Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Charging Cradle is surprisingly affordable — for a very good reason
TheSamsung Galaxy Watch 5 Prois one ofthe best Android smartwatchesmoney can buy today, but customers have had one gripe about it since launch — it’s nearly impossible to lay the watch flat on a wireless charger. With the way the Watch’s band is shaped, trying something like reverse wireless charging using the back of your phone is practically a non-starter. But like the true modern tech giant that it is, Samsung is now ready to sell a solution to a problem that’s certainly of its own creation — a new Galaxy Watch Charging Cradle.
We first caught wind of this cradleearlier in September, but at the time, there wasn’t much known about the product besides its existence. The design holds the watch up, so there’s room for the stuff strap to hang off the sides, without getting in the way. Now,9to5Googlespotted Samsung’s official website in theUK listing the accessoryfor £20 (around $23). Whilethe US websiteis also showing the cradle, there’s no price mentioned and customers can’t check out with the product yet.
The cradle’s relatively low price can be attributed to the lack of any sort of charging circuitry of its own, Instead, Samsung expects you to use the charging puck included with your Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. Although this means the new charging cradle is essentially a hunk of injection-molded plastic with Samsung branding, at least you’re free to use it to charge older Samsung wearables like theGalaxy Watch 4,Watch 3, andWatch Active 2.
Pre-production photos seen onRedditleave us wondering why Samsung didn’t design the stand to hold the watch display at an angle for ease of access or use as a bedside clock. We aren’t surprised the community has already created similardesigns with subtle quality-of-life improvementsyou can have 3D printed (for cheap!) in the color and material of your choice.
So what does that make this? Is the stand explicitly Samsung’s attempt to right a wrong? Or is this just a practical, no-nonsense charging solution that’s versatile across all of Samsung’s wearable hardware? We’re not sure, but we appreciate having another option. And speaking of those, if you want a bit of personalization while solving the Watch 5 Pro’s issues you could pick up one ofthe best Galaxy Watch 5 strapsor 3D print a custom stand.
Pixel 10 Pro XL charges faster wirelessly
Things get red hot for Magenta
Google’s made several improvements over the years
Carriers get the upper hand
From faster storage to better speakers
I played the opening mission of The Outer Worlds 2 and really enjoyed what I experienced
