Should I buy iPad (A16, 2025)? Wait if you can

Should you buy? No

The entry-level iPad was last updated in March 2025 and is now the oldest model in Apple’s lineup. It remains the only current iPad that doesn’t support Apple Intelligence, making it a less future-proof purchase than the rest of the range.

A replacement is expected before the end of 2026, potentially bringing Apple Intelligence support and a faster processor. Unless you can find the current model at a substantial discount, it’s worth waiting.

Should I buy iPad mini (A17 Pro, 2024)? – Wait for new model

Should you buy? No

The current iPad mini launched in October 2024 and remains an excellent compact tablet with Apple Intelligence support. However, multiple reports suggest Apple will update it later in 2026, likely with a faster A19 Pro chip.

If you need a small tablet today, the current model is still a good buy – particularly if it’s discounted. Otherwise, waiting a few months should bring a worthwhile performance upgrade.

Should I buy iPad Air (M4, 2026)? – Buy now

Should you buy? Yes

The iPad Air (M4), introduced in March 2026, is the newest iPad in Apple’s lineup. Available in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, it features the M4 chip, 12GB of RAM, Wi-Fi 7, and an excellent balance of performance, features, and price.

For most people, it’s the best iPad Apple sells and is unlikely to be replaced until 2027, making now an excellent time to buy.

Should I buy iPad Pro (M5, 2025)? – Buy now if you need the power

Should you buy? Yes

The iPad Pro (M5), launched in October 2025, remains Apple’s most capable tablet. It combines the M5 chip with a stunning Tandem OLED ProMotion display, support for up to 2TB of storage, and class-leading performance. The next update isn’t expected until 2027.

That said, it’s the right choice only if you’ll benefit from its extra power. Creative professionals working with demanding apps, large media projects, or intensive multitasking will appreciate what it offers. Most other buyers will find the iPad Air delivers a very similar everyday experience for considerably less money. Likewise, children and casual users are generally better served by the standard iPad or iPad mini than by Apple’s most expensive tablet.

When is the best time to buy an iPad

The best time to buy an iPad is during major shopping events, particularly Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day, when retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart typically offer their biggest discounts.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday (November/December)

Black Friday is usually the best time of the year to buy an iPad. In 2025, every current iPad model reached its lowest-ever price during the Black Friday sales, with discounts of up to $150. The entry-level iPad (A16), for example, fell to just $274.

If you can wait until November, Black Friday is your best opportunity to get the lowest prices on almost every iPad model. See Black Friday iPad deals.

Amazon Prime Day (June/July and October)

Amazon now holds two major Prime Day sales each year – one in June or July and another in October – and both regularly feature excellent iPad deals.

The June 2026 event was particularly significant because in the middle of the sale Apple increased iPad prices by $100 to $300, which made the discounts even larger.

The October Prime Day sale often matches or comes close to Black Friday discounts and is another excellent time to buy. It is also possible that the new iPads will have launched by then. See Prime Day iPad deals.

During Apple’s Back to School promotion

If you’re a student, teacher, or work in education, Apple’s Education Store offers year-round discounts on most iPads. During Apple’s annual Back to School promotion in the summer, eligible buyers also receive a free gift card, making it one of the best times to buy directly from Apple.

Note that the criteria are very strict for shopping in Apple’s Education Store. Customers need to verify their eligibility through UNiDAYS before accessing Education Store pricing.

When shouldn’t you buy an iPad?

The worst time to buy an iPad is just before Apple releases a new model. You’ll often end up paying full price for a device that’s about to be replaced, while retailers discount the outgoing model to clear stock.

As of July 2026, the entry-level iPad (A16) and iPad mini (A17 Pro) fall into that category, with both expected to be refreshed before the end of 2026.

There are a few other situations where it’s worth thinking twice before buying:

If a major sale is just around the corner: If Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday is only a few weeks away, it’s usually worth waiting. These sales consistently offer the biggest iPad discounts of the year, often saving you $100 or more compared with buying at full price.

If you want a laptop replacement: An iPad can replace a laptop for some people, but it becomes much less compelling once you add accessories. A Magic Keyboard or similar case can add hundreds of dollars to the cost, bringing the total close to – or even above – the price of a MacBook. With the arrival of the $699 MacBook Neo, the value equation has shifted further. A similarly equipped iPad and keyboard can cost more while still being limited to iPadOS and mobile apps rather than full desktop software.

If you’re buying an older iPad: Discounts on older or refurbished iPads can be tempting, but always check how long they’ll continue to receive software updates. iPadOS 27 drops support for several older models, including the 2018 iPad Pro (3rd generation), 2019 iPad mini (5th generation) and 2020 iPad (8th generation). Buying an unsupported model means you’ll miss future features, security updates and, eventually, app compatibility.

If you want Apple Intelligence: Apple Intelligence isn’t available on every iPad. It requires an M1 chip or later (iPad Air and iPad Pro) or the A17 Pro chip in the current iPad mini. The entry-level iPad (A16) does not support Apple’s AI features, making it a less future-proof purchase.

If you don’t need cellular: Think carefully before paying extra for a 5G cellular model. Cellular connectivity typically adds more than $100 to the purchase price, and you’ll usually need a separate data plan. If you already carry an iPhone, using Personal Hotspot is often a far cheaper alternative.

If fast wired transfers matter: Most people won’t notice USB speeds, but they matter if you regularly transfer large files via cable. The standard iPad is limited to USB 2.0 (480Mbps), the iPad mini supports 5Gbps, the iPad Air 10Gbps, while the iPad Pro offers Thunderbolt speeds of up to 40Gbps.

What is the best iPad price right now?

Apple rarely discounts iPads. In fact, in June 2026, Apple increased iPad prices by $100 to $200, citing unprecedented component cost increases. The price rise came in the middle of Amazon’s Prime Day sale, during which we saw record-low prices. Prices that low are unlikely to return until a major sales event such as October Prime Day or Black Friday.

Right now, the best U.S. deals we are seeing are:

• $200 off iPad Pro, 13-inch, M5, 512GB at Amazon
• $200 off iPad Air, M4, 13-inch, 512GB at Amazon

In the U.K., the standout deal is:

• £35 off iPad Pro M5, 11-inch, 256GB at Amazon

Other ways to save money when buying an iPad

If you’re flexible about where and when you buy, there are several ways to reduce the cost of a new iPad.

Buy a refurbished iPad: Apple’s Certified Refurbished Store is one of the best places to save money. Refurbished iPads undergo Apple’s full testing process, receive a new battery and outer shell where required, include the same one-year warranty as a new device, and are eligible for AppleCare+. Prices are typically around 15% lower than buying new, with savings of up to $450 on some iPad Pro models.

Use Apple’s Education Store: Students, teachers, and education staff can save 5–15% through Apple’s Education Store all year round. During Apple’s annual Back to School promotion, qualifying purchases also include a free gift, such as AirPods or an Apple Pencil. In the U.S., eligibility now needs to be verified through UNiDAYS before accessing Education Store pricing. . Read: How to shop at Apple’s Education Store.

Trade in your old iPad: Apple’s Trade In programme can significantly reduce the cost of a new iPad. For the highest trade-in value, upgrade before Apple announces a replacement model, as trade-in prices typically fall once new devices are released.

Shop during major sales: The biggest discounts usually come from retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart during Prime Day and Black Friday. Apple itself rarely discounts iPads, instead offering gift cards during promotions such as Black Friday and Back to School. While those offers can be worthwhile, third-party retailers almost always provide larger cash discounts.

Is buying a refurbished iPad a good idea?

Buying a refurbished iPad is one of the best ways to save money. You can often afford a model with more storage or even an iPad Pro for the price of a new entry-level iPad.

The key is to buy refurbished, not simply used. A properly refurbished iPad has been tested, repaired if necessary, and checked to ensure it works like new. A used iPad sold privately is typically sold “as is”, with no warranty, and could even be locked to the previous owner’s Apple ID.

Buy from Apple’s Certified Refurbished Store

The safest option is Apple’s Certified Refurbished Store. Every refurbished iPad is fully tested, fitted with a new battery and outer shell where required, cleaned, and repackaged with all original accessories. You also receive:

• A one-year warranty, just like a new iPad.
• The option to purchase AppleCare+.
• Original accessories and packaging.
• Prices are typically around 15% lower than buying new.

What to look for

If you’re buying from a third-party retailer, pay attention to a few key details:

• Software support: Choose a model that will continue receiving iPadOS updates for several years. Older devices, such as the 2018 iPad Pro (3rd generation) and 2020 iPad (8th generation), no longer support iPadOS 27.
• Storage: Aim for at least 128GB. Older 32GB and 64GB models can quickly run out of space with modern apps and games.
• Condition: Check the retailer’s grading system so you know what cosmetic wear to expect.
• Warranty: Buy from a seller that includes a warranty—ideally for at least one year.

Where to buy

Apple Certified Refurbished: The safest choice, with the same warranty and support as a new iPad.

Reputable refurbishers: Retailers such as Back Market, Best Buy, and Amazon Renewed often offer deeper discounts, but always check the condition grading and warranty before buying.

If you buy from a trusted retailer and choose a model that still has years of software support ahead of it, a refurbished iPad can offer excellent value while saving you a significant amount of money.

Do you need to upgrade your current iPad?

Whether it’s time to replace your iPad depends on four things: software support, performance, battery life, and whether you’re missing features you actually want.

Your iPad no longer receives updates

The most important reason to upgrade is when your iPad stops receiving software and security updates. Apple typically provides major iPadOS updates for around six to eight years, with security updates often continuing for a while afterwards. See: How long does Apple support iPads?

As long as your iPad still receives security updates, it’s generally safe to keep using. Once those updates end, however, you’ll eventually lose app compatibility and expose yourself to increasing security risks.

As of 2026, iPads with an A14 chip or newer, or any M-series iPad, support iPadOS 27. Older models, including the 2018 iPad Pro and 2019 iPad Air, have reached the end of major software support.

It feels slow or the battery no longer lasts

Performance and battery life naturally decline with age. If apps take a long time to open, crash frequently, or the interface feels sluggish even after restarting, your iPad may be struggling to keep up.

Which are the best retailers to buy an iPad from?

Aside from Apple (View the iPad in the Apple Store and View the iPad in the Apple Store U.K). There are a number of third-party reseller that frequently discount the different iPad models.

Best for Lowest Prices

• Amazon
• B&H Photo
• Walmart
• Best Buy

Best for U.K. Buyers

• Laptops Direct
• Amazon
• KRCS
• John Lewis
• Currys

Similarly, if the battery no longer lasts through a typical day or the iPad shuts down unexpectedly, it may be time to replace the device – or at least the battery.

You want Apple Intelligence

One of the biggest reasons to upgrade today is Apple Intelligence. Apple’s AI features require an M-series chip or an A17 Pro processor.
If you own the current entry-level iPad (A16) or an older model, you won’t be able to use features such as Writing Tools, Priority Notifications, or Clean Up in Photos.

When you probably don’t need to upgrade

If your iPad still runs the latest version of iPadOS, performs well, and meets your needs, there’s little reason to replace it.

Owners of the M1 iPad Air or newer, as well as recent iPad Pro models, are unlikely to notice a dramatic difference in everyday tasks by upgrading to the latest generation. Unless you need a specific new feature or substantially more performance, you’re usually better off keeping your current iPad for another year or two.

How we find the best iPad deals

We identify the best iPad deals by combining our expert knowledge of Apple’s product lineup (which we have throughly review, and use daily) with specialized tools that monitor prices across a wide range of retailers. By tracking discounts over time, we understand what truly great deals look like and can quickly spot offers that deliver exceptional value.

In assessing deals, we look beyond the price tag to consider overall value. For example, while the M5 iPad Pro is a premium device, a substantial discount on a slightly older model may provide better value for many users. Likewise, we may highlight a strong deal on a basic iPad, pointing out that it can handle most everyday tasks for a fraction of the cost of a Pro model.

Because we understand Apple’s current iPad lineup, the features of previous generations, and what’s expected from future models, we’re well equipped to advise you on which iPad to buy and the best price to pay for it, especially in the wake of Apple’s price hikes.

Our process for identifying the top deals involves several key steps:

1. We use specialized tools: We have tools that allow us to see the best deals across multiple resellers at any given time.
2. Tracking historical prices: We track discounts and price drops throughout the year, so we know each model’s all-time low price. This helps us distinguish a genuine deal from a price that just looks good.
3. Leveraging product expertise: Our extensive knowledge of the entire iPad lineup, including past generations and future expectations, allows us to assess the true value of a deal. For example, we consider whether a discount on an older model is significant enough to justify missing out on features available in a newer version.
4. Monitoring key retailers: We constantly watch major retailers like Amazon and Walmart for bargains, especially during major sales events like Prime Day and Black Friday.

Is now a good time to buy a new iPad?

Prices are unlikely to come down significantly until Prime Day in October or Black Friday in November, but that’s not the only reason to wait. We also recommend reading the advice below to understand whether Apple is likely to update the iPad you’re considering. This can help you avoid purchasing an iPad shortly before a new model is released – a situation that often leads to regret, not only because a better version arrives, but also because retailers typically discount older models once an update occurs. However, if you’re hoping to get a deal on one of the newer models, be prepared to wait.

With that in mind, half of Apple’s iPad product line is due a refresh, with rumors indicating that a new iPad and iPad mini are coming before the end of 2026.

Here’s a breakdown of the current iPad models to help you decide if now is the right time for you to buy:

iPad (A16): This is the cheapest iPad you can buy new from Apple, starting at $449/£429 (up from $349/£329) for the 128GB model. It was updated in March 2025, at which point Apple doubled the storage at the entry level without reducing the price (at that time), making it even better value for money – obviously that’s changed now that Apple’s pushed prices up by $100. Before choosing this iPad., there are important factors to consider. While the A16 chip delivers solid performance for daily activities, such as web browsing, streaming, light gaming, it doesn’t support Apple Intelligence (the suite of AI-powered features available on other current Apple products), plus the screen isn’t as high quality as the other iPads. If you want to ensure that your iPad is future-proofed we’d recommend spending a little more to get an alternative iPad, or waiting – a successor is anticipated in late 2026.

iPad mini (A17 Pro): The current model was released in October 2024 and was a significant upgrade, featuring Apple’s A17 Pro chip. This processor is powerful enough to support Apple Intelligence features, future-proofing the device for upcoming software innovations. The base model now starts with 128GB of storage, a welcome increase from the 64GB offered in previous generations. While the current iPad mini is a solid buy, there are rumors about a future model. Internal code leaks suggest a potential future update to an A19 Pro chip, which would offer a performance boost. We expect an update until later in 2026, but still recommend buying the current model at a good price.

iPad Air (M4): The current models, which feature the powerful M4 chip, were released in March 2026. We think the M4 iPad Air is the best choice for most people, striking a perfect balance between performance and price. It offers superb processing power, a premium lightweight design, and great battery life, making it a versatile device for everything from streaming and gaming to more demanding work. If you need a new iPad now we recommend the iPad Air as a great buy – if you can find it at a good price.

iPad Pro (M5): Now is an excellent time to buy a new iPad Pro; the current models with the M5 chip arrived in October 2025 and it is not expected to be updated again until 2027. The iPad Pro offers the most up-to-date technology on the ultimate iPad. Indeed, the M5 iPad Pro is considered the best tablet on the market, featuring a stunning Tandem OLED display, outstanding performance, and a super slim, lightweight design.

Release dates and expected refreshes aside, if you are wondering if there is a good time to shop for deals on a new iPad that’s a little more straightforward. The best time of year to get a deal is when the big sales happen, such as Black Friday in November or Amazon Prime Day sales in June or July and October. Some years there is also a Spring Big Deals event on Amazon. Those are when we see the biggest discounts, but if you can’t wait for one of those sales, don’t despair: we see price drops all year round and when we see a good deal we record it here.

Does Apple have sales?

The deals rarely come from Apple itself. While Apple will sometimes offer vouchers as an incentive to buy a new iPad (that’s Apple’s usual Black Friday giveaway), the company never discounts prices. Apple does sell refurbished iPads at a lower price though, so that might be something to consider.

If you are a student you can take advantage of Apple’s education discounts and save a little money on the full price of iPads (and Macs). And in the summer months Apple usually gives away Apple Pencils or AirPods with the sale of certain iPads (and Macs) to students in it’s Higher Education Sale.

Best refurbished iPad deals

The deals you will see above are generally from Apple resellers rather than Apple itself, which very rarely drops the prices. Apple does, however, sell reconditioned iPads in its Certified Refurbished store. So you might be able to grab a bargain.

The iPads in Apple’s refurbished store may be ex-display stock, or they may have been returned to Apple due to a fault, but they are fully reconditioned now and come with a full year’s warranty. It’s not like buying secondhand.

The U.S. refurbished store has a selection that includes:

• 10-inch iPad Air (5th generation), up to $200 off
• 11-inch iPad Air (M2, M3), up to $130 off
• 13-inch iPad Air (M2, M3), up to $210 off
• 11-inch iPad Pro (4th generation), up to $410 off
• 12.9-inch iPad Pro (6th generation), up to $450 off

Compared to the original price, you can save as much as $320 on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

In the U.K. you’ll find a similar selection of iPads available from Apple’s refurbished store. You’ll find the following:

• iPad Air (5th generation, M2 & M3), up to £200 off
• iPad mini (6th generation), up to £90 off
• 11-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation, 4th generation), up to £680 off
• 12.9-inch iPad Pro (5th generation, 6th generation), up to £450 off

Top refurbished deal: 11-inch, iPad Air M2, 256GB for £549, £100 off.

Another place to look is BackMarket US and BackMarket UK, which sells refurbished Macs and other Apple products. Amazon also has a certified refurbished store for Apple products, but we would advise against buying any products that are older than five years. Most of the products we see on the Amazon refurbished store are unfortunately very old.

We have an article that explains what you need to know about buying a refurbished iPad. It includes the best refurbished iPad resellers and lots of advice about how to find the perfect refurbished iPad.

OUR NUMBER ONE TIP: If you are buying an old refurbished iPad our number one recommendation is that you don’t buy one with less than 64GB storage – ideally, get 128GB or more.

There is a large refurbished market for the iPad. We’d recommend taking a look at these refurbished resellers for iPad offers:

U.S. refurbished resellers

• Amazon Renewed
• Back Market
• Best Buy
• Gazelle
• Mac of all Trades
• RefurbMe
• Walmart
• AlloAllo
• eBay
• JemJem
• Reebelo

U.K. refurbished resellers

• Affordable Mac
• Amazon
• The Big Phone Store
• Envirofone
• Hoxton Macs
• The iOutlet
• MusicMagpie
• 4Gadgets
• Big Phone Store
• Tech Trade
• Handtec
• Laptops Direct
• Preloved

We also have a guide to buying a refurbished iPhone.

