The 3-in-1 Charger: Excellent, or Entirely Wasted

It removes cables from a nightstand, which is a real daily irritation. Three devices means three cables, three plugs and a tangle nobody enjoys reaching into in the dark. One stand with three positions replaces all of that with putting things down.

Magnetic alignment is what makes wireless charging reliable rather than annoying. Flat wireless pads fail quietly overnight when a phone slides half an inch off centre; a magnetic mount snaps into the right position and stays there, which is the difference between waking to a charged phone and waking to a dead one.

Folding makes it a travel object as well as a desk one. A charger that collapses flat into a bag means one item covers a hotel nightstand instead of three cables, and travel is where the tangle is most annoying.

• A husband who owns an iPhone, an Apple Watch and AirPods
• Someone who travels for work and packs a bundle of cables every time
• A cluttered nightstand or a shared desk
• Anyone who has woken up to a phone that did not charge

• Replaces three cables with one object
• Magnetic mounting makes charging reliable
• Folds flat for travel as well as home use

The things worth checking before you order — this is where gifts like this most often go wrong.

• Confirm he owns all three devices, and that the phone is a magnetic-compatible iPhone. This is the check that decides everything: on an Android phone, or an older iPhone without magnets, the stand will not align and the watch position is useless without an Apple Watch. Two thirds of the product would be wasted.
• Check whether a power adapter is included. Stations in this category very often ship with a cable and no plug, and a charger that cannot be plugged in on the day it is opened is a poor unwrapping.
• Wireless charging is slower than a cable and always will be, because some energy is lost as heat. This is a convenience upgrade for overnight charging, not a speed upgrade for a phone that is flat an hour before you leave.
• Third-party watch chargers are not all equal — some charge an Apple Watch at a slower rate than the official puck. Overnight this makes no practical difference; for a quick top-up before an evening out it does.