CES never seizes to surprise. We’ve seen some crazy things come out of CES in the past, but this one takes the cake (or maybe the toast?). Swippitt, the latest contender in the never-ending quest to keep our phones juiced up, has decided that the best way to charge your phone is… in a toaster.
Yup, a freaking toaster. But hold on, before you start picturing your iPhone getting jammed into a slot next to your breakfast, let me explain.
The Swippitt system is actually really clever. It’s got two parts: the Hub (the toaster-lookalike) and the Link (a special phone case with a swappable battery). You slide your phone (with the Link case on) into the Hub, and out pops the toast, umm – your phone – in just two seconds, you’ve got a fresh, fully charged battery.
The secret is the swappable battery on the back of the Link case. When you slide your phone into the Hub, the drained battery gets swapped out for a fully charged 3,500 mAh battery, ready to provide between 50% and 90% top-up depending on the device you have. Meanwhile, the depleted battery chills out in the Hub, getting juiced up.
The Hub is like a battery buffet, with five batteries ready to go. So, the whole family can swap and charge their phones without any waiting or arguing over who gets the last charger. And if you don’t need a full charge, the unused power stays put for later.
Swippitt even has a snazzy app that lets you monitor battery levels, control charging, and even reserve a battery in the Hub just for you. No more battery anxiety or sibling rivalry over who gets the last charge!
Now, here’s the catch. This futuristic toaster-charger will set you back a cool $450 (R8,620) for the Hub and $120 (R2,300) for each case. That’s a pretty penny for what is ultimately a very cool charger.
While the Swippitt is undeniably cool, I’m not sure it’s worth the hefty price tag. You can get a whole lot of MagSafe chargers or even an iPhone SE for that money.