Macworld’s top 5 tips for finding the best iPad deal

When you are searching for a deal keep the following points in mind and you should be happy with your purchase.

1. Check the storage: Some older iPads only had 32GB or 64GB storage. We don’t think that’s enough. The good news is that Apple’s current iPad line up has 128GB storage or more, so, unless you are buying an older model, this won’t be an issue. Just make sure that if you see a deal on an old model with less storage it is priced accordingly. Some of the best deals are on higher capacity iPads.
2. You probably don’t need cellular: You might intend to use your iPad when you are out and about. In that case spending more to get a model with cellular might appeal. Our opinion is that you can just hotspot from your iPhone to get on the internet from your iPad. You won’t need to pay for a data contract and your’ll also save yourself money on the price of the iPad itself. Check the deal you are looking at isn’t for a cellular model because a non-cellular deal will be even better!
3. Consider refurbished: If you want a bargain and don’t mind that it’s not the latest model buying a refurbished iPad can be a great way to save money. We recommend using Apple’s refurbished store because every product is throughly tested before being sold, and you get a one year warranty with it. If you want to save more money, companies like BackMarket and Declutter. There’s more information about buying a refurbished iPad below.
4. Shop around: If you want a deal then don’t shop at Apple! The best deals come from the various resellers who often battle it our to undercut each others prices for Apple products. Amazon is usually the best, but make sure to check the likes of Walmart, B&H and Best Buy in the U.S., and AO, Argos, Currys in the U.K. We have a list of the best places to buy an iPad below.
5. Wait, if you can: If it’s not Black Friday or an Amazon Prime Sale keep in mind that there could be even better bargains coming. Also, if Apple is likely to be announcing new products soon, be aware that it may mean that the current range will soon be discounted even more.

Which iPad should you buy?

The answer to this question really depends on what you need your iPad for.

I want the cheapest iPad you can buy

Consider the standard iPad. The cheapest iPad is the 128GB A16 iPad, which costs from $349 / £329. It’s a good option if you are likely your iPad is destined for general use, such as emails, one taking, web browsing, social networks, watching movies and reading books. It’s got a great sized screen and is light enough to pop in a bag and not feel weighed down.

I’m for an iPad to use instead of a computer

If you are just planning to edit documents and spreadsheets, any iPad can be a good supplement for a computer. If you need something with a little more power then the iPad Air or iPad Pro might be a better option. Apple and other companies sell iPad cases that come with built in keyboards, so you can turn your iPad into a laptop. Read our round up of the best iPad keyboards.

I want an iPad that won’t weigh too much

The iPad mini is a great choice if you value portability and power. Its compact 8.3-inch screen and is the lightest iPad you can get (weighing around 0.65 pound or 293g). This makes it perfect for travelers, commuters, or anyone who values a device that can easily fit in a bag or even a large pocket.

If you need a bigger screen the iPad Air is a good choice. The 11-inch iPad Air weighs just over 1 pound or 462g and is 6.1mm thick, making it comfortable to hold for extended periods and easy to take anywhere. What may surprise you is that the newest 11-inch iPad Pro is actually lighter and thinner than the 11-inch Air, at 444g and 5.3mm thick.

I want an iPad to use for gaming

If you are wanting to play the latest games on your iPad then the iPad Pro may be the one to choose. Other iPads will be able to play casual games, but to be sure of getting the power and graphics prowess necessary to play the latest games. The iPad Pro also offers a better screen with the 120Hz refresh rates that serious gamers will want.

However, even the A17 Pro chip in the iPad mini ensures that the latest games and apps run smoothly, making it a powerful portable console. The Liquid Retina display is sharp and vibrant, with the highest pixel density of any current iPad.

I want an iPad so I can draw

The iPad is a great device for artists. Any iPad, accompanied with an Apple Pencil or other iPad stylus, will allow you to draw using an app such as Adobe’s Sketchpad (now called Adobe Fresco) which can be used for free, but has in-app purchases.

If you are really serious about your art you may prefer an iPad Pro though, and you may even consider the nano-texture display option for less glare and reflections.

For Kids: The iPad mini is great option for Kids because its small, lightweight frame is easy for small hands to hold, and its power makes it a capable device for entertainment and learning.

For Seniors: The iPad mini’s light weight makes it easier to hold for extended periods.

For Students and Note-Takers: The iPad mini screen size is perfect for reading and taking notes, especially when paired with an Apple Pencil Pro or Apple Pencil (USB-C).


For more information read our full guides to the best iPad for students, best iPad for kids and best iPad for the elderly.

If you still aren’t sure read our guide that examines which iPad is best for you in more detail.

Where to get an iPad deal

You don’t have to buy directly from Apple. There are resellers that will sell you and iPad, and the best thing is that they frequently offer discounts, where Apple never does.

We recommend the stores below.

U.S. retailers

• Apple
• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Costco
• Target
• Walmart

U.K. retailers

• Apple
• Amazon
• Argos
• Currys
• John Lewis
• Very

Apple has a number of Apple Premium Resellers who stock iPads in the U.K., and also offer other services, try the following:

• KRCS, often the first to discount new products
• iStore
• Select
• Western Computer

Where to buy the iPad on contract

If you are looking to buy a cellular iPad, so you can always get on the internet, you may want to buy the iPad on contract from one of these networks:

U.S. network carriers

• AT&T
• Verizon
• T-Mobile
• Spectrum
• Optimum
• US Cellular
• Xfinity

U.K. network carriers

• EE
• O2
• Sky
• Vodafone
• Virgin Media
• Three

Apple MagSafe Charger – Best simple MagSafe charger for fastest wireless

• Output charging: 25W (MagSafe), 15W (Qi2)
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft), 2m (6.6ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: White

The most obvious MagSafe Charger to buy for your Apple iPhone is, of course, the Apple MagSafe Charger. It’s the charger that Apple would have shipped with the iPhone if it did such things anymore. It’s as minimalist a design as you’d expect from Apple–it looks a lot like a giant Apple Watch Charger. You can also use it to charge your AirPods.

Apple’s latest version of this charger offers 15W Qi2 support and, more importantly, a faster 25W charging speed with iPhone 16 and later. It also added a 2-meter length option for $10/£10 more, which is very welcome. At least a 30W USB-C power adapter is required for 25W charging.

In our tests using the Apple MagSafe Charger we wirelessly powered up an iPhone 16 Pro from 0% to 50% in just over 30 minutes.

It can also charge your AirPods case (AirPods 2 or AirPods Pro), although not at the same time as the iPhone—for that, you’ll need at least a 2-in-1 wireless charger.

The standard 1m cable is too short to comfortably charge and use your iPhone at the same time, or maybe stretch from a power socket to a nearby table, so we recommend the 2m upgrade. Don’t forget that this Apple charger still requires a USB-C power adapter—at least 20W if you want 15W charging and at least 30W to enable 25W charging.

Ugreen MagFlow Magnetic Wireless Charging Pad 25W – Alternative simple 25W MagSafe charger

• Output charging: 25W (MagSafe), 15W (Qi2)
• Cable: 1.5m (4.9ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Misty Blue

The Ugreen MagFlow Qi2 25W Magnetic Wireless Charging Pad isn’t too dissimilar to the 25W Apple MagSafe Charger except that it’s a fetching shade of what Apple would call Mist or Sky Blue. As such it would perfectly suit the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air of those shades.

Another difference is the length of cable and maybe 1.5m is a Goldilocks length for you if Apple’s 1m cable is too short and 2m cable too long.

Other than that, this simple charger matches the Apple pad for speed (25W for iPhone 16/17 and 15W for iPhone 12-15), and is more likely to be found discounted than the Apple either direct or on Amazon. It’s a solid alternative to Apple if any of these differences take your fancy.

Anker Zolo Wireless Charger (Magnetic, Pad) – Best budget simple MagSafe charger

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Black, White

Another basic magnetic charger, Anker’s Zolo Magnetic Wireless Charger Pad works just like the Apple pad, and also at a fast 15W—although it’s technology is Qi2 rather than Apple MagSafe. iPhone 16 and 17 owners should consider spending the extra on the Apple charger (reviewed above) for its special 25W charging speed. Owners of iPhone 15 or earlier can rest assured that this charger is as fast as the Apple one.

It works just as well, though, and is one of the cheaper premium magnetic chargers. The cable is a decent length at 1.5m—half again as long as that on the base model Apple MagSafe Charger pad, but not as long as on the top-end 2m Apple charger or the 2m Belkin MagSafe charger reviewed below.

Like Apple’s MagSafe Charger it can also charge your AirPods case (AirPods 2 or AirPods Pro) when the iPhone is removed.

In the U.S. Anker offers this charger only in a two-pack. A spare charger for downstairs, the office, bedroom, car and so on is always useful.

Belkin UltraCharge Magnetic Charger Pad 25W – Best simple MagSafe charger with stand

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2 25W)
• Cable: 2m (6.6ft)
• Wall charger: Optional
• Colors: Black, White

The 25W Belkin UltraCharge Magnetic Charger Pad is now just as fast as Apple’s charger for the iPhone 16/17 families, and comes with a long cable and handy pop-up stand. The cable is twice as long as Apple’s basic model, which makes using the phone much easier when charging. It’s also thicker nylon-braided cable with a handy integrated silicone cable tie.

Belkin sells two versions, one with a squarer back shape and one rounder—the difference is minimal. There’s also an option to buy with a 36W power adapter (for a very reasonable extra $10) included or just on its own if you already have a wall charger to use.

Again, a straight cable connection will be faster but we like the kickstand, which you don’t get with a standard cable connection.

There are a few very similar Belkin Charger Pads so make sure you get what you’re after. For example, there is a slower but slightly more affordable 15W BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Charging Pad with stand (Amazon or Amazon UK) and 7.5W MagSafe-compatible BoostCharge Charger Pad (Amazon U.S. and Amazon U.K.) that lacks the stand. If you just want a cheap MagSafe-compatible charging pad, this is a decent option. Be warned: Belkin also sells a Qi Wireless Charging Pad that lacks the magnetic connection so is not recommended as it will be picky where the phone is placed and slower to charge as a result.

ESR HaloLock Kickstand Wireless Charger – Best budget magnetic charger with stand

• Output charging: 7.5W (Compatible)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: White, Black, Blue, Pink

This is a small, simple (but slow) magnetic charging pad that has a kickstand that lets you prop your attached iPhone 12/13/14/15/16/17 up either in landscape or portrait mode for video viewing or hands-free FaceTime calls. It’s a more affordable but slower alternative to the Belkin pad reviewed above.

The detachable cable length is reasonable at 1.5m and matches the four colors, so is wildly more flamboyant than the other magnetic wireless chargers tested here, except for…

Casetify Magnetic Wireless Charger – Widest choice of fun designs

• Output charging: 7.5W (Compatible)
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Many cool and/or odd patterns

We picked the English Breakfast pattern for its sheer wanton oddness but there are plenty of other patterns (Acid, Checks, Cherry Blossom) and pictures (Yeti, Harry Potter, Snoopy) to choose from.

Indeed, there are a sometimes baffling 759 different wireless charger designs to choose from. Most are quite random but there are themes such as Street Art and Anime, plus characters such as Doreamon and SpongeBob, and individual artists, with the option to customize a plain charger with text.

This 100% recyclable slim charger has eco sustainability points, too, as it’s made with recycled aluminum and printed with eco-friendly ink.

Anker MagGo Qi2 Wireless Charger Stand – Best budget magnetic charging stand

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: White, Black

This simple magnetic charging stand has a rotating charging pad that means you can position your iPhone in landscape or portrait mode for hands-free FaceTime calls. It uses Qi2 so can charge wirelessly at 15W.

While it’s more affordable, if you own AirPods too, you might consider the not-much-pricier 2-in-1 MagGo version, reviewed lower down.

Zens Magnetic Nightstand Charger – Stunning magnetic charging nightstand

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 20W AC power adapter
• Colors: White, Black, Dark Cherry

This magnetic charging nightstand uses Qi2 so can charge wirelessly at 15W. Even though it ships with additional U.K. and E.U. plug adapters that clip on the included mini 20W wall charger it’s probably too heavy for travel, but that heft makes it super stable when in landscape StandBy mode.

It is less of an easy fit in a portrait (vertical) orientation as the bottom of the iPhone pushes the stand up onto its edge. It’s still stable but looks a little odd from the side. On a nightstand landscape makes more sense anyway. It can be laid flat to wirelessly charge your AirPods case, too, at 7.5W.

What really stands out is the gorgeous Dark Cherry color that is available as an Apple Store exclusive.

Ugreen 2-in-1 MagFlow Qi2 25W Charger Stand – Fast and dinky 2-in-1 portable charging stand

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2 25W)
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Misty blue

While the Satechi 2-in-1 Foldable Qi2 and Belkin 2-in-1 25W wireless charging stands, reviewed above, can fold into a portable package, they are nowhere near as compact and lightweight (7.5oz / 212g) as Ugreen’s 2-in-1 MagFlow magnetic wireless charger, which folds down into a tiny pocketable cube (2.4 x 2.4 x 1.5 inches or 6 x 6 x 4cm).

It’s also as fast as you can get for wirelessly charging an iPhone 16 or 17; older iPhones charge at 15W.

Once open there’s a 5W Qi pad for AirPods and a 25W Qi2 pad for iPhone. A USB-C port on one side allows you to plug in your Apple Watch charging cable for 5W speedy charging, too—so you can almost call it a 3-in-1 except that you need a Watch charging cable to connect.

The iPhone-charging pad can be raised to about 3 inches (8cm), and can be angled to your preference.

Ugreen also sells a slightly cheaper aluminum gray $49 Qi2 2-in-1 Magnetic Charger that looks similar but charges the phone at a slower 15W, and a flatter 15W Qi2 MagFlow 2-in-1, both pictured above, that measures 4.6 x 2.2 x 0.9 inches (11.6 x 5.5 x 2.4cm) and will slip into a pocket easier than the cube shape. That model doesn’t have the side USB-C port, though.

Nomad Stand One – Sturdy but stylish 25W charging stand

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2 25W)
• Cable: 2m (6.6ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Black, White, Stellar Orange

The Nomad Stand One uses Qi 2.2 wireless charging technology, so offers the super-fast 25W charging speed.

It’s a lovely looking stand that is the sturdiest wireless charging stand we’ve tested, with a real heft and an anti-slip rubber base. It measures 3.2 x 6.3 x 5 inches (8.2 x 16.1 x 12.8cm) and weighs nearly 2lbs (just under 1kg), so could be used as a paperweight if you have your desk fan turned up too high. It’s made of metal with a glass panel that gives it a glossy Apple-like look from the front.

The 21-degree viewing angle works well for comfortable viewing but if you want to customize the angle to your own liking you’ll need to choose one of the more adjustable 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 wireless chargers reviewed below.

Nomad does make a 3-in-1 version, the $159 Stand One Max, which can charge iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods at the same time. This also looks great and also charges the iPhone at a rapid 25W.

Belkin UltraCharge 2-in-1 25W Magnetic Charger – Fast 2-in-1 portable magnetic charger

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2 25W)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 45W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black, White, Blue

One of the new breed of Qi2 25W wireless chargers, the Belkin 2-in-1 Foldable Magnetic Charger with Qi2 25W folds up to a very pocketable 4.2 x 2.4 x 0.94 inches (10.6 x 6 x 2.4cm) and weighs 5.1oz (146g). It’s available in two forms: one with rounded edges (pictured) and one that’s straighter. Both are smooth but may be a little too plasticky for some tastes. The blue version is rather natty, though.

It passed our 25W charging test by getting an iPhone 16 Pro from 0% to 50% in 33 minutes. There’s a side 5W USB-C port that you can plug an Apple Watch charger into.

As a fold-up charger it’s suitably travel friendly. Alternatives include the Satechi 2-in-1 Foldable and the Ugreen MagFlow Foldable 2-in-1, both reviewed below. The 15W Satechi is slower and larger than the two 25W 2-in-1 chargers but we still like its more solid desktop looks. Choose between the Belkin and Ugreen on form factor and price. Note that the Ugreen doesn’t ship with a USB-C charger, while the Belkin does.

Satechi 2-in-1 Foldable Qi2 Wireless Charging Stand – Best-looking 2-in-1 magnetic charger

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Cable: 1.2m (4ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Aluminum gray

With a remarkably small 3.5-inch square (9cm) footprint, this 2-in-1 charger uses the Qi2 wireless charging technology to match MagSafe on 15W speed. The AirPod charging pad charges at 5W and could be used to charge a second phone, although much slower than using the raised magnetic pad.

It even folds up flat to make it travel friendly, although you’ll need to supply your own USB-C wall charger. It’s pretty light at just 9.6oz (272g).

Anker MagGo 2-in-1 Qi2 Wireless Charger Stand – Budget 2-in-1 magnetic charging stand

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Black or White

The Anker MagGo range has a version for just about everyone, and this is a 2-in-1 version of the simpler iPhone-only magnetic wireless charger stand reviewed earlier. It is not portable like the Satechi and Ugreen 2-in-1 chargers, also reviewed above, but it is a good-looking stand for your desk or nightstand.

Built to charge both an iPhone 12/13/14/15/16/17 and wireless AirPod case charger, it is reaches the same 15W phone charging heights with its Qi2 technology. The AirPods are charged at 5W, which is standard for all such multi-device magnetic chargers.

You get angled landscape (up to 45 degrees) and portrait modes with this good-looking stand from one of our favorite premium accessory makers. The magnetic link is super strong so you don’t need to worry about the iPhone falling off even during re-angling.

If you’re not in a hurry, you can still find the Anker 7.5W PowerWave model a little cheaper but we like the faster charge on the 15W version. If you’re in a real hurry you’d be better off using a cable than using even a 15W or 25W certified MagSafe charger anyway.

Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock with MagSafe 15W – Best designer magnetic charger

• Output charging: 15W (MagSafe)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 30W AC power adapter
• Colors: Charcoal, Sand

We’ve chosen this fast magnetic charger not because of its heroically long-winded name but for its designer good looks. It’s a minimalist 2-in-1 charging stand that can wirelessly charge an iPhone at 15W and fast-charge an Apple Watch. The top pad can angle at up to 70 degrees.

Steve Jobs and Jony Ive knew that tech should aspire to timeless design, and it’s no surprise that Apple has chosen to stock the Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Dock MagSafe charger in its stores. There are other magnetic wireless chargers reviewed here that can do more and at lower prices, but this is one we’d proudly place on our designer desk to show off rather than hide away.

The dock’s organic looks are complemented by the two available neutral yet naturalistic colors: Charcoal and Sand.

