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Apr 22, 2023

Peachz Mobile Accessories Review: Local Is (mostly) Lekker

If you drive a higher-end car in South Africa, odds are that somewhere inside

If you drive a higher-end car in South Africa, odds are that somewhere inside your vehicle is a USB port. This allows you to charge your device so you can take phone calls the old-fashioned way instead of using the hands-free option that even cheaper cars now support. Seriously, guys, what the hell? But if you, like most in SA, don't have that kind of money, there's always the 12V port that used to house a cigarette lighter.

The tricky bit is finding a suitable adaptor. The unit sent to Stuff by Peachz, as part of a bulk package, is one such unit. It retails for R290 and consists of a solid metal body housing two ports — a USB-C and USB-A. When rammed far enough into the 12V port in your vehicle, a little blue light illuminates to let you know that there's power flowing through the accessory.

How much power? That depends entirely on the port you’re using but the 48W rating isn't a suggestion. The USB-C supports 30W Power Delivery. The USB-A supports QC (Quick Charge) 3.0, an 18W power standard that should charge up most devices quicker than generic chargers are capable of.

Samsung's Galaxy S22 Ultra was our test bed for most of the review. Unusually for accessories like this, it pushed the Samsung device into ‘Super Fast Charging’ territory, which… isn't that much of an achievement. Samsung's phone caps out at 45W but that does mean that a moderate drive is enough to get you charged up to full. Or nearly there, as long as you hit all the red lights.

As an accessory for underequipped cars, the premium construction and decent charge capability make the Peachz 48W car charger an attractive option for users looking to mitigate the effects of load shedding. At least you’ll always have a charged smartphone, as long as your car's battery is functional. Now if only there was a USB-C cable you could use to reap these benefits…

Stuff says ★★★★☆

Our opinion of the USB Type-C To Type-C 240W Elbow Nylon Braided Cable in our Peachz review care package has flip-flopped several times. Quality USB-C cables aren't especially cheap if you want nice-to-have features or need increased length. This Type-C to Type-C cable theoretically supports 240W fast charging, is 3m long, and only costs R290. So we set out to find the catch.

Upon relieving the cable of its packaging, we were impressed. The nylon braided sheath and rubber overmolds are both reassuringly tough. In this case, the extra toughness means sacrificing some flexibility. If that's the only catch, it's easy to forgive. The connectors are well-made and the non-elbowed side is slim enough (5.5mm) that compatibility with most smartphone cases shouldn't be problematic.

The second catch is harder to overlook, not that we can blame the cable for this. The description mentions that data transfer speeds max out at 480Mbps because it's using the older USB 2.0 standard. If you need to move large amounts of data quickly or want a link cable for VR purposes, you’re better off with Peachz’ dedicated VR link cable. The main focus here is fast charging.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to verify the maximum supported 240W because we simply didn't have anything on hand capable of outputting that much power. Dedicated 240W devices are hard to come by.

Another important note: there could be complications if you want to swap out a shorter branded cable with this one. We had no problem hitting ‘Super Fast Charging’ on our Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra with Samsung's 45W charger but couldn't reach the maximum 88W or 90W on our Huawei P60 Pro or MateBook X Pro. That could be due to an incompatibility with the devices and the Emark charging safety chip in the Peachz cable.

So, should you buy one? We’d say go for it. This is a long, well-made cable that should outlast a few generations of devices. But it's a good idea to order through Takealot. You’ll pay more but if you buy one and find it doesn't work as well as you’d like, the return process is simpler.

Stuff says ★★★★☆

This is probably the easiest review we’ve ever written. That's partly due to the product's simplicity, making it difficult to screw up, and partly because it does exactly as advertised on the tin. The Peachz MagSafe Ring Air Vent Car Phone Mount has spent a month attached to our daily driver (inside of our daily driver). We just couldn't mark it down, especially when considering the R305 price tag.

Android owners, don't be dissuaded by MagSafe in the title. This is a mount that’ll work for any phone, regardless of your loyalty to Apple. The only difference is the need for a magnet to accompany the mount, which takes up quite a big chunk of your phone's real estate.

As people with little love of fruit, we were hesitant to give up even a modicum of space on our phone's case. We did it eventually – because it's our job – and dispelled any uncertainty from our minds. It was the build quality and compact design that first impressed. The mount is comprised of tough plastics and a silicone sheathe with an extendable metal claw that’ll latch on to most vehicle air vents.

Build quality is one thing. Out in the real world, contending with the country's ever-deepening potholes and stop-start-iveness that load shedding brings about was the real test. Fortunately for us (and our smartphone), the mount held fast despite the extra weight. We wielded a 220g Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, though we don't doubt the magnet's ability to carry a tablet if you wanted to mount it.

Everything else, having passed the carry test, was a bonus. We appreciated the minimalist ring design that kept our phone's ports unencumbered and free for charging. Peachz just happens to make a cable long enough. The spherical joint connecting the magnetic arm offers simple adjustments, able to face anywhere in the car or flip onto its side for horizontal use.

We’d recommend picking this one up if you’re in need of a car mount. The lack of wireless charging – something easily countered with the 12V car charger above – may deter some, but in the interests of keeping the MagSafe Ring car mount's R305 price at R305, we didn't mind one bit.

Stuff says ★★★★★

Brett Venter, Duncan Pike, and Trent Meikle contributed to this review.