SIIG 90W Smart Charging Station Review

We purchased the SIIG 90W Smart Charging Station so our expert reviewer could thoroughly test and assess it. Keep reading for our full product review.

The SIIG 90W Smart Charging Station is a beast of a device, with slots for up to eight phones and tablets, a non-slip deck to hold another phone or watch, and enough smart USB charging ports to power up to 10 devices at once. It also has enough juice to actually charge that many devices without slowing down too much.

The charging station market is extremely crowded, so we put a SIIG charger to the test, around the office and home, to see how well it really works. We tested key features including whether it can really charge all those devices at once, what kind of devices fit in the slots, how easy it is to use on a daily basis, and more.

Design: Basic black and soft touch plastic

The SIIG dock doesn’t really stand out with any bold design choices. It’s a fairly utilitarian molded plastic design, with slots to hold eight devices, a non-slip deck to add a little flexibility, and 10 USB charging ports hidden on the back.

The body of the device is made out of soft-touch plastic, feeling light and flimsy. The manual says it weighs 1.5 pounds, but we found that our unit actually weighed in at 1.2 pounds. It feels like it must be mostly hollow inside, which is unfortunate because there’s no internal cable management solution here. When your devices aren’t plugged in the leftover USB cables are left in an unsightly tangled mess.

The blue LED light that surrounds the non-slip deck is a nice touch, especially for anyone who wants to use this charge on a bedside table. It’s activated by a switch on the back of the device which is the only switch present on the entire unit. There’s no way to turn the charger on or off without plugging or unplugging it.

The slots are well designed and did a good job holding phones, tablets, and even very small laptops in our testing. The one issue is that the spacing isn’t adjustable, and they aren’t wide enough to accommodate some popular ruggedized cases that are commonly used by kids.

Setup Process: Plug it in, and it’s ready to go

There’s no complicated setup process. The charging dock ships with an external power supply you plug into the back, then plug into an outlet. With it plugged into power, it’s ready to use.

The USB ports are on the back of the unit, so we opted to plug in 10 cables before use. It doesn’t come with cables so we recommend obtaining a number of short USB cables to use specifically with the charger. Plug them in during the initial setup, and they’ll be ready to go when it’s time to charge.

Ease of Use: No real usability problems, but there’s no cable storage solution

The charging station isn’t a complicated device to use. Locate an open slot, preferably with the correct type of USB cable already present, plug in, set your phone or tablet down, and that’s it. The dock has smart circuitry built right in that’s capable of telling what type of device you plugged in, and how much power it needs, so it can provide the right amount of amperage to ensure the fastest charge possible.

The only real usability issue is that there’s no internal cable management solution. That’s common with this type of charging station, although this one is so massive, and feels so hollow, that it seems like there must be some extra space in there.

The issue is that when USB cables of a typical length are used with this charger they tend to form an unsightly, tangled mess between charges. Purchasing and using a set of very short USB cables renders this a non-issue, but that does represent an additional expense. This charger doesn’t come with any cables.

Construction: Feels light and flimsy

The charging station is made of plastic, and it doesn’t feel like an especially high-quality device. A lot of that is probably due to how light it is, and how most of the device is empty space. It feels solid enough, and was durable in our testing, but there’s no escaping the lightweight plastic construction.

Charging Speed: Automatically detects and provides optimum amperage

The dock is nominally capable of fast charging, but it’s important to have tempered expectations in that department. What that means is each of the 10 USB charging ports can put out 5V/2.4A, using smart circuitry to determine whether to provide full amperage or a lower amount.

Additionally, the charger is capable of putting out 5V/18A across the entire dock. So while each port can individually provide up to 2.4A, plugging in 10 devices that all want 2.4A will result in some, or all, receiving slightly less than that.

Some devices, when used with specific chargers (Qualcomm Quick Charge, OnePlus Dash Charge, etc.), are capable of charging much faster than normal by drawing more than 2.4A. This charger can’t charge devices at those speeds.

Charging capacity: Slots for eight devices, but charging ports for 10

The dock has enough slots to house any combination of eight phones or tablets, and the non-slip deck also has enough space to hold an additional phone, smartwatch, or other small devices.

In terms of how many devices it can actually charge at one time, the dock has 10 USB ports, and it’s capable of charging on all 10 ports at once. As discussed in the previous section, it doesn’t have enough power to provide fast charging on all 10 ports at the same time. It does have the juice to provide fast charging to up to seven devices at once, or slower charging to up to 10.

Price: Should include a few USB cables at this price

Typically retailing between $35 and $50 on Amazon or $79.99 (MSRP) the SIIG isn’t out of line even at the upper end of its Amazon price range. At the lower end, it’s a pretty good deal. The only issue is that it doesn’t include any USB cables. That isn’t a deal breaker, but at this price, it would be nice if it came with a set.

Competition: Decent number of ports, but no wireless charging or extras

The SIIG 90W Smart Charging Station compares favorably to the competition, but there are a few areas where it comes up short.

For example, the Hometall 5-in-1 Multiple Phone Dock retails for about $40 and only has four charging slots, but it also includes a Qi wireless charging pad and four USB cables. Another similar option, the Allcaca Wireless Charging Station has five ports and a Qi charging pad for about the same price.

When compared to chargers with 10 or more ports, it stacks up favorably. For example, the Unitek 10-Port USB charger has 10 ports and adjustable dividers, but it’s only capable of putting out a maximum of 12A, compared to 18A from the SIIG.

The one real drawback is that the charging station looks like it has a Qi wireless charging pad, but it doesn’t. If you need wireless charging, there’s actually an upgraded version of the SIIG 90W Smart Charging Station that does conceal a wireless charging pad under the non-slip deck, but it does cost more.

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