Belkin UltraCharge Pro 2-in-1 Convertible Magnetic Charger with Qi2 25W

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2 25W)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 45W AC power adapter
• Colors: Charcoal, Sand

Although lacking the designer looks of the Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1, reviewed above, the UltraCharge Pro 2-in-1 uses the later Qi2.2 technology that means iPhones 16 and later can charge wirelessly at 25W rather than Qi2/MagSafe’s 15W.

It also folds up into an easily pocketable form measuring just 2.7 x 2.7 x 1.5 inches (6.7 x 6.7 x 3.8cm) and weighing 6.5oz (185g). We’ve reviewed more of our favorite portable magnetic chargers for travel lower down in this chart.

Zens USB-C to USB-C Charging Cable Pro 3 – 140W cable with magnetic chargers

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Cable: 1.2m (3.3ft)
• Wall charger: Not included (36W required)
• Colors: White, Black, Dark Cherry

This is a smart MacBook or iPad charging USB-C cable that includes a 15W wireless pad for iPhone or AirPods case plus an adjustable 5W Apple Watch charger. Built of aluminum, it’s quite chunky but is probably all you need on your travels alongside at least a 65W USB-C charger, and it folds up on itself for easy transport.

It’s rated at 140W so is up to fast-charging even the 16-inch MacBook Pro, and just as adept at either wired or wirelessly charging Apple’s recent USB-C devices.

If you don’t own an Apple Watch—and have no intention of doing so—Zens has a version (the $49.95 Zens USB-C to USB-C Charging Cable Pro 2) without that module, and just the iPhone/AirPods wireless pad in the middle of the 140W cable.

Both are available from the Apple Store in an exclusive Dark Cherry color.

Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Charging Pad (Qi2) – Best 2-in-1 magnetic charging pad

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 30W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black, White

Belkin’s expanding range of fast Qi2 wireless chargers includes a simple pad that can fit an iPhone plus an AirPods case. Although it doesn’t include an Apple Watch charging module, there is a 5W USB-C port that you can connect your Watch-charging cable into and charge all three devices simultaneously.

As a 2-in-1 solution it is cheaper and better suited for those who haven’t succumbed to the Apple Watch.

Being certified as Qi2 means that it can wirelessly charge at the same 15W as official MagSafe chargers but not 25W like the Apple MagSafe Charger or newer Qi2 25W chargers can for the iPhone 16 and later.

The pad is reassuringly heavy so you won’t pull it off your bedside table when you remove your iPhone from the magnetic pad. This makes it less obviously portable, but it’s small and flat enough to slip into a backpack.

As it’s a pad you can’t angle the phone into StandBy mode. If you want to more easily see the time on your nightstand, consider one of the charging stands reviewed above. It ships with a 30W USB-C wall charger and cable.

SwanScout 706M Dual Phone Charging Station – Best magnetic charging stand for two iPhones

• Output charging: 7.5W
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 30W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black, White

Unless you own expensive burner iPhones, this charger is made for homes or offices where friends, family and colleagues can charge their iPhones at the same time and in the same place using just one power socket. We didn’t include it in our 3-in-1 roundup (see this immediately below) as it doesn’t charge the Apple Watch, although it can certainly power up three devices at the same time.

It’s the only magnetic wireless charging stand we’ve tested that charges two iPhones on a proper stand, and there’s a 3.5W Qi wireless charging pad underneath for one set of AirPods—your pal’s earbuds will have to wait their turn. The charging pads are not adjustable but the angle is perfect for screen viewing.

The SwanScout 706M is MagSafe Compatible rather than certified MagSafe or Qi2 so its wireless charging speed is limited to 7.5W or 10W shared across the two iPhone pads. That makes it a slow charge but this is fine for a nightstand where you have several hours for charging.

Mophie 3-in-1 Wireless Charge Stand – Fast and cool 25W 3-in-1 magnetic stand

In a technology it’s called StealthCharge, Mophie has cleverly moved the the hottest components from the charging pad itself (in direct contact with the phone) to the product’s base. In effect, the base now serves as a heat sink to dissipate heat more efficiently. This means there’s no need for a noisy fan to keep the phone cool enough to receive a steady charge and maintain the fastest speeds.

It’s a small-footprint but tall charger, available in three colors, as well as a 4-in-1 version (reviewed here further down) that boasts a hidden 60W retractable USB-C cable that you can use to charge another USB-C device such as your MacBook.

Read our full Mophie StealthCharge Wireless Charger review.

Belkin UltraCharge Pro 3-in-1 – Fast 25W 3-in-1 magnetic stand

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2 25W)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 45W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black, Sand

The first Qi2 25W charger in the Macworld labs was Belkin’s UltraCharge Pro 3-in-1 Magnetic Charging Dock. Not only is this a super-speedy 3-in-1 charger, it’s a striking low-profile design with adjustable charging pad angling off a chrome-finished metal frame. The certified Apple Watch charger is fast, too.

Qi2 25W (sometimes known as Qi 2.2) takes wireless charging from its 15W maximum to a heady 25W. Previously only possible on the latest version of Apple’s own MagSafe Charger, 25W theoretically moves a 50% iPhone refill from 45 to just 25 minutes but environmental conditions such as temperature and the power used by the phone while being charged mean that 30-35 minutes is a more more realistic charging time for 25W. For wireless charging that’s still a big leap forward.

As 25W is achievable only with an iPhone 16 or 17 running at least iOS 26 it’s a new frontier for iPhone users. 25W chargers still work with earlier iPhones (12-15) but are pegged back at Qi2’s 15W maximum. All will feel the benefit of Belkin’s built-in active cooling ChillBoost fan.

Anker Prime 3-in-1 MagGo Wireless Charging Station – Faste 25W 3-in-1 stand with display

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2 25W)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 65W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black Stone, Shell White

This Anker Prime 3-in-1 iPhone stand takes speedy Qi2 25W charging to a traditionally elegant arm-based charging station design where the iPhone and Watch charging pads are suspended from the circular base. In our tests it came out fastest of all the 25W wireless chargers we have run through their paces—charging an iPhone 16 Pro to 50% in just 28 minutes.

The iPhone and Watch charging pads are held high on chrome arms that are angled for viewing angle and overall stand stability. We appreciate that the angle of the iPhone pad can be adjusted to your liking. The AirPods Qi pad is in the base beneath the arms and behind a neat and informative 1.65-inch HD smart display that is the first we’ve seen on such a stand. This is combined with app connectivity, so you can view power flow, charging temperature, and more. This where you can set the charging mode and also customize the clock face.

BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Stand – Elegant 15W 3-in-1 magnetic stand

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 36W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black, White

More affordable than the Anker 3-in-1 but slower at 15W, Belkin’s wireless charging stand is similarly elegant and with an even more adjustable iPhone pad (90 degrees vs Anker’s 80). The arm placement is different but not functionally, so the design choice at least come down to personal preference.

While the iPhone charging is slower (15W vs 25W) the Watch and AirPods will power up in roughly the same time as you get with the Anker 3-in-1. If you are charging your iPhone overnight or have more time on your hand, the speed difference shouldn’t matter. It also lacks the Anker’s smart display if you like to keep up to date with exactly how fast your devices are charging.

ESR Qi2.2 25W HaloLock 3-in-1 Charger with CryoBoost – Versatile 3-in-1 magnetic stand

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2 25W)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 50W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black

Another Qi2 25W solution, the ESR 3-in-1 25W Charging Station offers fast 25W iPhone wireless charging and 5W Apple Watch fast charging in a small-footprint design (3.4-inch square base) that tucks the Apple Watch charger at the back. The Watch charger is detachable, meaning you can remove it and take it with you to plug directly into any USB-C charging port. This is a useful option missing from most other 3-in-1 chargers, although the opportunity to later mislay it must be considered.

Where this charger excels is wireless charging speed. As with the Belkin UltraCharge Pro, reviewed above, it uses a fan-based cooling technology (ESR’s is called CryoBoost) with advanced heat-dissipation that makes the operation more battery friendly—resulting in significantly faster charging times.

The ESR’s Qi 2.2 pad is not adjustable, although you can position the iPhone in either landscape (StandBy) or portrait orientations. In this way it lacks the front-facing flexibility of the Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe, reviewed further down, but it is available at a significantly lower price and much faster. It comes with a decent-length cable and a 50W USB-C wall charger.

Remember that 25W is only possible for users of the iPhone 16 or 17. Owners of pre-iPhone 16 models can save money by buying the Qi2 15W model ESR 3-in-1 Charger with CryoBoost that’s a little taller but otherwise distinguished only by the 15W maximum speed and a 35W charger compared to the 50W wall charger that ships with the 25W model. In our tests this cheaper Qi2-based CryoBoost 3-in-1 Charger took only 10 minutes longer to charge an iPhone 16 Pro to 50% than the 25W charger. If you can handle waiting that long, you can save some serious money, but those seemingly few minutes do add up over the lifetime of the product.

Satechi 3-in-1 Foldable Qi2 Wireless Charging Stand – Most flexible 25W 3-in-1 magnetic stand

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2.2)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.2m (4ft)
• Wall charger: 45W AC power adapter
• Colors: Aluminum gray

As with the 2-in-1 model, we are big fans of the Satechi Qi2 Foldable 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Stand.

It has the same small 3.5-inch square (90mm) footprint, and Qi2.2 wireless charging technology to match MagSafe on 25W speed for iPhone 16 and later (older iPhones will charge at 15W). The AirPod charging pad charges at 5W and could instead charge a second phone, although much slower than with the MagSafe pad. Apple Watch charging is fast, with the back-mounted pad providing 5W of power.

It too folds up flat to make it travel friendly, and this time comes with a 45W USB-C chargers that is further boosted with U.K. and E.U. travel adapters. For a 3-in-1, it’s reasonably light at just 14.1oz (399g)—about the same as the cuter and more compact Anker 3-in-1 Cube, reviewed below. If you want a 3-in-1 that fits in your trouser pocket, look to the Kuxiu X40 Turbo, reviewed below in the travel charger section.

It’s not as affordable as ESR’s 15W 3-in-1 Charging Strand ($84.99) so misses our budget recommendation. However, with its foldability and travel plugs, this makes a great charging station choice for at base and on your travels—see lower down for more best MagSafe travel chargers. if you don’t mind the Watch at the back, this charger’s flexibility and fast speeds makes it an easy recommendation.

Journey Summit & Summit Ultra Wireless Charging Station – 3-in-1 magnetic stands with nightlight

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2) or 25W (Qi2.2)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5 m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 45W AC power adapter (Ultra only)
• Colors: White (Summit), Black/gray (Summit Ultra)

Available in white 15W (Summit) or black 25W (Summit Ultra), this stylish desktop charger has a neat triangular aesthetic. Its nightlight gives out ambient lighting from the center AirPods-charging alcove, making it a great choice for nightstands.

The iPhone charging module is height but not tilt adjustable, and the Apple Watch charger flips out from the rear when required. The ability to raise the iPhone higher than many stands is appreciated.

Ugreen 25W MagFlow 3-in-1 Desktop Magnetic Wireless Charger – Speedy desktop model

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2 25W)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft)
• Wall charger: 45W AC power adapter
• Colors: Misty Blue

The most solid of Ugreen’s 25W MagFlow range of wireless chargers, is desktop model is lightweight but feels sturdy due to its grippy rubber feet.

The speedy 25W iPhone charging pad can be angled up to 70 degrees, as well as raising an iPhone in landscape/StandBy mode around 2.4 inches (6cm) from the desk.

The 5W Apple Watch charger pops out from the back so remains hidden when not in use, as does the phone’s face itself when charging.

Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe – Best compact 3-in-1 magnetic charger

• Output charging: 15W (MagSafe)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5 m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 30W AC power adapter
• Colors: Gray

The Anker 3-in-1 Cube MagSafe charger is certified by Apple, so offers 15W wireless charging plus 5W for AirPods and 5W for Apple Watch. Although on the heavy side, it’s super-compact and great for travel. The Watch charging part is hidden in the cube until you need it. It comes with a 30W USB-C wall charger with switchable UK and EU plug fittings that slide onto the US plug prongs.

Its tiny footprint means it takes up little space on your desk or bedside cable, too. If you don’t own an Apple Watch, consider the equally dinky Ugreen 2-in-1 Foldable Qi2 Wireless Charging Stand, reviewed in our 2-in-1 roundup above. The stand works in landscape and portrait orientations but isn’t high. It does have adjustable viewing angles up to 60°.

Satechi Qi2 Trio Wireless Charging Pad – 3-in-1 Qi2 charging pad

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft)
• Wall charger: 45W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black

The flatter Satechi Qi2 Trio Wireless Charging Pad is similar to Nimble’s Podium 3-in-1 Wireless Charger, reviewed below, in its looks and specs but is a little shorter and comes with a slightly more powerful 45W wall charger plus international travel plugs (US, UK, EU).

It has 15W iPhone Qi2 charging, 5W Apple Watch fast charge and 5W AirPods Qi charging pad. The iPhone pad can be raised to create a stand, just like the Nimble.

It measures 8.2-x-3.8-x-0.8 inches (20.9-x-9.7-x-2.1cm) and weighs 12.6oz (358g). Its light enough to be portable, and the international travel plugs cover lot of countries.

Nimble Podium 3-in-1 Wireless Charger – 3-in-1 Qi2 charging pad

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 36W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black, White

The Nimble Podium 3-in-1 Wireless Charger, like the shorter Satechi Qi2 Trio Wireless Charging Pad reviewed above, hosts an adjustable iPhone charging pad but its is placed in the center of the three charging points rather than to one side. It measures 9-x-3.4-x-0.8 inches (22.9-x-8.6-x-2cm) and weighs 15.6oz (443g).

The fact that it’s heavier than the Satechi 3-in-1 flat pads shouldn’t be a problem unless you are planning to carry it with you as a portable charger—and we think there are much dinkier and suitable travel chargers to choose from. Its extra weight makes this solid desktop stand a more stable base.

Both iPhone and Watch charging pad can be angled upward. The Podium is available in black direct or from Amazon, and also in white as an Apple Store exclusive.

Zens Office Charger Pro 3

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 45W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black

This 3-in-1 Apple device wireless charger is well made and has one of the smallest desktop footprints we have seen. It can fast charge the Apple Watch and has Qi2 wireless charging technology so hits the top 15W speed when charging an iPhone 12-17.

The charging modules are fixed, which doesn’t give you any flexibility for adjusting the phone position aside from choosing whether to place it in either landscape or portrait orientation.

The 45W charger is more powerful than some we’ve tested, and we like that it comes with plug heads for U.S., U.K. and E.U. sockets.

Mophie 3-in-1 Extendable Stand – Best height-adjustable MagSafe charger

• Output charging: 15W (MagSafe)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: None
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Black

If you want to properly raise your iPhone in a stand, this Mophie 3-in-1 charging stand is height adjustable between 7.5 to 16 inches (19-40cm). The MagSafe mount is tilt adjustable, too, making this stand great for using FaceTime on the iPhone.

Fully Apple certified, it wirelessly charges an iPhone at 15W and can also fast-charge an Apple Watch. While it feels stable, we’d have preferred a less plasticky stand column.

Mophie 4-in-1 Wireless Charge Stand – Fastest 4-in-1 MagSafe charging stand

• Output charging: 25W (Qi 2.2)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 100W AC power adapter
• Colors: White, Black, Gold

Using the same StealthCharge technology as its 3-in-1 wireless charger—where the the hottest components are moved from the charging pad itself to the product’s base—this multi-device charger does away with the need for a noisy fan but still keeps the phone cool enough to receive a steady super-fast charge.

To remove as many extra cables from your life as possible, the Mophie 4-in-1 includes a 2ft 60W retractable cable that you can use to charge even a MacBook Pro, or a second iPhone, iPad, or other USB-C device.

It’s clever and looks great, especially in its gold/champagne color model.

Zens 4-in-1 Modular Wireless Charger – Best 4-in-1 MagSafe charging stand for iPad users

• Output charging: 15W (MagSafe)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 65W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black

The Zens 4-in-1 Modular Charging Station for iPhone, AirPods, Apple Watch and iPad is a MagSafe-certified charging stand made from recycled plastic that can handle not just four Apple devices but more if you buy extra charging modules (up to three at one time) to connect. Any MagSafe iPhone (12-17) can be wirelessly charged at up to 15W, faster than non-certified MagSafe-compatible chargers but not at the possible fastest 25W speed. AirPods and Apple Watch will each charge wirelessly at 5W.

The iPhone can be placed in either portrait or landscape mode. At the back is a stand where you can place an iPad, which can be wired charged via a side-mounted USB-C port at up to 30W. All devices can be charged simultaneously as the power supply has a 65W total output. The Watch module that ships with the 4-in-1 charger can handily be situated on either the right- or left-hand side depending on your preference. Modules attach magnetically. The Apple Watch extension can be disconnected from the main station and charged via a USB-C port to become a standalone wireless charger when traveling.

HyperJuice Next Qi2 4-in-1 Magnetic Charging Stand – Charge two iPhones at the same time

• Output charging: 15W (MagSafe)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 45W AC power adapter
• Colors: White

This 4-in-1 is the same size as most 3-in-1 charging pads but can wirelessly charge two iPhones at the same time: one via a fast and ultra-adjustable 15W Qi2 charging pad and another via a 10W non-magnetic Qi base that would also work with a second pair of AirPods. The 5W Watch charging pad is certified for fast-charge.

The Hyper Juice Next is the most portable 4-in-1 MagSafe charger we have tested as the iPhone and Watch stand folds down to a flatter, more travel-friendly shape. The 45W power supply also comes with international plug heads for U.S., U.K., E.U. and A.N.Z. There’s also a further USB-C port for input only, but useful if you’d rather not carry the power supply with you on your journey or just want to plug it into an existing multi-port charger at home.

The base is solid but the overall 664g weight might put you off travelling with it in your hand luggage.

Mous 4-in-1 Fast Charging Wireless Station – Charge two iPhones at the same time

• Output charging: 15W (MagSafe)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 65W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black, Aramid Fiber, Walnut

The fourth device is charged via an 18W USB-C port at the back of this otherwise wireless charging set—that could be another phone or your iPad. The 5W Apple Watch charging module is attached magnetically (via a pogo connection) and can be detached.

Mous also sells the modules separately. You can buy the iPhone and AirPods dual charging module (U.S. or U.K.), or just the Apple Watch module (U.S. or U.K.). All are available in Mous’s unique walnut color, pictured here, as well as in black and aramid fiber.

Anker MagGo 3-in-1 Folding Wireless Charging Station – Best 3-in-1 travel MagSafe charger

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5 m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 40W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black, White, Green, Pink

Power specialist Anker was one of the first companies to release Qi2-compatible chargers, and the foldable Anker MagGo 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station is a great example of what the technology can offer.

It charges the iPhone (iPhone 13 and later) at 15W, and is also certified by Apple to fast-charge the Apple Watch, as well as Qi charge AirPods in a wireless charging case–all at the same time.

