Journey Aria reviewed: thoughtful and clever

A genuinely unique take on the standard wireless charge, the Journey Aria wins points for design and an addition we’ve not seen on a stand prior.

There is clearly no shortage of MagSafe-capable magnetic charging stands for the iPhone, and now that Android has joined the magnetic phone charging club, there are even a few compatible options, too.

Truth be told, most of the MagSafe chargers we’ve seen over the past few years should work with a Qi2 Android, as well, but the ones labelled as Qi2 are more or less guaranteed, and some of those are popping out right now.

That’s because Qi2 is a bit of a thing, with support kind of there in the Samsung Fold 7 provided you have a case, and other mobile supporting it, too, such as the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL and Pixel 10 Pro Fold via PixelSnap. In short, Qi2’s magnetic charging is coming to more devices, and that can only be a good thing.

We’ve seen Qi2 chargers from Belkin and Qi2 chargers from Twelve South, too. And we’re about to see one more from one of Australia’s peripheral makers, Journey.

What is the Journey Aria Qi2?

You might know the name “Journey” from the band. This isn’t them.

But don’t stop believin’ all the same, because this Journey is building charging stands any way you want it faithfully, gear you might want to welcome with open arms.

The Aria is one of these, delivering a stand that works when it’s flat or standing, and actually using one of the three charging pads as a stand to hold up the whole thing.

What does it do?

Like other stands, Journey’s Aria is designed to charge your tech. It’ll charge a phone over wireless with either MagSafe or Qi2 on the extruded charger using a maximum of 15 watts, and it’ll handle wireless earphones or another phone with less power on a hinged charger providing up to 5 watts.

Lie it flat and it covers an Android owner’s needs, except for a plug port for a wearable of their choice.

Open that hinged charger up, however, and the Aria becomes a charging stand. And once it’s a stand, you can pop out an Apple Watch charger and use that, too.

Journey says it’s capable of fast charging an Apple Watch, which means if you plug in a 30W charge pack, you probably have around 10 watts left after you get past the 15W for a phone and 5W for earphones. Plug in a bigger pack, though, and it might properly fast charge the watch.

The Journey Aria will charge your tech, but it comes with an extra that makes it more interesting than a standard charger: it can light up your life.

Well maybe not your life, but definitely your bedside, thanks to a small warm yellow light built under the Apple Watch charging fob.

Does it do the job?

In terms of charging compatible phones, the Journey Aria nails it, as well as one of the world’s most popular smart watch models and a bunch of earphones, too.

The magnetic element is surprisingly strong, which means Qi2 Android phones and every current iPhone except the iPhone 16e charges up with a strong wireless grip, but only at 15 watts.

But our favourite element isn’t the charger, but the light.

Touch the bottom left of the stand when it’s standing up, and a soft warm light turns on. It’s small and doesn’t emit THAT much light, but it’s enough to let you grab your watch or even not keep your partner up in there middle of the night.

The announcement shows the idea better than real life; the promo photos show an obvious icon where you touch, but on your Aria review unit, it’s more like a light etching. You can’t really see it in the dark, and it’s not necessarily easy to see in daylight either, but one press is all it takes to turn it on or off, and it’s easy to remember.

What does it need?

What Journey should have provided, though, was a charging pack, as there’s none in the box.

You get the stand and a cable and that’s about it. No charging pack, which is an optional extra.

There’s also no extra USB-C port, which means if you don’t use an Apple Watch, you don’t have an extra port to plug in whatever you do use as an accessory.

It’s minor, sure, but it’s the sort of thing that will matter to owners of a Galaxy Watch or a Pixel Watch. Some of this year’s phones support the magnetic Qi2 feature, such as the Pixel 10, so while it’s compatible with the Aria stand, the watch just isn’t.

About the only thing it might need extra beyond this is a built-in power bank, but Journey already has one of those in the Glyde, and that’s fine, too.

Is it worth your money?

For $150, the Aria is actually decent value, delivering a portable way to keep lots of gadgets charged, and to do it in a form-factor that’s easy to take with you.

Interestingly, by the time this review went live, the Journey Aria could be found for under $110, which is stellar value all things considered.

Yay or nay?

There aren’t many accessories that you can say are truly clever, but this one is. The Journey Aria Qi2 charging stand is thoughtful and clever. Not only does it give you what you need on your bedside or desk, it gives you something extra you might want: a lamp.

While the focus is likely on travellers with this one, the reality is anyone can love what Journey has made here. The concept is clever, and is genuinely difficult to fault.

And even though it’s not entirely perfect for folks in the Android camp, the Aria is one of the best and most unique charging stands we’ve seen from a company yet. Highly recommended.