A key point to specs above is that while the i2 has two independent channels (for 500mA), the i4 also only has two channels (but for up to 750mA). Since the i4 actually has four wells, that means that current needs to be shared between two wells. While the charger label reports this as "0.375A*4", in actual fact the charger remains at 750mA for each bay – but it alternates charging by cycling off/on about once every second for each battery. This effectively results in the same thing, but the cell is actually being charged at 750mA for a 1sec on, 1sec off, cycle. For the purpose of this post, the chargers are orientated with the counterfeit on the left, and the genuine article on the right.

Each battery is individually monitored by its own intelligent charge circuit. The charger senses the battery type, then automatically selects the correct charge cycle. Simple flashing LED’s above each slot show charging progress. When a battery is fully charged, all three LED’s show steady orange. As well as letting you know that charging is complete, the i4 Intellicharger automatically ends the charge cycle. This prolongs the life of your 18650 batteries and significantly reduces the risk of a battery failure or fire. Active current distribution (ACD) technology allows for the dynamic distribution of the NEW i4’s charging power. For example, if two batteries are being charged in the NEW i4 and one of them completes charging, all charging power will automatically go to the other slot and charge the battery at the fastest speed.The most obvious visual difference for the new 2014 models is the presence of the metal rail for the battery slider. Previously, these were just spring-mounted (and often poorly lubed). As a result, I find the spring action a lot smoother on these new 2014 models. :thumbsup: Flipping over to the topside of the board, we are presented with more differences. Every single component is different. Even though the capacitors on the board on the non-genuine charger have Nitecore wraps on them and are the same (purportedly, basing this on the wrap only) rating/values, they're not the same components underneath which leads me to think that the counterfeiting goes down to component level too. The first thing that caught my eye was the low voltage input power side of the board. The genuine charger uses a single 1500uF capacity next to the transformer. The non-genuine one uses two 470uF ones instead. The transformer itself is different too. While the fake one doesn't have the previously seen "NITECOKE" wrap, it's marking is on the wrong side and its notably smaller. I've not stripped it further as there's no real need. The Nitecore i4 is a 4-cell charger, but that is the least of it. There are many battery chargers on the market, and they all charge various battery types. The thing with Nitecore chargers is that Nitecore knows, they understand, that there is the right way to recharge a battery, and a “bad” way to recharge a battery, and while I still trust my older Nitecore i4, this new one blows the doors off it. And, how many Chargers do you know of that carry a full 12-month warranty? Bear in mind, none of these products returned to us exhibited any signs of imminent danger and the customers were only alerted to the potential danger and stopped using them due to the power of social media. The marks you can see on the board on the left are not burn marks from operation. They would have been caused in the component soldering process which at its very best is unbelievably shabby. I would be highly skeptical of anyone who tried to tell me these were done by machine in the same way the genuine ones are. The connections are barely passable, scruffy, and many of the legs of components have had to be manually snipped off, likely to get the board to fit in the casing. None of this is evident on the genuine product and would indicate to me a very manual production/assembly process.

As before, the cabling and overall build of the units seem good (i.e., good length on the cables, solid base unit). To ensure your safety and maintain the battery’s life and durability, we recommend you follow these rules: The Nitecore i4 Intellicharger comes with individual slots for 4 batteries. The special slots allow the charger to handle almost any round rechargeable battery. The great thing about the Nitecore i4 is that each slot is charged independently. You can even charge 4 different battery types – all at the same time. Im not going to cover the plug in this. The plug was quite obviously not fit for purpose. It was a non EU standard, un-fused and totally ridiculous plug so we'll leave it at that.What i wanted to cover, are the differences in external and internal quality. I'm not going to go too far into things at board component level because i simply don't have the time, but i will cover what's needed.The second most important improvement is current distribution. How this works is pretty straightforward; when you place 4 cells in the Nitecore i4, each cell is identified and calculations are made to optimize the charge, but more than that, when a battery is fully charged the Nitecore i4 diverts the current from that ‘slot’ and sends it to other slots. As each one becomes fully charged, the maximum current continues to be distributed to the remaining cells, speeding up the charge time even more. This is a major deal, and when combined with the increase in current to 1500mA, that’s all I needed to hear before buying one for each member of the staff. The New i4 can charge up to 1.5A in one slot, making the maximum output 1500mA, double the output of the old i4 at 750mA. Compatible with 1.2V, 3.7V, 4.2V and 4.35V batteries, the Nitecore charger can be set using the 'V' button to select the desired voltage in each bay. When working with Li-ion (Lithium-ion), LiPo (Lithium-ion Polymer) and any rechargeable cells, please be cautious and carefully use as they are very sensitive to charging characteristics and may explode or burn if mishandled. Please make sure that you have great knowledge on all rechargeable batteries before you use them. Always charge batteries at the clean and fire-proof surface. Never leave charging batteries unattended. If you see that there are visible damages on the batteries, please do not use. Always keep, store and transport the rechargeable cells in a safe, non-conductive container in controlled environment. Bottom line. In my experience and looking at the differences in these products this is not an internal product evolution at Nitecore. These are almost certainly counterfeit products, potentially with some input in the way of knowledge/know how/components from the genuine Nitecore business. How it came about we can't speculate but we hope that at the very least, this post will serve to help people recognise these products when they land on our shores, and steer well clear of them. I haven't bother showing what the paired charging would like, or RCR cells, but you can see my earlier i4 V2 review for that. Effectively, it may take up to twice as long to charge cells in paired channel bays.