It is super compact and folds up into a round pocketable shape that won’t take up much space in a bag or tidied away on your nightstand. It measures 2.36 x 2.36 x 1.4 inches (6 x 6 x 3.6cm) when folded and weighs just 3.8oz (108g). The 5W Watch-charging module folds on the top. The iPhone mostly lays flat, but it can be placed into a more useful StandBy mode as a stand with some folding wizardry.

There are other 3-in-1 foldable charger contenders—for example, the faster 25W Kuxiu X40 Turbo, reviewed below. Anker has a squarer model, the identically named Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station (Foldable 3-in-1), also reviewed below, which folds more easily into a traditional stand.

Kuxiu X40 Turbo 25W Wireless Charging Stand – Fast 3-in-1 travel MagSafe charger

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2 25W)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft)
• Wall charger: 45W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black, Gray, Wood Grain, Cosmic Orange

The Kuxiu X40 Turbo 3-in-1 Foldable Magnetic Charging Stand is a neat, portable way to charge all your Apple mobile devices—Watch, iPhone, AirPods—at the same time and at 25W is as fast as wireless chargers can go.

It’s special because it folds up into such a compact aluminum alloy package—measuring 2.5 x 2.5 x 0.7 inches (6.4 x 6.4 x 1.8cm). It weighs a mere 5.23oz (148g). It even comes with its own travel case and powerful 45W wall charger.

Kuxiu has another similar 25W foldable 3-in-1, the X55 Turbo, pictured below, which is a smidge larger in size (and much deeper when folded) but a little cheaper. Read our Kuxiu X55 Turbo review for a closer comparison.

Owners of the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max will love the Cosmic Orange models of the X40 Turbo and X55 Turbo.

Twelve South ButterFly SE 2-in-1 MagSafe Charger – Best 2-in-1 travel MagSafe charger

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Aluminum

With a similar but smaller form, the Twelve South ButterFly SE is an easily pocketable 2-in-1 charger that can handle iPhone and Apple Watch or iPhone and AirPods, charging two devices simultaneously.

It is Qi2 certified, so wirelessly charges the iPhone at 15W and the Watch at 5W. You can get faster 25W wireless charging, but the Butterfly is such a delightful design that we still love it.

It’s a really clever, compact foldable size and offers MacBook-like styling. Unfurl the charger and the two wireless charging pads are revealed. You can fold 180 degrees and place the Watch in Nighstand mode. Flip it round, and you can set the iPhone in landscape StandBy mode. If you want to charge an Apple Watch too, you should instead consider the Anker MagGo 3-in-1 Folding Wireless Charging Station, reviewed above.

It’s available in a range of colours at Amazon and is also on sale at the Apple Store in a more exclusive set of colors.

Ugreen 25W MagFlow 3-in-1 Folding Magnetic Wireless Charger – Fast 3-in-1 travel MagSafe charger

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2.2)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft)
• Wall charger: 45W AC power adapter
• Colors: Misty Blue

Not as super-compact as the Kuxiu X40 Turbo, the foldable version of the Ugreen MagFlow 3-in-1 is still slight compared to most chargers. Folded it measures 4.7 x 2.4 x 0.8 inches (12 x 6 x 2cm) and weighs 7.5oz (211g)—that sounds heavy when compared to the numbers of the X40 (148g) but it’s a barely noticeable difference in hand.

It features the same super-fast Qi2 25W iPhone charging and also charges the Watch and AirPods at top speed.

Mous 3-In-1 Wireless Portable Charger – Slow but smallest, lightest 3-in-1 travel charger

• Output charging: 7.5W
• Apple Watch fast charge: No
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Black

While it won’t win any prizes for its wireless charging speeds, this 3-in-1 iPhone/Watch/AirPods charger is almost unbelievably small and lightweight, making it a great traveling companion.

Folded, the Mous 3-In-1 Wireless Portable Charger measures just 3.5 x 2.4 x 0.5 inches (9 x 6.2 x 1.3cm). That’s about the length and width a standard playing card, and in depth around the size of half a pack. It should fit in your trouser or jacket pocket without you noticing.

It unfolds to a width of 5.4 inches (13.6cm), and less than a third of an inch (8mm) deep, with a faux leather folding hinge between.

ESR CryoBoost Foldable 3-in-1 Magnetic Charging Station (25W)

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2 25W)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 50W AC power adapter
• Colors: Misty Blue

Although it looks big next to the tiny Mouse 3-in-1 charger (reviewed above) ESR’s Foldable 3-in-1 is much faster at 25W and actually quite dinky itself at 4.3 x 2.4 x 0.63 inches (11 x 6.2 x 1.6cm).

It’s more plasticky than Ugreen’s equally speedy 25W MagFlow 3-in-1, reviewed above, which might sound unattractive but it means that it’s lighter and therefore much more portable for travel or commuting purposes: 148g compared to 210g for the more metallic Ugreen.

ESR is proud of its CryoBoost active-cooling system, and so it should be as the fan is whisper-quiet but keeps the wireless charging as close to maximum 25W as long as possible.

Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station (Foldable 3-in-1) – Compact travel MagSafe charger

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 40W AC power adapter
• Colors: Black, White

We love Anker’s more circular folding Anker MagGo 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station, reviewed above. The company also makes a squarer 3-in-1 15W Qi2 foldable charger with, as far as I can work out, exactly the same name and much the same charging features.

It measures about the length and width of a credit card (3.5×2.36 inches; 8.9×6cm) and an inch (2.5cm) deep, weighing 6.9oz (195g). The 5W Watch-charging module is tucked away on the underside and can lie flat or sit up at an angle for Nightstand mode.

The Qi2 pad raises to create a stand for your iPhone, in either portrait or landscape mode for StandBy mode. You can also charge an iPhone with the charger folded and the Qi2 pad on top. You need to unfold it only if you want to charge some AirPods or use the Qi2 pad as a stand.

ESR Qi2 3-in-1 Travel Wireless Charging Set – Flattest 3-in-1 travel magnetic charger

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: Optional
• Colors: Black, White, Brown

The ESR 3-in-1 Travel Wireless Charging Set is certified by Apple for Apple Watch and Qi2 for 15W iPhone charging. ESR sells a faster 25W model (the 25W CryoBoost Foldable 3-in-1 Magnetic Charging Station, see above) but we rather like this plush 15W Travel Set.

The Watch charging part is separate but plugs in once the stand is unfolded; make sure you don’t lose it, though. When folded the charger can be used as a wireless charging pad. The iPhone can be set in either landscape or portrait orientation when the charger is doubling up as a stand.

It’s lightweight and foldable, which makes it a great travel solution if you own iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch. The faster Kuxiu X40 Turbo is a more compact package for Apple Watch and iPhone owners because their Watch-charging modules are built-in. The Journey SWIV is about the same weight as the ESR but without the detachable nature of the Watch charger.

It measures 4.5-x-2.6-x-0.63 inches (11.3-x-6.6-x-1.6cm). There’s an optional smart travel case included that fits the charger, cable, Watch attachment and folding charging stand.

Journey SWIV 3-in-1 Foldable Wireless Charging Station

• Output charging: 15W (MagSafe)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: White

The stylish SWIV 3-in-1 iPhone/Watch/AirPods charger folds up extremely neatly into a compact and lightweight package that you wouldn’t really notice in a coat pocket. Of course, despite being wireless when charging your devices it still requires a wall charger (not included); it does comes with a USB-C cable.

The MagSafe charger has been updated to 15W Qi2 but is beaten is speed by the 25W chargers, although the Watch does offer 5W fast-charging for your wearable. The Watch module can lie flat or flip up for Nightstand mode—perfect for a bedside table. If you want a 3-in-1 travel charger with a stand, consider the Kuxiu X40 Turbo, reviewed above.

Zens 2-in-1 MagSafe + Watch travel charger

• Output charging: 15W (MagSafe)
• Apple Watch fast charge: No
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: White

Coming in its own hard-shell travel case, the Zens 2-in-1 MagSafe and Watch travel charger is a portable delight for owners of iPhone (12-17 series) and Apple Watch.

It is officially certified as Made for MagSafe, so charges at wireless 15W. Sadly the Watch doesn’t fast charge, too, but its arm folds out to create a kickstand for the iPhone in either portrait or landscape orientation.

Mukiya 3-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger – Budget 3-in-1 travel magnetic charger

• Output charging: 7.5W
• Apple Watch fast charge: No
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft)
• Wall charger: 20W AC power adapter included (U.S. and E.U.)
• Colors: White, black, pink, purple, blue and light blue

This fun charger has a light around its edge that glows a warm white when charging the Watch and/or AirPods and blue when charging the iPhone. It’s compact when folded and weighs 5.7oz (162g), so works well as an affordable travel accessory.

What it’s not is fast: while some of the chargers we’ve reviewed support iPhone charging at up to 25W, this 3-in-1 is merely MagSafe-Compatible, meaning it charges at a reduced 7.5W. The 3W Apple Watch charger isn’t the requisite 5W for fast Watch charging either.

Mukiya 3-in-1 PaktVault Wireless Charging Station – Budget 3-in-1 travel magnetic charger

• Output charging: 7.5W
• Apple Watch fast charge: No
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft)
• Wall charger: 18W AC power adapter included
• Colors: White, black, pink, purple

From the same company as the glowy 3-in-1 charger reviewed above, the PaktVault is an affordable and foldable charger that can handle your iPhone, AirPods and Watch, albeit quite slowly at 7.5W compared to some faster options reviewed here.

It might not glow when it charges but its suitcase looks make it a cute travel companion, and it comes in a range of colors too.

Kuxiu K1 Ultra 25W Fast Charging 3-in-1 MagSafe 10K Power Bank – Best 3-in-1 power bank

• Output charging: 15W (K1) or 25W (K1 Ultra)
• Apple Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Black, Gray, Desert Titanium, Cosmic Orange

The Kuxiu K1 is a power bank with a sturdy stand and so can double up as a desktop charger as well as a portable. It comes in two models, the 15W Kuxiu K1 and faster 25W K1 Ultra. Each folds up into a neat pack-of-card size that will fit in your pocket (a large pocket for the 10K models) and twists into a versatile and high-performance multi-Apple-device charger when you need it on your travels or act as a handy iPhone charging stand back at base or in the café.

If you can stretch to the K1 Ultra you’ll future-proof your purchase for iPhones that support 25W charging, although the Ultra is available with the larger 10K battery only.

Alogic Matrix Ultimate Fold 3-in-1 Stand with Power Bank

• Output charging: 15W (MagSafe)
• Watch fast charge: Yes
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: 36W AC power adapter
• Colors: White

The Alogic Matrix Ultimate is multi-talented. It can charge an iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods wireless charging case at the same time, plus you can detach the iPhone charging pad and take it with you as a power bank. You can also detach the Apple Watch charger and slot that into any charging USB-C port, including that on the power bank.

On top of all that, you can fold the whole thing up and pack it in its own carry case.

Fully certified, it boasts 15W wireless iPhone charging, and can fast-charge a Watch at the same time.

The power bank’s battery capacity is 5000mAh, which in our tests gave us nearly a three-quarter recharge. There are alternatives, such as the OneAdaptr OneGo, reviewed above, that feature a 10000mAh power bank with much higher recharge potential—but none are rated as fast at charging as the Matrix Ultimate, which also now comes with international plug adapters (U.S., U.K., E.U., AU/NZ).

Anker Prime 25W Wireless Car Charger – Best MagSafe car charger

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2 25W)
• Cable: Built-in
• Car charger: 45W car charger included
• Colors: Gray

This is a neat and tidy wireless car charger and vent mount that is the fastest we’ve tested at 25W (for iPhones 16 1nd 17) and charges older iPhones at a still-rapid 15W. 25W should in practice get your iPhone up to a 50% charge in just over half an hour, compared to 45 minutes for 15W, and well over an hour for the older and cheaper chargers at 7.5W.

A ball joint holder’s tail hook clips onto an air vent—you spin the body to determine how much of the clip you need protruding—that can be angled at a 32-degree adjustable tilt.

It has comes with a 3.3-foot (1m) cable, which itself is powered by the included 45W dual-port charger that plugs into the power outlet (aka cigarette lighter port) in the car. The other port is legacy USB-A that can output at 12W.

ESR OmniLock 25W Magnetic Car Charger – Fast and stable in-car iPhone charger

• Output charging: 25W (Qi2 25W)
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft)
• Car charger: 58W dual-port charger
• Colors: Black

This fast 25W Qi 2.2-certified charger features CryoBoost active-cooling technology to ensure more reliable charging at that top speed. It is compatible with 10-32mm vents.

The charger itself feels robust and stable when its reinforced aluminum hook is securely locked into the car’s air vent blades with a shock-absorbing silicon pad between the charger and the vents, and the strong N52 magnets keep your phone securely in place. That means a less jumpy screen on bumpier roads.

The 360° rotating arm features a precision ball joint that allows for 60° of up-and-down movement, as well as side-to-side adjustability.

Belkin Boost Charge Pro Wireless Car Charger with MagSafe – Quality MagSafe car charger

• Output charging: 15W (MagSafe)
• Cable: Built-in
• Car charger: 12V car charger included
• Colors: White

Use your iPhone for satnav directions or to have easy access to your playlists in the car with this MagSafe-certified wireless charger and car vent mount, which works in both landscape and portrait modes.

It has an integrated USB-C cable, and a 12V car charger adapter for cars that come with USB-A ports.

The magnetic link is strong, which should mean that it can cope with any big bumps in the road. It works best with straight, horizontal vent slats up to 3mm in thickness and 20mm in depth. It does work with vertical slats, but there might be slight movements if the mount is overloaded with weight, says Belkin.

As a dedicated MagSafe-certified 15W car mount, it is expensive compared to some. If you can handle a lower charger rate, the Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Car Charger 10W does pretty much the same job for a lot less. Or you can buy Spigen’s Mag Fit Phone Holder Car Mount and add Apple’s MagSafe Charger (reviewed above) for pretty much the same 15W result. That product is also available in black, like most car vents.

Pitaka Magez Car Mount Pro 2 – Excellent MagSafe car charger

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Cable: Built-in
• Car charger: Not included
• Colors: White

The MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 impresses across the board: fast charging, strong hold, and integrated NFC function. No competitor offers a comparable range of functions.

What makes the MagEX Car Mount Pro 2 unique is its built-in NFC support and ability to work with iOS’s Shortcuts app. The NFC chips can trigger a short command when the iPhone is held over them. For example, when getting into the car, the NFC can trigger the iPhone to set the focus to “Do not disturb” and play your favorite music. 

Pitaka also offers a version for Tesla Model 3 and Y cars.

ESR Qi2 15W Magnetic Car Charger – Best budget MagSafe car charger

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Cable: 1m (3.3ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Black

While still able to charge at a fast 15W Qi2 chargers are mostly cheaper than the Apple-certified MagSafe—but as Qi2 is based on MagSafe you have nothing to fear choosing this cheaper option.

It comes with a 1m USB-C cable, with USB-A adapter if your car still has that older standard.

You can clip it into the slats on your car’s air vent (ESR says it is compatible with 99% of all cars, which we can’t verify) or you can use the included 3M adhesive mount for a semipermanent attachment to your car’s dashboard—don’t use this on a nice leather or fabric (or curved) dash.

Journey ALTI Lift Wireless Charging Desk Mat

• Output charging: 15W (Qi2)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Black, Beige Gray

This smart desk mat includes a detachable side strip that includes an adjustable magnetic wireless charging arm for phone and a non-magnetic section to charge your AirPods. Not only is the mat reversible, with smooth, wipeable vegan leather on one side and warmer-feel felt on the other, but you can pull back the mat to stow paper and notes to help reduce clutter. It’s quite a large mat, measuring 28.7 x 14.6 inches (73 x 37cm). The Beige Gray color is actually more of a warm stone tone.

Journey has a range of ALTI charging desk mats but the 15W ALTI Lift is the first to feature a fully rotational flip-up phone stand. The non-Lift basic ALTI—available in four colors—can charge the iPhone only laid flat and at a slower 7.5W. Although costing a little more, we recommend the faster and more adjustable Lift model.

The charging panel connects to the mat with a light magnetic snap, and can be positioned on either side simply by flipping the mat round 180 degrees, depending on whether you are left or right handed. AirPods can be charged at up to 5W. The magnetic fit is strong so you can’t knock it off its charging position with a stray flick of an arm.

Journey also offers a faster and fancier version of the Alti. The Journey Alti Play offers 15W wireless iPhone charging and cool button-controlled ambient nine-color RGB lighting effects with that will attract gamers or anyone who wants to add some effects to their workspace.

As with the original Alti the magnetic charging panel can be attached to either the right or left side. It does differ in having just one non-reversible side but its fine-weave microfibre lycra cloth surface is designed for a more precise mouse action that will also please gamers. The rubber anti-slip underside keeps the mat firmly in place.

All Alti wireless charging desk mats come with a USB-C cable but require a charger; recommended 30W or higher.

Journey NEXA & NEXA Lift 4-in-1 Laptop Sleeve with Wireless Charging

• Output charging: 7.5W (Compatible)
• Cable: 1.5m (5ft)
• Wall charger: Not included
• Colors: Black, Light Gray

The premium-quality, vegan leather Journey NEXA laptop sleeve bills itself as a “4-in-1”, and it certainly is multi-functional.

As well as protecting your laptop during travel, it includes two wireless chargers (one MagSafe compatible at 7.5W; one 5W for AirPods or a second phone) and can work as both a desk mat and mousepad to free your workspace of clutter.

The most recent NEXA Lift model features an iPhone charger that raises into an adjustable stand.

While it comes with a USB-C cable, you’ll need to add your own charger (check our roundup of the best iPhone chargers) to connect with the USB-C port in the sleeve. Alternatively you can charge the MacBook itself while it sits protected in the sleeve—for this you’ll need a more powerful MacBook charger.

AppleCare+

AppleCare+

2026 iPad mini release date: When will the new iPad mini launch?

• October 2026 is the reported timeframe

Apple has not officially announced a specific launch date for a new iPad mini. However, industry analysis and leaks suggest that a refresh is likely to occur before the end of 2026. In October 2025, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that a new iPad mini featuring an OLED screen is among the devices Apple is expected to launch before the end of 2026. In July 2026, Gurman reported that the OLED iPad mini is scheduled for an October 2026 release.

Several factors could influence the timing of its release and cause delays, though, including:

• Erratic release cycle: The iPad mini doesn’t follow a fixed update schedule and can go several years between refreshes. While some reports suggest Apple is aiming for a “sooner-than-later” update to bring it in line with newer chips, its history of two-year (or longer) gaps suggests another update isn’t imminent following the October 2024 model.
• Component shortages: Apple’s plans may be affected by demand for the A18 Pro chip expected to power the device. This processor also powers the hugely popular MacBook Neo, which has led to reports that Apple could prioritise these chips for the Neo over the iPad mini. In addition, there are industry-wide supply pressures affecting RAM and other components which Apple CEO Tim Cook alluded to during the company’s first-quarter 2026 results announcement.

