don't help, especially when combined with the large size and weight of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

But this ESR HaloLock with CryoBoost wireless car charger is excellent in pretty much every way.

As close to perfect as in-car wireless MagSafe charging gets -- a super-strong magnet and a really ingenious vent clamp system.

This is also available without the 36W QC 3.0 car adapter, if you already have a 12V adapter that can power this in-car charger.

First, the magnetic connection between the iPhone's MagSafe magnets and that of the charger is excellent. It clamps in place with what ESR claims is 3,000g of holding force when paired with a MagSafe or HaloLock case. I've been testing this with a Quad Lock MagSafe case and found the strength of the magnet to be nothing short of amazing.

Also: iPhone or Android slow or buggy? Do this one simple thing every week

The phone can be attached vertically or horizontally, depending on your needs.

I have no problems or complaints whatsoever about this.

Next, the vent clamp.

This is truly inspired, and makes use of a long, strong clip that wraps around a vent blade, and a stability bar that keeps the mount from going anywhere. The stability bar distributes the weight of the phone so it's not hanging off a single vent blade.

Also: Traveling soon? Take this 6-port charger with you

The tilt is adjusted using a finger nut, which makes it easy to adjust the position of the iPhone. Once you tighten this finger nut, the charger (and the attached iPhone) isn't going anywhere.

The vent clamp is the best I've tested.

When connected to a car charger, the charger waits for an iPhone to be connected before firing up a cooling fan and activating the cool-blue LED lighting.

Note the cool blue LED lighting.

The fan draws air over the wireless charger to dissipate the heat generated by the charging process.

Diagram shows the cooling fan drawing air over the wireless charging module.

But does the cooling work?

You bet it does!

The cooling fan is very effective.

The sun's been out lately and I'd started to notice that my old in-car charger was overheating, which in turn was overheating my iPhone and interrupting the charging.

Also: Using your iPhone in high temperatures can cause permanent damage. Here's what not to do

I've had none of these issues with the HaloLock with CryoBoost wireless in-car charger. The fan does a good job of keeping the charger cool no matter what the weather. And I've pushed it hard to test it -- really hard, going so far as to direct the car's heating over the charger.

Also: How to upgrade your iPhone in-car charging experience

This cooling system is extremely effective.

And here's another bonus: The charger comes with comprehensive, easy-to-follow instructions.

The ESR HaloLock with CryoBoost wireless car charger comes with clear, easy-to-follow instructions.

The ESR HaloLock with CryoBoost wireless in-car charger kit is an absolutely fantastic way to keep your iPhone charged up while you're driving. It's by far the best that I've tested (and I've tested a lot).

It's so good, in fact, that I've switched to using it as my daily driver. That's the best recommendation I can give this awesome product.