Twelve South ButterFly SE Review: An Extremely Portable 2-in-1 iPhone Charger

The Twelve South ButterFly SE 2-in-1 Qi2 Charger is a picture-perfect example of how gimmicks flourish most when they complement simple functionality. This portable wireless charger gets the fundamentals right with slick polish and a bonus configuration that lets your iPhone and Apple Watch pull double duty as clocks.

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Price and Availability

The Twelve South ButterFly SE 2-in-1 Qi2 charger retails for $99.99 and comes in white, black, and pink colors. Each unit comes with a 3-foot USB-C to USB-C cable that matches the chosen color, but you’ll need to supply your own 30W adapter.

Elegance in Simplicity

There’s an undeniable sense of “been there, done that” upon first using the ButterFly SE. Like many portable multi-charger units, it unfolds to expose its 15W Qi2 iPhone charging pad and 5W Apple Watch charging pad. These perform entirely as you'd expect. Like most chargers of this style, the Apple Watch pad pulls up to stand at a 90-degree angle. None of this breaks ground, but it all works.

However, it’s the sleekness and sturdy build quality of the ButterFly SE that elevates it above its many dime-a-dozen competitors. The soft finish on all its materials, flexibility of the band connecting its two charging pads, and the firmness of its magnetic clamp make the charger pleasing to use. It’s also the perfect palm-sized device to toss in a backpack without having to worry about too much space or weight. You can tell that Twelve South put a lot of thought into user experience when designing the charger.

Well, for the most part. One issue with the design—and it’s a fairly prevalent one—is that you need to use your fingernail to pull up the Apple Watch pad. It takes enough force to do so that people with fragile or long nails may risk nail damage in the process. Even as someone who doesn’t fall into either category, it’s not particularly comfortable to lift. It’s worth noting that you can lay the Apple Watch flat along the pad if you can’t or don’t want to lift it up.

Flexibility Makes It Useful Beyond Charging

The real secret sauce to the ButterFly SE is the additional ways it can be used that are enabled by the ability to clasp the external shells of both pads together. Though you can only use one pad at a time for charging when doing this, the additional use cases make up for it.

My favorite of these is using the Apple Watch pad as a portable bedside clock. The Watch is propped up at the perfect height and angle for this purpose. In a similar manner, the charger can be used to rest the iPhone in landscape mode, which also makes for a decent makeshift clock. This is particularly true given that your iPhone becomes a clock when charged in landscape mode. It’s worth noting that the angle that the iPhone rests at isn’t good for media viewing.

As an aside, the iPhone pad can also charge AirPods that are compatible with this manner of charging. It works as expected, though you probably won’t want to leave the case on there any longer than necessary as it heats up quickly. If you need to charge AirPods alongside your iPhone and Apple Watch, I recommend seeking out a 3-in-1 charger instead.

A Tale of Two Accessories: Too Much or None at All

The USB-C to USB-C cord that comes with the ButterFly SE is 3 feet in length and color-coordinated with the unit. This attention to detail is once again commendable, but a shorter cord would’ve better fit the charger’s portability. I can’t really knock the device for offering “more” by way of its cord length, but at the same time I ended up opting for a much shorter one that was easier to fit into my backpack.

My real bugbear with the ButterFly SE is that it doesn’t come with the 30W power adapter required to use it. This means you’ll need to buy one separately if you don’t already own one. It’s a hidden cost that leads to a poor user experience for many customers. Check out our USB-C adapter recommendations if you're in need.

Should You Buy the Twelve South ButterFly SE?

If you’re in the market for a 2-in-1 wireless charger for your iPhone and Apple Watch, the Twelve South ButterFly SE is pretty easy to recommend. It’s amazingly portable and can fold over on itself to make for a fantastic nightstand clock, both for your Apple Watch and iPhone. Just make sure you have a power adapter on hand (or if not, that you buy one alongside the charger).