2026 iPad mini: Performance and specs 

• A19 Pro chip
• C1X modem
• N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6

Since it hasn’t been updated in over a year, the next iPad mini is expected to receive several silicon upgrades. The current model features an A17 Pro chip, 8GB of RAM, and Apple Intelligence support. Most rumors suggest Apple will upgrade the device to the A19 Pro.

In August 2025, MacRumors reported that Apple code inadvertently revealed an A19 Pro-powered iPad mini, although the publication noted that the chip could also have been intended for the iPhone Air. Additional evidence emerged in December 2025, when Macworld reported seeing internal Apple code indicating that the entry-level iPad would launch with an A19 chip. Because Apple has traditionally equipped the iPad mini with a more powerful processor than the standard iPad, this lends further support to the A19 Pro rumor.

An A19 Pro would represent a substantial upgrade over the current A17 Pro. Users could expect faster on-device AI processing, improved gaming performance, and quicker photo and video editing. The A18 Pro, which powers the MacBook Neo, is often compared to the M1 chip and can rival the M3 in some single-core workloads. An A19 Pro-powered iPad mini would push the device even closer to iPad Air-level performance.

There are also reports that Apple could use the A20 Pro in the iPad mini instead. The likely chip may depend on launch timing. If the new iPad mini arrives before the iPhone 18 Pro, which is expected to debut the A20 Pro, the A19 Pro remains the most likely option. However, if the launch slips into late 2026 or beyond, an A20 Pro-equipped iPad mini becomes increasingly plausible.

A less ambitious upgrade to the A18 Pro remains possible. While the performance gains would be smaller, the chip still offers meaningful improvements over the A17 Pro thanks to architectural enhancements and a more powerful GPU configuration. In benchmarks, it would outperform the current model, though the difference would be less dramatic than with an A19 Pro or A20 Pro.

The popularity of the MacBook Neo could also influence Apple’s chip strategy. Reports suggest demand for the Neo has been strong enough to create pressure on A18 Pro supply, which could affect the availability of chips for other products.

Alongside processor upgrades, Apple is expected to bring its latest wireless technologies to the iPad mini. With the iPhone 17 lineup, Apple introduced the N1 chip, which supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. The company has already added the N1 to the M4 iPad Air and is expected to roll it out across the iPad lineup through 2026 and 2027, including the iPad mini. Cellular models are also expected to adopt Apple’s C1X modem.

2026 iPad mini: Display

• OLED display upgrade

The biggest display upgrade rumored for the next iPad mini is the adoption of OLED technology. Following Apple’s transition of the iPad Pro to OLED in 2024, multiple reports have suggested that the iPad mini will be the next iPad to make the switch. Ross Young of DSCC was first to claim, in a tweet in October 2024, that the next iPad mini would have a OLED.

The current iPad mini, released in October 2024, still uses a Liquid Retina IPS LCD display, but industry sources, including Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, indicate a move to OLED is increasingly likely.

The transition from LCD to OLED would represent one of the most significant upgrades in the iPad mini’s history. Unlike LCD panels, which rely on a backlight, OLED displays illuminate each pixel individually. This allows pixels to switch off completely when displaying black content, resulting in deeper blacks, higher contrast ratios, and improved HDR performance.

Key benefits of OLED include:

• Superior contrast and true blacks: Individual pixel control delivers inky blacks and virtually infinite contrast.
• More vibrant colours: OLED panels typically offer wider colour gamuts and greater colour accuracy, producing richer and more immersive images.
• Faster response times: Reduced motion blur and ghosting improve the experience when gaming or watching fast-moving content.
• Better viewing angles: Colours and brightness remain consistent even when viewed from the side.
• Improved efficiency: OLED can be more power-efficient when displaying darker content and allows for thinner display assemblies.

An OLED panel could also enable Apple to reduce bezel sizes, potentially increasing the display area slightly without significantly changing the tablet’s overall dimensions. Some reports suggest the screen could grow from 8.3 inches to around 8.5 inches as a result – more on that below.

While the iPad mini is unlikely to inherit premium display technologies such as ProMotion or the tandem OLED architecture used in the iPad Pro, the move to OLED would still deliver a noticeable improvement in visual quality, with richer blacks, better contrast, improved colour reproduction, and stronger HDR performance.

For users who prioritise display quality, an OLED iPad mini would address one of the most frequently cited limitations of the current model and bring the compact tablet much closer to the viewing experience offered by Apple’s premium devices.

2026 iPad mini: Design

• Same size, bigger screen possible
• More water-resistant design rumored

The iPad mini has retained the same design since its major redesign in 2021, and the 2026 model is expected to keep that overall look. However, Apple could increase the display size slightly while maintaining the device’s current dimensions.

In December 2024, analysts at Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) suggested in a supply chain analyst report that the next-generation iPad mini could feature an 8.5-inch display, up from the current model’s 8.3-inch panel. The reports indicated that the chassis size would remain unchanged, meaning Apple could achieve the larger screen through slimmer bezels rather than a larger body.

A larger display may also help the iPad mini maintain its place in Apple’s lineup as foldable devices arrive. Apple’s long-rumored foldable iPhone – often referred to as the iPhone Fold or iPhone Ultra – is expected to feature an inner display measuring between 7.6 and 7.8 inches with a 4:3 aspect ratio, putting it close to the iPad mini’s screen size. While still smaller than the iPad mini, such a device could appeal to some users who currently favour Apple’s smallest tablet.

Another rumor gaining traction is that the new iPad mini will be more water-resistant. That rumor comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who in October 2025 claimed Apple was developing a next-generation iPad mini with a significantly more water-resistant chassis.

The design changes could include:

• Redesigned casing with improved sealing around ports.
• A new speaker system that uses vibration-based audio technology to eliminate traditional speaker holes.

There’s also a strong possibility of new colour options. Apple currently offers the iPad mini in Blue, Purple, Starlight, and Space Gray, while the previous generation was available in Pink, Purple, Starlight, and Space Gray.

2026 iPad mini: Cameras 

• Little or no camera upgrade expected

Apple’s iPads currently feature a 12MP Center Stage front-facing camera and a 12MP wide rear camera, and there are no credible reports suggesting major camera system upgrades for the next iPad mini.

The most likely change concerns camera placement rather than camera hardware. Apple has moved the front-facing camera to the landscape edge on its latest iPad models, and the iPad mini could follow suit to improve the experience during video calls and FaceTime sessions when used with a keyboard or stand.

While the cameras themselves may remain unchanged, image quality could still benefit from improvements to the image signal processor and computational photography capabilities of a newer A-series chip.

2026 iPad mini: Price 

The iPad mini has had the same $499 price tag since its 2021 redesign. In 2026 we could see a price increase as a result of the OLED display upgrade.

Component costs could also drive up the price. During Apple’s first quarter 2026 financial results announcement, CEO Tim Cook said that Apple is now “in a supply chase mode” due to industry-wide constraints. Thus, tariffs, the rising cost of RAM, and other increases in supply-chain costs could impact pricing for some higher-end storage options.

The price may remain the same though, with Apple wanting to keep the price of this niche product attractive.

2027 iPad release date: When will Apple launch the next entry-level iPad?

• Early 2027 launch predicted

In a July 2026 report, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said that Apple has scheduled the release of the entry-level iPad for “as early as the first calendar quarter next year.” Previously, Gurman reported that the new entry-level iPad is “on the roadmap for a release in the iOS 26.4 timeframe, which runs until May.” Apple released iOS 26.4 on March 24, and the iPad was not released.

Why the later ship date? It’s possible that Apple needs to ensure sufficient supply of whichever chip it chooses (A18, A19, or A20) and may also be waiting for its Apple Intelligence features to be fully ready. This includes ongoing work to improve next-generation Siri AI, which is part of the iPadOS 27 update that will be released in the fall.

A delay is more likely to be strategic than technical. Apple did not update the base iPad during its March 2026 launch event, despite releasing the M4 iPad Air. Holding back the entry-level iPad helps avoid cannibalising sales of more expensive models, and staggered releases like this are typical of Apple’s product strategy.

Should you wait?

We recommend waiting for the 2027 iPad if you’re considering an upgrade. The next-generation iPad is expected to deliver a meaningful upgrade with a faster chip, more RAM, and support for Apple Intelligence, making it a much more future-proof choice.

2027 iPad chip: Will the new iPad use the A18 or A19 chip?

• A18 chip most likely
• 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU
• N1 chip for Wi-Fi 6E/7 and Bluetooth 6

The biggest upgrade coming to the 2027 iPad will be a new processor, but reports are divided on exactly which chip Apple will use.

Most evidence points to the A18 chip, which debuted in the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus in 2024. In March 2026, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that the new iPad is “ready to go” with an A18, making it the most likely candidate. The A18 would also enable Apple Intelligence, something the current A16-powered iPad cannot support.

However, there is still a possibility that Apple could opt for the A19 chip instead. As we reported in December 2025, a code-leak suggested that Apple had been testing new iPad models (codenamed J581 and J582) equipped with the same A19 chip expected in the iPhone 17 lineup.

For now, the balance of evidence leans toward the A18 as the more realistic choice. Reports of A18 Pro shortages (linked to the popularity of the MacBook Neo) are unlikely to affect supply of the standard A18 chip if Apple chooses to use that in the new iPad.

What to expect

• A18 chip: Expected to feature a 6-core CPU and a 5-core GPU, similar to its implementation in recent iPhones. Apple may use a “binned” version with one fewer CPU or GPU core, a common strategy to improve manufacturing yields and differentiate products. The A18 should deliver a 30–40 percent performance boost over the A16, along with 8GB of RAM (up from 6GB), enabling support for Apple Intelligence.
• A19 chip: Expected to feature a 6-core CPU and a 5-core GPU in the iPhone 17. Apple could use the same configuration or a slightly reduced “binned” version for the iPad. The A19 would offer an even larger jump—around 50 percent faster than the A16—while also including 8GB of RAM, which is essential for Apple Intelligence features.

Other specs

Apple is also expected to bring its new N1 connectivity chip to the iPad. First introduced with the iPhone 17 lineup, the N1 handles Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread connectivity. Its inclusion could upgrade the iPad to Wi-Fi 6E or even Wi-Fi 7, along with Bluetooth 6.x, up from the current Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3.

For cellular models, Apple will likely use its in-house C1 modem (or a variant of it), continuing its shift away from third-party suppliers while improving efficiency and integration.

Why does Apple Intelligence matter for the iPad?

Apple Intelligence introduces a range of AI-powered features designed to enhance creativity, productivity, and real-time communication, including:

• Image Generation: Tools like Image Playground and Genmoji allow users to create custom visuals and personalized emojis from text prompts.
• Live Translation: Integrated into FaceTime and Messages, this feature provides real-time translated captions during calls, effectively giving every user a personal translator.
• Photo Editing: The “Clean Up” tool uses AI to identify and remove unwanted background objects from photos, a task that previously required complex manual editing.
• Writing Tools: System-wide rewriting, proofreading, and summarization in apps such as Mail and Notes.
• Smart Shortcuts: Automation of repetitive tasks using intelligent actions and text summarization.
• Priority Management: AI-driven Priority Notifications and Priority Inbox to surface time-sensitive information.

These features require at least 8GB of RAM and a more powerful Neural Engine, which means Apple Intelligence is currently limited to M-series iPads (Air and Pro) and the A17 Pro iPad mini.

By contrast, the standard iPad with the A16 chip (released in March 2025) does not support Apple Intelligence. This is a notable limitation for long-term value, especially as future versions of iPadOS are expected to rely increasingly on AI-driven features.

2027 iPad display: No OLED or ProMotion

• Same 10.9-inch LCD
• No OLED display
• No ProMotion

While there are reports that the other iPads (mini, Air and Pro) could get new OLED panels with richer colors and deeper contrast in 2027, the base model is unlikely to evolve from its LCD panel.

We expect the upcoming iPad to have the same 11-inch Liquid Retina display 2360-by-1640 display with 500 nits of brightness and 60Hz refresh rate that it has had since 2022.

2027 iPad design: No new design

The A19 iPad is also expected to have the same dimensions: 9.79 x 7.07 x 0.28 inches (248.6 x 179.5 x 7 millimeters) and weigh 1.05 pounds (477 grams). 

We haven’t heard anything about new colors, but since Apple hasn’t changed the color palette (blue, pink, yellow, silver) since its original release, it’s possible we get a couple of new options.

2027 iPad cameras: Will Apple update the FaceTime camera?

• 12MP rear camera 
• 12MP Center Stage front camera 

The current iPad has two 12MP cameras, with the front ‘FaceTime’ camera having support for Center Stage. Apple isn’t expected to make changes to the camera for the upcoming iPad. 

However, the company did change the Centre Stage camera with the arrival of the iPhone 17, and the new ‘square’ 18MP camera could be used on the front of the new iPad.

This front-facing camera has a larger, square sensor that supports automatic subject framing, orientation-agnostic capture, and advanced video features. On the iPad the 18MP camera could translate to improved video quality. However, current iPads already support smart framing during video calls so that aspect of the design may not be necessary.

2027 iPad price: Will Apple keep the entry-level iPad affordable?

After launching at $449 in 2022, Apple cut the price of the entry-level iPad to $349 in May 2024, and doubled the starting storage from 64GB to 128GB with the 11th-gen model. However, in June 2026, Apple raised the price back to the to $449 level due to supply-chain shortages. It’s possible that Apple could raise the price again.

The best time for tech workers to unionize was 20 years ago, when they had plenty of leverage. The second-best time is now, when they don’t.

Mass layoffs, AI-driven displacement, corporate surveillance, workplace disillusionment have created conditions that have made organizing compelling for tech professionals. But the federal labor board that has historically protected workers’ right to organize has been weakened, and the companies that once feared it are openly defying it.

Here’s how organizers and labor experts describe the pros and cons to organizing — and how you can get started.

This is Part 2 of a series on tech worker unionization. Also see Part 1: “A brewing battle: More IT workers want unions. The industry doesn’t.”

What unions can — and can’t — do for you

The single biggest benefit of a union contract for most tech workers isn’t pay — it’s protection against arbitrary termination, especially in the wake of recent mass layoffs in tech. In the United States, nonunion “at-will” workers can be fired at any time without a stated reason, while unionized workers negotiate protections written into their contracts.

“That fear of the company letting you go for anything at any time…with a union they just can’t do that,” says Zak Thompson, a senior software engineer at Kickstarter and union steward at Kickstarter United. Now that Kickstarter employees are unionized, people are less worried that saying something negative will result in termination.

“I’ve been shocked at the willingness of my co-workers to speak up against what they see as poor or controversial business decisions,” Thompson says.

Beyond job security, unions can deliver concrete material gains. Kickstarter United was formed in 2020, although getting there wasn’t easy: two employees were fired during the organizing campaign — which itself became a galvanizing event. And while the union hasn’t been able to prevent layoffs, it did negotiate better terms: four months of severance pay and four to six months of continued health insurance, versus the two to three weeks per year of work that management had initially proposed.

Other benefits include a four-day work week; AI protections; a minimum pay floor; and standards for raises, promotions, and time off for the company’s 59 employees.

Unions can give tech workers a voice in decisions that affect their daily work — including how AI tools are deployed. “Nobody I’ve spoken to is against new technology or getting trained in it,” says Max Belasco, a business systems analyst at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law and co-chair of the UCLA chapter of the University Professional and Technical Employees/Communications Workers of America (UPTE-CWA) Local 9119.

“But when new technology is being implemented, we want to know: what’s the five-year vision, the 10-year vision? Are we implementing this in a way that betters staffing, increases efficiency, or eases the lives of people already working? Or are we trying to take away jobs, automate people out of their pension or paycheck?” Belasco says.

The challenges are real. Tech professionals are less inclined to leave their jobs in the current market because wages haven’t been increasing as fast as they once were, and it can take longer to land another job.

“Tech moved from a very tight labor market in 2022 (1.85% unemployment rate) to a noticeably weaker one in 2024–2026 (3.49%),” although that’s still better than the national unemployment rate of 4.36% through May of this year, says Liya Palagashvili, senior research fellow and director of the Labor Policy Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Flexibility is a concern. The more substantive challenge, raised by economists including Palagashvili, is that traditional union contracts impose uniform terms across an entire bargaining unit, limiting the flexibility that many tech workers — and their employers —currently enjoy. Tech firms need to move fast, adjusting teams, products, and roles on the fly.

“Collective bargaining agreements can make those adjustments much more difficult, whether by making them slower, costlier, or inconsistent with the contract,” she says.

Workers skeptical of unions in a survey of 1,900 tech professionals conducted by the career site Blind cited specific concerns: that unions are “not meritocratic,” “prevent innovation,” and “hold back earnings of top performers.”

Thompson from Kickstarter United pushes back: “We have nothing in our contract about ‘you can’t bend down and pick up a piece of trash because that’s someone else’s job.’ The company is free to give bonuses and individual raises as much as they like. This is all just up to the people who are bargaining the contract from the union side.”

Organizing carries potentially serious personal risks. During negotiations for a second three-year contract in 2025, Kickstarter United went on strike for 42 days. A few months later, the company announced layoffs.

“They let go strong union leaders, including a person who had bargained our last contract,” Thompson says. The union appealed, and the issue is now going to arbitration.

If you form a union, don’t expect much support from the National Labor Relations Board, the agency that certifies US labor unions and protects workers’ right to organize, in terms of prosecuting complaints of unfair labor practices, Thompson warns. “We’re in a political moment in this country with a pretty weakened NLRB. You have to be ready to organize and withhold worker power without any guarantee of safety.”

Organizers are up against an enormous union avoidance industry. Organizers can expect fierce pushback as soon as the business discovers that organizing is underway.

“There’s a multi-billion-dollar industry in union avoidance,” says Alan McAvinney, a Google software engineer and organizing chair, Alphabet Workers Union-CWA, a 1,400-member minority union of Alphabet employees. (Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet.)

US employers spend roughly $1.7 billion a year on union avoidance consultants and law firms, according to a May 2026 report by the Economic Policy Institute and LaborLab.

Expect hardball tactics. Management may play hardball during the time between when organizers announce their intention to unionize and the actual vote. For example, management can threaten to fire foreign-born workers in the US on H-1B visas if they support the union. Those workers would then have just 60 days to find a new sponsoring employer or lose their H-1B status, according to a recent Tech Workers Coalition blog post.

And at venture capital-backed startups, investment agreements sometimes require management to attest there is no union activity — meaning a public organizing drive can trigger funding withdrawal. Or, if a unionized company is acquired, the new management can dissolve the union overnight by reclassifying unionized workers as new hires.

