SanDisk iXpand Wireless Charger it is a rather unique product of its kind, well defined by the name that the American company has given it. On the one hand, in fact, we have the "Wireless Charger", ie the possibility of wirelessly charge any smartphone compatible with the Qi standard. On the other hand we find the wording "iXpand", which historically is associated with the company's products that allow you to carry out backup of mobile devices. The result of this unusual combination? We talk about it in this review.
Minimal and intuitive
The design did not particularly surprise me: we are faced with quite a large device (on the market it is quite easy to find more compact rechargers), with the upper surface in rubber - which prevents smartphones from slipping -, a microUSB connector to connect it to your PC and the input dedicated to the power supply.
To use it you will have to perform only two steps: connect it to the electricity supply and download the dedicated application, available for free on both the App Store and the Google Play Store.
Download
QR-Code
SanDisk Ixpand™ Charger
Developer:
SanDisk
Price:
Free
Download
QR-Code
SanDisk Ixpand™ Charger
Developer:
© Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates.
Price:
Free
The software is also particularly minimal. We have a first tab that shows the space available both on the device and on the smartphone; here we also find the button "Free up spaceWhich allows you to select which images and videos to remove from the device to transfer them to the SanDisk device. The second tab instead reminds you which ones photo you have already sent to the iXpand Wireless Charger and it allows you to restore photos, while the third is dedicated to contacts, also in this case re-transferable to the device at any time.
Rather sparse settings. In fact, from here you can set the wireless network - essential for the backup since it takes place via WiFi -, decide which items to save on the SanDisk device and activate or deactivate anonymous data sharing.
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SanDisk iXpand Wireless Charger in everyday life
Now that I've explained what it does, I want to tell you about my experience of use after ten days of use, part of which was away from Cologne for Gamescom 2019.
The first thing I noticed about the SanDisk iXpand Wireless Charger is the dependence on the home network. In fact, to make the backup you will have to connect it to a WiFi network and this, in my house, is certainly not a problem. All I have to do is find it a stable place, plug it in and configure everything with the app, after which you'll almost forget you have it. In fact, placing the smartphone for recharging becomes extremely natural and the backup will take care of itself, so you don't have to remember to start it. On the road, things got a bit complicated for two reasons: 1) I had to reconfigure it and 2) the Internet connection was much less powerful and stable than mine, so the backup took forever. It is not the fault of the iXpand Wireless Charger, this must be clear, but it is also true that you will not always be able to count on a good connection. It would have been useful to have a cable alternative or a direct wireless connection between device and smartphone.
As for the backup itself it goes without saying that it is always a guarantee. A guarantee not only for you but also for the rest of the family or any colleagues. The device in fact supports multi-account so you can take advantage of his 128 or 256 GB to save photos on multiple smartphones. No fear: it's all private, so no one will be able to access the data of others.
Finally, do not forget the possibility of connect it to a computer as a simple hard disk, which means you can use it to save any kind of file.
SanDisk iXpand Wireless Charger: buy it or not?
SanDisk iXpand Wireless Charger is already available on the market starting from 114,99 euros. Would I buy it? Difficult to answer this question. On the one hand it is a good price for a device that not only recharges your smartphone, but also saves photos and videos and acts like an external hard drive when you need it; on the other hand, however, Google Photo takes care of protecting - for free - my memories, while a wireless charging base can be found for much less.
In my opinion, therefore, it is not an indispensable device for the most geeky among you, but certainly a good support for those who are less practical. I think, for example, of a parent or a not too passionate grandfather who struggles to understand how Google Photo or iCloud work and who is afraid that his photos will be lost.
SanDisk iXpand Wireless Charger
Pro 
- Simple to set up
- Easy to use
- Multi-account support
- Up to 256GB of space
- It can behave like a hard drive
Cons 
- Abundant size
- Dependent on wireless connection