With these sobering facts in mind, here is how organizers who have done it describe the process of creating a union.

Step 1: Start a conversation with your co-workers

At the University of California, a two-tier system had evolved where some tech workers were unionized and some weren’t, Belasco says. Management created new titles that fell outside the union even though they had similar job descriptions and responsibilities to those in the union. Those nonunion employees received lower pay and benefits than their unionized peers, which created resentment and instability.

Belasco and other organizers wanted to eliminate that division by bringing everyone under the same contract. But when they began their unionization drive, “the biggest barrier we faced wasn’t management opposition — it was that people felt this was just the best-case scenario realistically available: ‘We have this job at the university, we have concerns about automation and layoffs, but what can we really do about it?'” he says.

The antidote to that fatalism, organizers say, is simple: “Just start talking to your immediate co-workers. Are they experiencing the same challenges you are experiencing?” says McAvinney. “There’s no need to start talking about a union at this point.”

Just get a consensus and start building a group of like-minded individuals, Thompson advises. “Always start with one-on-one conversations, and that’s what you should do the whole time. That’s the key to organizing,” he says.

Tech workers often think they’re a special case, says Thompson, and therefore that unionization isn’t a good fit. “You’re not special. You are a company of workers, you are organizing, and there is a playbook for that. Trust the process, because it tends to work pretty well,” he says.

Step 2: Who’s on board, and who’s not? Map your workplace, but keep it quiet

Once there’s a consensus, continue to grow your network. Keep a list of everyone you’ve spoken with and note their disposition: “Is this person union-friendly or anti-union? Would they be a strong organizer?” Thompson says.

Maintaining secrecy early on is essential, because anti-union tactics will start immediately, and that can stop union organizing before it can gain momentum.

“Generally, employers do not want to share power with their workforce,” McAvinney says. Employers will deploy every means at their disposal to stop organizing efforts and peel away potential yes votes.

“If you look at historical examples, having 70% approval before the employer finds out about you results in a high percentage of wins when you actually cast the vote. Historically, that’s an effective buffer,” he says.

There’s a real threat of firing and layoffs. The traditional tech worker belief that job mobility makes collective action unnecessary is now being tested by a tighter job market, McAvinney says, noting that workers who many believe were fired for speaking out back in 2019 were a galvanizing factor in his union’s formation.

“You generally don’t want to be in a situation where the employer feels comfortable firing everyone. Part of that is thinking from a cynical standpoint about what the consequences would be to the employer if they did fire everyone,” he says.

One-on-one conversations that include personally asking co-workers to keep conversations confidential are key to keeping things quiet, Belasco says. When 2,100 UC tech workers voted to unionize in May, 96% voted in favor. To stay out of earshot of managers, avoid employee surveillance tools, and sidestep conference calls that could be recorded, organizers met with workers in their homes.

“That tactic is probably what made the difference between winning the election and getting the majority we got,” he says.

Step 3: Find the right union affiliation or go it alone

“Running a campaign against major employers requires the resources and expertise of the larger labor movement, even if workers publicly present as independent,” says Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research and senior lecturer emeritus at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Options include the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), among others. Another resource, the Tech Workers Coalition (TWC), provides training on organizing tactics, AI-in-workplace issues, and contract negotiation, and can match workers to the right unions for their needs.

The Alphabet Workers Union decided early on to affiliate with CWA. “They gave us a bunch of support early on in our campaign with no strings attached,” McAvinney says.

Kickstarter is organized through OPEIU, Thompson says. “They’ll usually have resources and staff that can help you through the next steps: collecting signatures in support of a union, bringing that to management, holding a vote — the more formalized things that interact with US labor law. They’ll also help with organizing along the way,” he says.

For workers at institutions where a union already exists, there may be a faster path. Organizers at UCLA did what’s called a “unit modification,” aligning with UPTE. By organizing under UPTE, the workers didn’t have to negotiate a new contract from scratch — they joined an already-negotiated contract covering existing UPTE tech members, which put them in “a much stronger position” than starting fresh, Belasco says.

Step 4: Choose your union model: majority vs. pre-majority or minority

Assess what’s practical for your organizing effort. In a majority union, more than 50% of all workers in a defined bargaining unit must vote to join the union through an NLRB-supervised election in the private sector, or a Public Employment Relations Board (PERB)-supervised election for public sector workers.

The NLRB must certify the union, which then operates under its legal protections. This means, for example, that the employer must bargain, negotiated contracts are enforceable, violations must go to the NLRB or arbitration, and workers can’t be dismissed without just cause.

A pre-majority or minority union is a minority labor organization operating without NLRB protections or collective bargaining agreements. “Pre-majority means that workers are able to demonstrate majority support — through signed cards, petitions, a walkout, or everyone wearing solidarity T-shirts — without going through a formal election,” Bronfenbrenner says.

The Alphabet Workers Union-CWA (AWU-CWA) formed as a pre-majority union because achieving majority status across a globally distributed workforce of over 100,000 was not a realistic near-term goal. “An underground model where you try to reach 70% support across a workforce of over 100,000 people isn’t realistic,” McAvinney says.

A pre-majority union can still make a difference, he says. For example, the Alphabet Workers Union-CWA convinced management to offer voluntary exit packages — buyouts — prior to announcing layoffs.

For smaller organizations, a majority union may be the more practical option — it’s more attainable, McAvinney says. “I don’t think [the pre-majority union model] is the correct thing to do in all situations. I certainly would not recommend it to a 200-person shop.”

Kickstarter, which had fewer than 100 employees, was able to form a majority union, with 55% voting to organize.

Ultimately, says McAvinney, “there’s no inflection point where you go from being able to win nothing to winning everything, even with a contract and a supermajority. But the more people you have who are willing and able to fight for what they want, the more you’ll be able to get.”

Step 5: Who should — and should not — be in your union?

Belasco’s situation at UCLA illustrates a broader strategic choice that every organizing campaign must make. He had been in a union position in educational technology when he was told his role would be reclassified as a non-union position.

“I was given a choice: apply to the new non-union position to continue doing the work I’d trained for, or stay in my union position doing service desk work I wasn’t used to,” he says. “Essentially, it was a choice between job security and career progression.”

Belasco joined a “wall-to-wall” union, which represents a broad range of university professional and technical employees across the UC system rather than a single job category, such as engineers or tech professionals.

Kickstarter United is another example of a wall-to-wall union. “It’s not just the engineers who are unionized, but also customer support, designers — everyone,” Thompson says.

Wall-to-wall unions are more powerful, but they’re also more difficult to achieve. Under US labor law, “professionals have to vote separately on whether they want to be combined with other workers,” says Bronfenbrenner. “You can never have a wall-to-wall unit without giving professionals the chance to decide whether they want to be separate.”

The law’s “professional employees” category includes roles like software engineers and developers but not necessarily others. For example, customer support specialists and QA analysts would fall into the “non-professional workers” category.

“For decades, the pattern was either to organize everybody except the engineers, or manage to organize the engineers and fail to bring in everybody else — neither of which builds real worker power,” says Simone Robutti, an organizer with Tech Workers Coalition Global, an international branch of TWC based in Berlin.

Step 6: You won the vote. Get ready for what comes next

Winning a union vote means having a seat at the table, says Thompson. “Once the workers have come together and agreed they want that seat, you bring that to management, and they have a chance to voluntarily recognize a union,” he says.

But in most cases employers contest the results, which must be certified by the NLRB or PERB. That process, in which the employer uses various tactics to challenge the legitimacy of the outcome, can take weeks or months.

Unfortunately, the legal framework that is supposed to protect workers during this process has been significantly weakened in the last few years. In a potentially more ominous development, SpaceX, Amazon, Trader Joe’s, Starbucks, and the University of Southern California have in separate legal actions challenged the constitutionality of the NLRB, arguing that the agency’s structure violates the separation of powers. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld injunctions against the NLRB in SpaceX’s case in August 2025 — a serious challenge to the agency’s authority.

In the meantime, some companies may disregard negotiated contracts, which can lead to lengthy legal appeals or extended arbitration.

“The NLRB can still force an election, but it can’t force a contract, and companies are saying they simply won’t comply,” Bronfenbrenner says. This is where the expertise and resources of affiliation with a major union can help, she adds.

As a result, contract negotiations can take far longer than workers might expect. At Kickstarter, for example, two years and four months elapsed from the time of the union vote to the first contract, and that was at a 59-person company with a relatively cooperative employer. At larger companies with more aggressive legal teams, the timeline will be longer.

Forming a union is hard work, Robutti says. “It’s not a service you pay for and they protect you. It doesn’t happen spontaneously, and it doesn’t happen magically. It’s the choice to take responsibility for improving your workplace.”

See Part 1: A brewing battle: More IT workers want unions. The industry doesn’t.

Widgets, widgets, widgets. Has there ever been an Android feature so full of promise that went unloved by Google for so very long?

Okay, so maybe there has been — erm, lots of times, actually. But even so, Android’s widgets system is a perfect example of an exceptional advantage that Google basically buried, abandoned, and left on the brink of extinction up until its overdue revival in 2021’s Android 12 update. (And that revival, by the way, happened for no apparent reason whatsoever. Just a totally random, unprompted change of heart after a decade of indifference. Riiiiiiiiight.)

Google may have given up on widgets for a while, but the good news is that (a) they’re back, baby — still now, more than ever, even in our overly AI-obsessed 2026 timeline — and (b) the Android developer community keeps chuggin’ along and coming up with ever-more creative new ways to embrace widgets beyond what Google itself sees fit to give us. That means no matter what Android version your favorite phone is running, you can step up your own Android widget game and give yourself some fresh and fruitful paths to make the most of your phone’s framework.

Here, my dear, are some fantastic beyond-the-basics ways to put your favorite Android widgets to use and change the way you get stuff done on your phone. 

[Psst: Love learning new things? Get my free Android Intelligence newsletter to get a tasty new tip in your inbox every Friday.]

Android widget enhancement #1: The on-demand home screen pop-up

Widgets are a wonderful way to interact with all sorts of info without ever having to open up apps, but having too many widgets can quickly lead to a cluttered and overwhelming home screen.

Well, here’s a neat way to give yourself the benefit of a widget while still maintaining a neat and minimal space for working: An excellent app called Popup Widget lets you create an on-demand pop-up widget (get it?!) that looks like a regular ol’ icon on your home screen but then loads any widget you want when tapped.

See?

You can even get really wild and set up a single icon that opens multiple widgets at the same time — like your inbox and your calendar together:

Not bad, right?

Popup Widget costs two bucks and doesn’t require any special permissions or manners of access. And it’s pretty simple and self-explanatory to set up: Once you install and open the app, it’ll walk you through adding in whatever pop-up widgets you want. You can choose the name and even the icon associated with each one along with its precise placement on your screen and how much the screen behind it should dim when it’s loaded.

The app will offer to add the shortcut directly onto your home screen for you then, or you can also find all of your Popup Widget creations by pressing and holding the main Popup Widget icon in your app drawer.

Alternatively, if you’re already using a custom Android launcher like Smart Launcher or Niagara, you can find similar options for summoning widgets on demand within their settings — no separate apps even required.

And that, my widget-loving wallaby, is but our first winning widget possibility.

Android widget enhancement #2: The on-demand universal pop-up

If you like the idea of having a widget on demand but would rather have it be available to summon from anywhere instead of just from your home screen, this next wacky widget option is just the thing for you.

It comes from a spectacular app called Edge Gestures, which works in conjunction with Popup Widget to take that same concept and make it universally accessible. (I told ya it was wacky!)

When you first install Edge Gestures, the app will prompt you to enable it as a system accessibility service and to grant it the ability to display over other apps. These permissions sound scary — and they should! — but in the case of this specific utility, they’re absolutely appropriate and necessary in order for it to operate. The former is the only way an app is able to create a custom system-wide gesture, which we need for this setup to work its magic, and the latter is how your widget is able to be shown on top of whatever else you’re doing.

(If you’re at all worried, note that Edge Gestures doesn’t request any other significant system permissions. Beyond that, it’s reputable, it’s been around for quite a long while, and it has a large number of overwhelmingly positive reviews.)

Where were we? Oh, right: Once you’re inside the Edge Gestures configuration area, you’ll be able to select exactly what gesture you want to use for pulling up your widget. I’d think carefully about finding something that won’t interfere with anything else, like the system-level Android gestures, and that’ll be convenient to access without being a command you’re likely to trigger by mistake.

So, for instance, you might make the gesture a simple swipe downward along the left side of your screen. To do that, you’d find the “Swipe down” option within the app’s “Left” tab, and you’d set it to “Popup Widget” — and then create or select whatever Popup Widget item you want. And remember: You can select one widget or multiple widgets, too.

Prepare yourself for some serious oohing and ahhing:

As you can see, this opens up a whole new world of mobile multitasking potential. I mean, really: How could you not love that?!

The final thing worth doing is going into all the other gesture options in that same configuration area and tapping “Clear” for each of ’em to get rid of Edge Gestures’ default actions. I’d also go into whichever side of the screen you aren’t using — left or right — and tap the toggle to turn the gestures for that side off entirely. That way, you won’t inadvertently activate any gestures that you don’t actually want or need.

Edge Gestures costs $2 to use.

Android widget enhancement #3: The physical key call

Next, here’s an interesting twist on that same on-demand Android widget idea: You can make any widget especially easy to access from anywhere without even having to mess around with any on-screen swiping by setting one of your phone’s physical keys as a trigger for the widget’s appearance.

I’ll give you a second to catch your breath and process the sheer splendor of that sorcery.

Back? Cool. So, the key to this feat (har har) is the combination of the aforementioned Popup Widget and a handy Android contraption called Key Mapper — which makes it easy to map your phone’s physical keys to all kinds of crazy custom actions.

In this case, we’ll set it up so that pressing and holding one of your volume keys causes whatever widget you want to be summoned, like so:

Pretty nifty, no?

I’ve got step-by-step instructions for making this happen in this separate guide.

Android widget enhancement #4: The floating bubble

If you like the notion of having a widget always available but aren’t so keen on the hidden gesture concept, an app called Overlays will let you create a small floating bubble that you can position anywhere on your screen and then tap to pull any widget up when you want it — just like with Android’s recently revived Bubbles multitasking system, only compatible with any Android device and version and with the simplicity of a widget instead of the complexity of an entire app.

Check it out:

By default, Overlays gives you a bunch of its own little widgets to choose from, but the real power comes from adding in widgets from the Android apps you actually rely on. To do that, tap the “Triggers” tab at the bottom of the Overlays configuration area, then tap the red plus button in the lower-right corner of the screen. Select “Manual,” then type in whatever name you want for your widget and tap the icon to pick any icon you like.

Tap “Save,” then select “Widget” and find the widget you want from the list. At that point, you’ll see a preview of the widget. Move or resize it if you like, then hit the arrow in the upper-left corner of the screen to exit out of that interface. Last but not least, tap the name of your newly made widget on the screen that comes up next to change its status to “Always on.”

As soon as you head out of the app and back to your home screen, your fancy new widget should pop right up. All you’ve gotta do is tap the little downward-facing arrow in its corner to minimize it down to a bubble, which you can then press and hold to move anywhere your widget-worshipping heart desires.

Overlays can also create widgets that automatically appear based on context — so you could have something show up every time you connect to a certain Bluetooth device or Wi-Fi network, for instance. To explore those options, just follow the same steps from above but pick “Event” instead of “Manual” when you reach the “Triggers” tab configuration.

Overlays is free with an optional $4 in-app upgrade that removes some ads from the configuration tool and unlocks a handful of advanced features.

Android widget enhancement #5: The widget stack

Last but not least in our collection of wacky Android widget possibilities is one of my favorite widget wonders — and that’s the ability to stack multiple widgets and then swipe between ’em on your home screen without having ’em take up any extra space.

Check it out:

This enhancement presents a bit of a choose-your-own-adventure-style path:

First, if you’re using a reasonably recent Samsung Galaxy gizmo, the option is should already be present and available in your standard Samsung home screen setup. Just press and hold any open space on your home screen and then select the option to add a widget — then, once the widget is added, press and hold it and look for the “Create stack” command.

With any other Android gadget — or even with a Samsung device, if you want extra options and flexibility — you can use a custom Android launcher like the aforementioned Smart Launcher or Niagara as well as the retro-geeky T9-themed Key Launcher I introduced to you earlier this summer.

Those launchers replace your phone’s entire home screen environment and give you all sorts of interesting new possibilities for optimizing your interface and making it especially well-suited for you. And the stacked widget feature is just one small sliver of what they offer and how they’ll transform your Android experience.

So there ya have it: five wacky, wild, wonderful ways to make widgets even more wow-inducing. Some days, you’ve just gotta love Android and the endless customization, control, and power it provides.

Put even more Googley goodness in your noggin with my free Android Intelligence newsletter — one exceptional new thing to try every Friday!

Nearly five decades after the launch of VisiCalc, AI is reshaping one of the world’s most familiar productivity tools — the humble spreadsheet.

While a lot of knowledge workers interact with spreadsheets on a regular basis, many lack the skills and confidence to access more advanced functions.

“For a very long time, spreadsheets forced you to learn spreadsheet syntax and spreadsheet ways of working,” said Eric Birnbaum, director of product management for Google Sheets. “But think about how many people need to use spreadsheets at work and don’t have the skill set to create the kinds of spreadsheets that can be really helpful for them.”

The addition of artificial intelligence can help handle that issue, he said, making the software more accessible to a wide range of office workers. “AI is unlocking the power of spreadsheets, taking on a lot of the difficult work that’s required to use them. That can be incredibly empowering for users,” said Birnbaum.

Google has steadily expanded generative AI (genAI) capabilities in Sheets since launching Duet AI — now Gemini — for Workspace in 2023.

Gemini in Sheets is available at no extra cost to Google Workspace subscribers, though a paid AI Expanded Access add-on – costing $30 per user each month – is required to remove certain usage limits.

Features that have rolled out in recent months include the ability for a Gemini agent in Sheets to carry out multi-step actions such as formatting, analysis and data entry, and, more recently, the ability to create entire spreadsheets from a single prompt. A Fill with Gemini feature builds on the existing AI function, enabling users to automatically populate selected cells by detecting intent from information within a spreadsheet as well as from the web.

Another feature, Sheets Canvas (currently available in alpha), lets users generate interactive apps that update in real-time based on changes to spreadsheet data. This could be a kanban board for a sales pipeline, for instance, or an analytics dashboard that uses Sheets as its back-end data source. 

Google claims users already see a range of benefits from Gemini in Sheets. According to an August 2025 survey of 200 Sheets users conducted by the company, the majority of knowledge workers (89%) said AI features in Sheets save them at least an hour a week, and 88% believe AI features have made them more confident in their data analysis skills. 

The most popular AI use cases include creating spreadsheets and charts, analyzing data, and fixing broken formulas. How widely these features are actually used is unclear; Google declined to provide weekly usage statistics for Gemini in Sheets.

As the company embeds Gemini deeper into Sheets, questions remain about just how much businesses can trust AI tools to handle important business data, as well as what increased automation means for those who spend much of their day wrangling data. 

Computerworld recently talked with Birnbaum about the potential benefits and challenges of the latest evolution of spreadsheet software. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

As businesses become more focused on seeing value from AI investments, what measurable benefits are customers seeing from Gemini in Sheets – for example, time saved or other forms of return on investment? “Spreadsheets remain one of the universal languages for businesses, and we don’t anticipate that’s going to change anytime soon. But by bringing AI into the product where people work, we think it can significantly reduce the technical tax of data: the time spent understanding it, sourcing it, analyzing it, visualizing it.

“Historically, data professionals spent — let’s estimate it at 80% of their time — on the mechanical groundwork, data cleaning, crafting formulas, formatting, troubleshooting, and maybe only 20% of their time on actual strategic decision-making.

“We think that by offloading the manual, time-consuming, error-prone data work to Gemini, we can flip that ratio a bit, so humans can focus on the things that really matter: the high-value questions to ask and the judgment calls and decisions that get made from them. We’re starting to see evidence of that in our own user base and customer base.

“The second point to make is that AI can democratize data analysis to some extent, and make it available to many more users. For so many years, the spreadsheet was a gatekeeper; if you couldn’t speak the rigid language of spreadsheet formulas, you couldn’t extract the value from data. But by introducing these natural language interfaces, AI is separating the analytical capability from the technical literacy. 

“If you can ask the right questions, or describe what you want in plain language, Gemini and Sheets can help you achieve your goals in a spreadsheet, even if you have minimal spreadsheet skills yourself.

“What we’ve seen so far from users and customers is that it’s incredibly empowering for people who might have been scared off by data analysis or dreaded opening spreadsheets in the past. You don’t need to go and wait for a data analyst to help you; you can go and do this work yourself in a spreadsheet.”

The flip side is, how confident can businesses be if more junior employees can take on higher-level analysis tasks by relying on AI? Given the propensity for AI models to hallucinate, to what degree can businesses trust that these tools won’t introduce errors into important business data? “It’s something we spent a ton of time thinking about. We’ve gone to great lengths to build these AI tools to collaborate with you, to show their work, explain what they did, and make sure that you can take over where they leave off.

“Our Sheets agent, for example, lays out a really explicit, transparent plan for you to review and approve before any data manipulation happens. It’s designed to do that in plain natural language in a way that the average user could understand, and then it gives you back that final summary, so you know exactly what it did and where it did it.

“The other thing is that the model is great at explaining things. If you inherit a spreadsheet that has some complex formula that you don’t understand, for example, the model does an amazing job of explaining how it works and what it’s doing.

“In many ways AI is not only making these features more accessible, but helping users feel more confident in the output. Human error is an inherent risk in manual data management, with or without AI. One misplaced comma or broken cell reference can completely corrupt an entire financial model, and it can be completely undetected. 

“Our approach with AI in Sheets is to create this deliberate verification loop. You now have another spreadsheet expert working along with you, reducing the likelihood of these mistakes.”

Even if humans produce errors too, does it ultimately come down to accountability when AI is involved? “Our point of view here is that AI should be partnering with the knowledge worker who’s doing the work here. And everything that we’ve built is designed to be that partner. You might be able to offload tasks to the model, but we’re citing sources, we’re providing plans and explanations. We’re ultimately relying on the user to do that final verification.

“We spend a humongous amount of time focused on quality. We know that for AI to be useful in spreadsheets, it has to be reliable. When we launched Sheets Gemini Agent, for example, we were really proud that we set a state-of-the-art benchmark on the full SpreadsheetBench data set, which at the time exceeded competitors and near-human expert ability. 

“But we know quality is never ‘good enough’ or done. We’re constantly working to improve quality for our users and customers, and for the use cases where they’re relying on AI most.”

What potential do you see for more agentic functionality in Gemini Sheets — for example, bringing in data from other sources, creating recurring reports, or taking more actions independently? “We’re listening closely to customers and users and building what they’re telling us they need. The agent is already capable of doing very complex multistep workflows, and we see users discover that the agent is extremely capable of doing end-to-end spreadsheet tasks. In terms of connectors, in an alpha we have connections available to HubSpot, Salesforce, and Mailchimp. We hope to expand that over time.

“There’s no path to have AI replacing analysts. I think AI is giving analysts more time back to actually do the more valuable parts of their job. Analysts that I work with are way more productive and impactful than they ever were before, because they can push that uninteresting spreadsheet grunt work off to the model, freeing up time for more interesting and impactful work.

“A great example: the visualizations I’m getting back from analysts nowadays are canvases instead of static charts that I can explore myself. It’s way more informative and useful than what I was accustomed to before.”

Looking ahead, do you expect a larger share of spreadsheet work to be carried out by agents, with humans setting goals and reviewing results? What will be the biggest change in how people use spreadsheets with AI? “The tasks are likely to stay similar and the use cases for spreadsheets are likely to continue to be relevant. The biggest change will be the ability to push the uninteresting spreadsheet grunt work off to a model and free up time for the user to do things that are more impactful, more interesting, more meaningful to the business.

‘Spreadsheets have historically been these like static containers where data goes to rest. I think AI can turn spreadsheets into these dynamic, localized software applications. And I do actually think this sort of changes the game for how people might use spreadsheets moving forward. 

“It’s not just a passive grid full of numbers; spreadsheets are evolving to become these live, long-lived, collaborative applications. Employees can build these on the fly, like a basic CRM or supply chain dashboard in seconds. This is an area of investment for us moving forward, and we’re really excited to see how this evolves.”

AI assistants and agents, such as ChatGPT or Claude, might be able to analyze spreadsheet files and business data without users working inside a spreadsheet application. What do you think will keep Sheets central to the workflow, rather than simply making it one part of a wider AI-driven process?“We’re in constant touch with customers and users; it’s clear work is still happening in spreadsheets. I think spreadsheets remain incredibly popular tools. If we can bring the AI capabilities users need directly into the product where they already are, we’ll transform the way they work.  

“I think we can be the front-end for some of this great AI innovation and the products that users are accustomed to today. Everything we build is guided by user feedback: users are telling us right now they want AI to help them do their everyday or more complex tasks, and they’re starting in Sheets today.”

Few things are as delightfully divisive as Android’s dark mode.

Some phones now ship with Android’s darker-style interface activated by default. Most reasonably recent devices offer it as a swift ‘n’ simple toggle. And most people, in my experience, have amusingly strong preferences about which approach they prefer — the standard Android “light” mode, in which screens tend to be bright and with shades of white as a foundation, and the dark mode (a.k.a. “dark theme”), where black and dark gray dominate and everything is much more muted and muddy.

It really is a night and day difference, so to speak — but no matter where you fall on the light vs. dark preference spectrum, it’s well worth your while to noddle over two pertinent points:

1. Android’s dark mode doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing decision. With the right setup, you can use it as a dynamically activated sometimes switch that enables itself automatically based on different variables and gives you a darker, less glary motif when conditions call for it while leaving you with the lighter, brighter look the rest of the time.
2. Regardless of how often you’re using dark mode, a few easy adjustments will make it meaningfully more complete and effective as an end-to-end interface style for whatever you’re doing on your device.

It occurred to me recently that we’ve gone over several smart Android dark mode enhancements over the past weeks and months — and that, put together into a single power-pack bundle, these small-seeming items can add up to create a pretty dramatic difference in your Android-using experience, whether you’re a full-fledged dark mode convert or a more light-preferring vampire skeptic.

Here, specifically, are five easy ways to make Android’s dark mode meaningfully better for you.

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Android dark mode power-up #1: The app expansion

Up first is a feature that arose as part of our Android 17 discussion and sparked the entire idea for this collection — and that’s the one-tap switch in the latest Android version that forces every app on your phone to follow your dark mode preference, whether the program technically supports such a setting or not.

In Android 17, finding and flipping that switch will make every app turn dark whenever the system-wide dark mode is active. It eliminates the irksome exceptions that’ve traditionally stayed stubbornly light (due to developer laziness) even when your dark theme is on.

If you’ve got Android 17 on your phone already, it couldn’t be much easier to make it happen. Just look in the Display section of your system settings, tap the words “Dark theme,” then change the setting that shows up next from “Standard” to “Expanded.”

No Android 17? No problem: On devices with reasonably recent pre-Android-17 system software, you can actually find a switch buried deep in some developer settings that’ll let you enable the exact same option without any waiting.

Follow these instructions and enjoy your new universally consistent darkened dynamic.

Android dark mode power-up #2: A darkened web

That first trick fixes the issue of certain apps not following your dark mode preference — but what about the web? Most of us spend a fair amount of time in our browsers these days, and most websites won’t follow a dark mode setting and adjust their interfaces accordingly.

They absotively can, though. With the flip of a single switch buried within your browser’s bowels, you can force every website into a darkened motif whenever your system-level dark mode is up and running.

See?

Here’s the secret:

• Open up Chrome on whatever Android device you’re using. (And note that this will also work with any Chromium-based Chrome alternative, like Brave, Edge, or Vivaldi.)
• Type chrome:flags into the address bar.
• Type darken into the search box at the top of the screen that comes up next.
• See the line labeled “Darken websites checkbox in themes setting”? Tap the “Default” box beneath it, and change its setting to “Enabled.”
• Tap the blue “Relaunch” button at the bottom of the screen.

Now, when Chrome comes back a second or so later…

• Tap the three-dot menu icon in its upper-right corner.
• Tap “Settings” in the next menu.
• Scroll down until you see “Appearance.” Tap it, then tap “Theme.”
• Make sure the newly added box for “Apply dark theme to sites, when possible” — which we just magically made appear via our last little modification — is checked and active.

And that’s it: From that moment onward, whenever your Android device is switched into its dark mode, any website you’re viewing within Chrome will automatically follow suit. Nothing more to it, and no further thought or action ever required on your part.

Not bad, eh?!

Android dark mode power-up #3: A dark mode schedule

Even as someone who isn’t into dark mode as a 24/7 sort of thing, I can definitely appreciate the presence of a dimmer, less glary look on my device in certain specific scenarios.

It’s incredibly easy to overlook or forget, but Google’s actually got a way to handle that for you. In fact, it’s been built into Android itself since 2020’s Android 11 release.

Just look in the Display section of your system settings and tap the line for either “Dark theme” or “Dark mode settings.” If you see a toggle alongside that line, make sure you’re tapping the actual words next to it — not the toggle itself.

Then look for the option to create a schedule.

You can create a time-based rule for when your device’s dark mode turns on and back off again, or — more intelligent yet — you can set it to automatically activate at sunset, wherever you are at any given moment, and then turn itself back off and switch you back over to light mode at sunrise.

You can also integrate dark mode into Android’s rarely noticed Bedtime Mode so that the screen getting dimmer is part of your pre-sleep winddown routine, if you really wanna get wild.

Or — ahem…

Android dark mode power-up #4: Contextual dark mode

A dark mode schedule is pretty forkin’ sensible. But the reality is that even with a time-based setup or a sunset-driven activation approach, you’ll still be using your phone in bright rooms with dark mode active and vice-versa.

And if you want Android’s dark theme present only when you’re actually in a dark room — as makes the most sense in my mind — there’s an even more intelligent option.

It comes our way via a handy little free app called Adaptive Theme. That app does one thing and only thing only: It automatically adjusts your device’s dark mode setting based on the actual ambient light around you, using your phone’s sensors rather than an arbitrary time or a not-always-relevant sunset status as a guide. It makes so much sense, you’ll find yourself wondering why your phone didn’t just work that way from the get-go.

The app does unavoidably have a slightly complex one-time setup, which I outline step-by-step here. It’s perfectly safe to do, though, and it shouldn’t take you more than a couple minutes to pull off.

And once you’ve done that, your Android dark mode will just work for you — flipping on when the lighting around you is dim (to your exact specifications) and flipping back off when you’re in brighter surroundings.

Yes, please — and thank you. Last but not least…

Android dark mode power-up #5: The wallpaper wizard

Superficial as it may seem, the one piece of the puzzle we haven’t yet addressed — that isn’t ordinarily affected by Android’s dark mode setting — is your home screen wallpaper.

By default, whatever wallpaper you set at the system level stays the same even as your interface moves between its dark and light states — and when you’re anglin’ for a dimmer, less glary look in dark environments, that can be pretty darn jarring.

An app called, rather aptly, Dark/Light Wallpaper Scheduler is the answer you never knew you needed. It’s pretty self-explanatory — you tell it which wallpaper you want when your phone is in dark mode and light mode, then it automatically switches ’em out for you based on that status — but I wrote about it in detail here, if you’re interested in reading more about how exactly it works and how you can make the most of it.

And with that, my fellow Android-appreciating animal, your dark mode power-pack is complete. Now, would someone please turn off the lights? I don’t know about you, but all this talk of darkness has me hankering for a nap.

Wake up to even more useful Android wisdom every Friday with my free Android Intelligence newsletter — one practical new trick to try each week, straight from me to ye.

Microsoft has been pushing hard to make Visual Studio Code a major way to consume its AI services, mostly in the form of GitHub Copilot. GitHub Copilot’s deep integration with VS Code brings many conveniences — inline autocomplete, for instance — but it’s frustrating for those, like me, who would rather use another model provider, or even a locally hosted LLM, for those functions.

Visual Studio Code 1.122 introduced a new feature, “Use BYOK [Bring Your Own Key] without a GitHub sign-in,” that allows you to “use chat, tools, and MCP servers in air-gapped or restricted environments where GitHub sign-in isn’t possible.” More importantly, it “enables fully offline workflows with local models like Ollama.”

In other words, you can now use locally hosted LLMs for chat, tools, and Model Context Protocol servers inside Visual Studio Code. The one thing you still can’t do is use a local LLM for inline and next-edit suggestions — at least, not without additional tooling.

Choosing a model for BYOK mode

If you want to use a local LLM with VS Code’s bring-your-own-model system, the first thing you need is a way to host the model. VS Code lacks a model-hosting mechanism of its own, although it’s conceivable that a VS Code extension may offer something like that in the future. That said, hosting models is complicated enough that a dedicated app is really needed for the job.

One easy way to host models is via a product like LM Studio, a convenient GUI for standing up, serving, and managing LLMs on one’s own hardware. The model host does not have to be the same system you run VS Code on, either. It can be on a server box you control, or on a cloud instance.

The choice of model is also important. Many models are powerful but won’t run well on commodity hardware because they’re simply too big. A good rule of thumb is to choose a model that fits into existing VRAM, along with the memory needed for a sizable token context (the more, the better). Also, the model should be suited to coding and development work. Some models in this vein that fit comfortably into 8GB VRAM include:

• Gemma4 (effective 2 billion parameters version)
• Qwen3.5 9B
• Codestral 22B v.0.1 (proprietary license)

Setting up BYOK mode in VS Code

Once you have a model up and running, you can integrate it with Visual Studio Code. If you’ve disabled VS Code’s AI features, you will need to turn them on. Make sure the setting chat.disableAIFeatures is turned off. You can find it in Settings | Chat | Miscellaneous.

Third-party language models are managed through Visual Studio Code’s language model list. Press Ctrl-Shift-P and type Manage Language Models to open the list of existing language models.

First you will see a list of the built-in models, which are all externally hosted. To add a new model, select Add Models at the top right and select Custom Endpoint.

You’ll then get a series of prompts:

• Group Name: This is “Custom Endpoint” by default, but you can choose any name you want. The name is strictly for organizing the model list and doesn’t affect things like model recognition or connectivity.
• API Key: If you’ve configured LM Studio to use an API key for serving models, provide it here. If you’re hosting the model locally and you haven’t explicitly set up API keys, you can leave this blank.
• API Type: The options here are Chat Completions, Responses, and Messages. Most of the time you’ll want to use Responses, as it’s the most general-purpose option of the three.

Once you finish providing those answers, you’ll be dropped into a modal editor for a JSON file that holds the details about the endpoint you’re configuring.

You’ll need to provide a few more details by typing them into the labeled fields:

• id: A text field that uniquely identifies this particular entry. The choice of ID is pretty much arbitrary; if you’re using only a single model, the ID could be the model name.
• name: The name of the model that is used to identify it on the model server. In LM Studio, you can get this name by clicking on My Models in the main interface, then selecting the three-dot icon for the model in question and clicking Copy Default Identifier. For Qwen 2.5, for instance, name might be something like qwen2.5-coder-7b-instruct.
• url: The URL to the server’s endpoint. On LM Studio, this defaults to something like http://127.0.0.1:1234/v1. The /v1 at the end is important because that endpoint is used for autodiscovery of models and their capabilities.

The other fields generally don’t need editing. Most models have tool calling functionality. If you know for a fact that the model you’re using doesn’t have vision support, then set vision to false.

Once you have these fields filled in, you can close the modal editor to save the changes. If you reload the Manage Language Models page, you’ll now see your new endpoint:

You should now be able to launch the chat window and use the defined model for conversation and utilities:

One current, and major, limitation of Visual Studio Code’s BYOK functionality is that it only works for chat and utility tasks. It doesn’t allow you to use a local model for inline suggestions or code completions. The only way to take advantage of local models for expanded functionality with VS Code is to use a third-party tool like Continue.

It isn’t clear if Microsoft will eventually lift this restriction. GitHub Copilot integration in VS Code is a large part of how Copilot as a service reaches its target audience. For the time being, you can certainly use third-party and local models for a significant part of your AI-assisted development work in VS Code, and you can close the functionality gap with additional tooling.

One of the most commonly used Microsoft programs, Excel is highly useful for data collecting, processing, and analysis. To fully harness Excel’s powers, though, you need to make use of formulas.

Excel formulas allow you to perform calculations, analyze data, and return results quickly and accurately. The usefulness of formulas is even greater once you start dealing with large data sets. With the correct formula, Excel can process vast amounts of information in a matter of seconds.

In this article we’ll look at five useful types of formulas and functions that will get you started performing data analysis in Excel. Along the way, you’ll learn several different ways to enter formulas and functions in Excel.

We’ll demonstrate using Excel for Windows under a Microsoft 365 subscription. If you’re using a different version of Excel, you might not have exactly the same interface and options, but the formulas and functions work the same.

If you have the right kind of M365 subscription, you can have Microsoft’s generative AI assistant, Copilot, create formulas for you. This requires an M365 Personal, Family, or Premium plan for individuals or an M365 business or enterprise plan with a paid Copilot add-on subscription — which means not everybody has access to Copilot in Excel. Even if you do, it’s helpful to know what formulas can do and how to work with them so you can write better prompts for Copilot. We’ll cover using Copilot to create Excel formulas later in this story, but first we’ll give you a solid understanding of how to work with formulas and functions.

In this article:

• What is a formula in Excel?
• What is a function in Excel?
• Basic mathematical formulas and functions
• The IF function
• The SUMIF and COUNTIF functions
• The CONCAT function
• The VLOOKUP function
• Using Copilot to create Excel formulas

What is a formula in Excel?

A formula is an expression that operates on values in a range of cells in Excel. Using formulas, you can perform calculations and data analysis on the contents of the cells. Formulas can be as simple as adding a column of numbers together or as complex as returning the kurtosis of a data set. They can be incredibly useful when you want to turn spreadsheet data into meaningful information for driving business decisions.

What is a function in Excel?

A function is a built-in formula in Excel — basically, a shortcut for performing a calculation or other operation on cell data. There are around 500 Excel functions, and the list continues to grow every year. Fortunately, most of the actions that a typical business user would want to perform can be done with just a handful of functions.

1. Basic mathematical formulas and functions

We’re going to group these formulas together since they are very simple and have similar syntax. All formulas in Excel start with the equal sign (=) and build from there.

Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing

To add the numbers in two cells together, first click the on the target cell where you want the total to appear. Then type = in the cell to start the formula.

Next, click on the cell that contains the first number you want to add, and its cell reference (such as A2) will appear next to the equal sign in the formula.

Type + next to the first cell reference. Then click the cell that contains the second number you want to add, and its cell reference (such as A3) will appear next to the + sign. The full syntax for the formula to add the values in cells A2 and A3 is:

=A2+A3

Note that in addition to appearing in the target cell, the formula also appears in the formula bar directly above the worksheet. Once you’ve inserted the initial = sign in the target cell, you can type your formula in the formula bar. It’s sometimes easier to see the whole formula and work with it in the formula bar than down in the worksheet page.

If you wanted to add additional numbers to your total, you’d type another + sign, select another cell, and so on. Once your formula is complete, press Enter, and the result appears in the target cell.

Subtraction, multiplication, and division calculations work the same way. You simply change the operator — the symbol that tells Excel what math operation you want to perform — from the + sign to the – sign for subtraction, the * sign for multiplication, or the / sign for division.

Adding numbers with the SUM function

There’s a quicker way to add together a group of numbers. This is where Excel’s built-in SUM function comes in.

First click on the target cell where you want the total to appear. Then type =SUM to start the function.  A list of options will come up. Click the first option, SUM. You’ll now see =SUM( in the target cell.

Just underneath the cell with the SUM function is a tooltip showing the SUM syntax:

=SUM(number 1, [number2],…)

To add individual cells together, select a cell, type a comma, select another cell, and so on. (Alternatively, you can type a cell reference, type a comma, type another cell reference, and so on.)

If you want to add consecutive cells (such as in a row or column), select the first cell, then hold down the Shift key and select the final cell in the group. (Or you can type in the cell references for the first and last cells separated by a colon — for instance, A2:A7 selects A2, A7, and all the cells in between.)

Once all the cells you want to add together are selected, hit Enter.

Now you should see the final result, which is the sum of the numbers you highlighted. If you highlight that target cell again, you’ll see the full formula in the formula bar — in our example, it’s:

=SUM(A2:A7)

One important thing to note for all Excel formulas is that they produce relative values. This simply means that if any of the values in the selected cells changes, then the final number will change to reflect that.

If you want to make it an absolute value, a number that will not change even if the cells that were used to calculate it change, then you need to right-click the cell and select Copy from the pop-up menu. Then right-click the cell again and, under Paste Options, select the Values button (the icon of a clipboard with 123).

Now when you select that cell you’ll just see the plain number, not a formula, in the formula bar.

Tip: Excel provides a SUM shortcut in certain circumstances. If you have a series of numbers in a row or a column, Excel assumes you want to add them together. So if you place your cursor in the cell to the right of a row of numbers and click the AutoSum (Σ) button toward the right end of the Ribbon’s Home tab, Excel automatically selects the numbers in the row, then adds them together when you press Enter. Likewise, if you place your cursor in the cell below a column of numbers, click AutoSum, and hit Enter, Excel totals up the numbers in the column.

Calculating the average with the AVERAGE function

To calculate the average of a group of numbers, repeat the same steps but using the syntax =AVERAGE and highlighting the cells containing the numbers that you want to use in the calculation.

Tip: As with SUM, there’s a shortcut for using the AVERAGE function if you have a series of numbers in a row or a column. Place your cursor in the cell to the right of a row of numbers or in the cell below a column of numbers. Click the tiny down arrow at the right side of the AutoSum button, select Average from the menu that appears, and hit Enter. Excel calculates the average of the values in that row or column.

Find more details, examples, and best practices for these functions at Microsoft’s SUM function and AVERAGE function support pages.

2. The IF function

This function helps you automate the decision-making process by applying if-then logic to your data. Using this function, you can have Excel perform a calculation or display a certain value depending on the outcome of a logical test. For example, you can create a test that checks if the value of a cell is greater than or equal to the value of 18 and enter “Yes” or “No” accordingly.

While we’re learning this function, we’ll cover another way to enter functions in Excel: by using the Formulas tab on the Ribbon. Here you’ll find buttons that provide quick access to functions by category: AutoSum, Financial, Logical, Text, Date & Time, and so on. Being able to browse through functions by category can be helpful if you can’t remember the exact name of a function or aren’t sure how to spell it.

To enter the IF function, select the target cell, and on the Formulas tab, click the Logical button, then select IF from the list of functions that appears.

Alternatively, you can click the Insert Function button all the way to the left of the Formulas tab. An “Insert Function” pane appears, showing a list of commonly used functions.

Select IF from the list and click OK. (If the function you want isn’t in the “Commonly Used” list, select a different category or All to see all available functions.)

The Function Arguments pane appears, and you’ll see =IF() in the target cell.

The IF function syntax is as follows:

=IF(logical_test,”value_if_true”,”value_if_false”)

You’ll notice that the Function Arguments pane for the IF function has fields for Logical_test, Value_if_true, and Value_if_false. In our “greater than or equal to 18” example, the logical test is whether the number in the selected cell is greater than or equal to 18, the value if true is “Yes,” and the value if false is “No.” So we’d enter the following items in the pane’s fields like so:

Logical_test: B2>=18

Value_if_true: “Yes”

Value_if_false: “No”

or just type the full formula into the target cell:

=IF(B2>=18,”Yes”,”No”)

This tells Excel that if the value of cell B2 is greater than or equal to 18, it should enter “Yes” in the target cell. If the value of cell B2 is less than 18, it should enter “No.”

Tip: When using functions like this, rather than entering the function repeatedly for each row, you can simply click and drag the tiny square on the bottom right of the cell that contains the function. Doing so will autofill each of the rows with the formula, and Excel will change your cell references to match. For example, when the formula we used in cell C2 that references cell B2 is autofilled into cell C3, it changes to reference cell B3 automatically.

Find more details at Microsoft’s IF function support page.

3. The SUMIF and COUNTIF functions

SUMIF is a more advanced SUM function that allows you to add up only the values in a range that meet the criteria you specify. To use this function, you must specify the range of cells to apply the criteria to, the criteria for inclusion, and, optionally, the sum range, which is the range of cells to total if that’s different from the initial range. The syntax is as follows:

=SUMIF(range,criteria,[sum_range])

Note that any criteria with text or mathematical or logical symbols must be enclosed in double quotes.

In the sales spreadsheet shown below, for example, suppose you want to total up only the sales that are more than $100. The criteria range is C2 to C9, and the criteria is “greater than 100.” Since you’re adding up the values in that same cell range (C2 to C9), you don’t need to supply a separate sum range. So your formula is:

=SUMIF(C2:C9,”>100″)

What if instead you want to find the total for all sales in the East region only? To do that you’ll have to specify both the criteria range (cells B2 to B9) and the sum range (cells C2 to C9). This is the formula:

=SUMIF(B2:B9,B2,C2:C9)

Note that you don’t have to type out “East” for the criteria. You can simply type B2 or click the cell B2 to have Excel search for the text it contains.

There is a similar function called COUNTIF that lets you create a count of values that meet specified criteria. The syntax is as follows:

=COUNTIF(range,criteria)

So to count the total number of sales in the West region, for instance, you supply the range of cells to apply the criteria to (B2 to B9), followed by the criteria (“West” or cell B3). The formula is:

=COUNTIF(B2:B9,B3)

What if you want to apply multiple criteria to your data, such as calculating total sales for books in the East region, or counting the number of sales over $100 in the West region? Excel can do that too, via functions called SUMIFS and COUNTIFS. These functions use more complex syntax than SUMIF and COUNTIF. For more details, use cases, and best practices for all four of these functions, see Microsoft’s SUMIF, SUMIFS, COUNTIF, and COUNTIFS support pages.

4. The CONCAT function

This function is useful for piecing together text from different cells into one complete string. For instance, maybe you have a worksheet with different columns for people’s first and last names, but you want to put first and last names together. Other common use cases are completing an address, reference number, file path, or URL. The syntax is as follows:

=CONCAT(text1,text2,text3,…)

In this example we will use CONCAT to combine a list of first names and last names into a full name with a space in between. To do so we simply place the cursor in cell C2, type =CON and select CONCAT from the list of options that appears. Next, select the cell that contains the first name (A2) and add a comma, a blank space surrounded by quotation marks, and another comma. Then add the last name by selecting the adjacent cell (B2) and hit Enter. Here’s the full formula:

=CONCAT(A2,” “,B2)

Next, click and drag the bottom right of cell C2 to autofill the formula in all the other rows.

For more details and examples, see Microsoft’s CONCAT function support page.

5. The VLOOKUP function

This is one of the most commonly used functions in Excel and a valuable data analysis tool. VLOOKUP lets you look up a value in a table and return information from other columns related to that value. It’s very useful for combining data from different lists or comparing two lists to find matching items. To use this function, you need to provide three to four pieces of information:

1. The value you want to look for. This is known as the lookup value.
2. The range of cells to look in. This is known as the table array.
3. The column that contains the information you want to return, called the column index number.
4. Optionally, the type of lookup you want to perform: TRUE or FALSE. This is known as the range lookup. FALSE means you want an exact match for the lookup value, while picking TRUE returns the best approximate match. If you don’t specify a range lookup, VLOOKUP defaults to TRUE.

The syntax is as follows:

=VLOOKUP(lookup_value,table_array,column_index_number,[range_lookup])

The lookup value must be in the first column of cells you specify in the table array. The leftmost column in the table array has a column index number of 1, with subsequent columns numbered 2, 3, and so on.

In this example, we’ll look up what region our employees work in. To do so, we first need to specify the value that we are going to search for: the employee name Mike (cell A2). Next, we need to highlight the entire cell range (table array) that we want to look in: cells F2:G8.

Then we specify which column holds the information that we want. Rather than picking the column itself, we count from left to right within the table array. Since the column that contains the region is the second from the left, type in 2.

Lastly, we enter the TRUE (best approximate match) or FALSE (exact match) option. TRUE is typically only used with numbers or when you aren’t sure if the value you want is in the table. Since we know the value we want is in the table, we will pick FALSE. Generally, FALSE is the better option, as it returns more accurate results.

This is the full formula:

=VLOOKUP(A2,F2:G8,2,FALSE)

This is an oversimplified example using a small data set, but when you need to search through a spreadsheet with thousands (or tens of thousands) of cells, VLOOKUP is a huge time-saver and reduces the possibility of errors. For more details and examples, see Microsoft’s VLOOKUP function support page.

Using Copilot to create Excel formulas

Remembering all these different formulas and functions can be difficult, so another good approach for those who have access to Copilot in Excel (see details at the top of this story) is to use the AI tool to dynamically create formulas that meet your needs. Using Copilot, you can describe what you want the formula to do  and have the AI generate the syntax for you. In this section we’ll demonstrate with two sample data sets.

To access Copilot, click the Copilot icon on your ribbon toolbar or at the bottom right of your screen.

The Copilot sidebar opens along the right side of your spreadsheet. Type in a prompt describing the formula you want created — in this example, a simple formula that adds up all the sales values in the data set. Be sure to instruct Copilot where to place the formula:

Create a formula in B7 that sums all of the sales

Click the submit arrow in the chat window, and Copilot will create and insert the formula to give you the result you want.

That was a simple one. Now try a more advanced example working from a more complex data set, as shown in the screenshot below.

Try the following prompt:

Create a formula in G2 that calculates total revenue per unit while accounting for the discount on each purchase. Then fill the formula down for all rows and create a summary table showing total revenue by Region.

Click the submit arrow, and it should create something like this:

(There’s a lot more you can have Copilot can do in Excel besides creating formulas. See our story “11 cool things Copilot can do in Excel.”)

Tip: It’s not required, but it can be helpful to format your spreadsheet as a table when working with Copilot. This helps define more clearly the exact cells for Copilot to use when it creates formulas or takes other actions on your data.

You’re just getting started

In this story you’ve seen how powerful formulas and functions can be in Excel — and we’ve only the scratched the surface of what they can do. Once you get comfortable using them, you can explore some of the myriad prebuilt functions Excel offers and learn how to build more complex formulas (including nesting functions). That’s all beyond the scope of this article, but a great place to start is Microsoft’s “Overview of formulas in Excel” support page, which includes links to several helpful tutorials.

For those who have access to it in Excel, experimenting with Copilot is another great way to learn. You can review the steps it took and the formulas it created to get a better understanding of how formulas work and what they’re capable of.

This story was originally published in May 2023 and updated in June 2026.

More Excel tips and how-tos:

• Excel basics: Get started with tables
• Excel for Microsoft 365 cheat sheet
• 11 cool things Copilot can do in Excel
• How to use PivotTables and PivotCharts in Excel
• Excel basics: Get started with charts and sparklines
• How (and why) to use conditional formatting in Excel
• More Microsoft tips and tutorials

As AI shifts from output-generating large language models (LLMs) to armies of agents taking actions on their own, there is a growing threat that failures could affect system reliability.

Temporal, a Bellevue, WA firm founded in 2019, hopes to solve that problem by stabilizing AI and long-running computing processes through “durable execution,” a technology that reliably resurrects failed computing processes on other hosts. If a machine crashes in the middle of agentic AI transactions, the company resurrects the function on a different host so it can continue exactly where it left off. Temporal says its durable execution process comes with a 100% durability guarantee.

The company was solving these kinds of distributed-systems problems long before the generative AI (genAI) rush, and today it powers infrastructure from Coinbase to Airbnb to OpenAI.

For IT decision-makers, Temporal’s offerings promise to bring reliability to AI operations — especially in regulated industries. Co-founder Samar Abbas spoke recently with Computerworld about his company’s technology, AI reliability, execution and what IT leaders need to keep in mind when evaluating and deploying agentic AI.

How did Temporal come to be a backbone powering AI system? “OpenAI recently announced we power many of their products underneath the cover — that’s where Temporal comes in.

“A couple of years ago, as LLMs got smarter, use cases were about generating outputs. Now, the industry is moving into agentic solutions, where AI isn’t just generating outputs, it’s taking actions. The longer these systems run, the more tools they invoke and the more value they create. 

“They’re evolving into a whole army of agents coordinating to get complex tasks done. This starts to look like distributed systems. We become that execution authority, the reliability backbone for those agentic systems to get their tasks done from A to Z.”

What is Temporal doing in the backend to keep them stable? “It’s a new paradigm for building applications, we call that durable execution. If you write a function and a failure happens, you lose all of your state. When a machine crashes, we maintain the state. We seamlessly resurrect that function on a different host and continue executing exactly where it left off, without you as a developer writing a single line of code. 

“It’s not just a cache, it’s an operating system guaranteeing execution in the presence of failure. We provide 100% durability guarantees behind it. People can use it for mission-critical use cases like transcribing doctor conversations, where even losing one [word] has big implications.”

Did this challenge exist before AI? “My co-founder and I have been at it pretty much our entire careers, spanning almost three decades. We’ve been solving this problem of distributed systems, at Amazon, Microsoft and then Uber, before starting Temporal. We are definitely pre-AI. 

“As more workloads move to cloud and become distributed, it introduces this class of failures. This is the fifth time I’m building this system. I built simple workflow, then [a] durable task framework at Azure, then Cadence at Uber, now Temporal. The company is roughly seven years old, but the code base is over 10 years old, because we started at Uber and it’s been running in production ever since.”

And now you tackle that same problem at AI scale? “The funny thing is, especially with AI, that same problem is now at such a massive scale, it’s gone on steroids, with agentic systems coming online and doing real work. We’ve been powering every Coinbase transaction, every Snap story, every Airbnb booking, every Yum Brands order —  KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell.

“A couple of years ago, it looked like we’d over-invested in the scale and reliability of the platform. Then AI showed up in such a big way that now I’m asking the team: how do we scale another 10x, 100x, even 1000x? These agents are hitting the market in a way we couldn’t have imagined.”

Can you give a concrete example of that 100% guarantee? “When you’re moving money — debit or credit — imagine a failure happens after you’ve debited an account. Temporal guarantees execution of the entire function from start to finish, in the presence of all sorts of failures. At the end of the day, we’re in the business of selling reliability. 

“Developers today spend 80% of their time building resiliency into their systems by working with low-level primitives like queues, databases, retry mechanisms and durable timers, and stitching them together. What we provide eliminates that. And that reliability is exactly what’s becoming critical as enterprises move agents into production.”

Why should CIOs and other IT leaders care about AI reliability? “These agents are now real, no longer prototypes or [proofs of concept]. They’re doing meaningful work in those organizations. Reliability and durability weren’t on the radar for CIOs 12 months ago. Now, it’s the blocker. Especially in regulated industries, if a transaction gets left in the middle, it has real regulatory concerns. 

“That’s what’s holding them back from transitioning into the AI stage. It comes up in pretty much every conversation, in the first 10 minutes I’m talking to a CIO.”

CW: Where do the hardest problems sit today? “Security, governance, identity, authorization, authentication. This is where majority of the problems exist, and the ecosystem is so immature. Even things like MCP, I see organizations struggling to implement MCPs to build these agents. This is an area ripe for innovation and a lot of work, including here at Temporal.”

What skills should developers and CIOs build for the AI age? “The biggest skill now is that developers need to be more product focused. Product-minded engineers are the ones who will thrive, because the whole software development flow, writing code by hand, debugging by hand, testing it, is going to look completely different. The job of an engineer is now building the system that builds the system. 

“Two things are happening in this AI world. First, a lot more engineers are coming into the fold, because companies like Replit or Lovable are making software development approachable for people who haven’t been professionally trained. Second, there’s going to be a lot more applications written than ever before. The problem space is shifting toward how we run all those applications safely and reliably, with all the guardrails. That’s where the industry is headed.”