MSI Eco Premium Review: A Premium Smart Charger at an Affordable Price

The Eco Series is MSI's second dedicated EV charger for the Australian market after EV Life, a simpler home unit. MSI is best known globally for gaming laptops and PC components, and EV charging hardware is a newer product line for the company.

Eco Life is priced at $999 and Eco Premium at $1,199, each with a 3-year warranty. The Eco Premium will be on shelves from mid-October 2026.

Both models are multiphase, meaning the charger automatically switches between single-phase and three-phase output based on what your home or site actually supplies. You don't need to buy a separate single-phase or three-phase model, and you don't need to know which one you have before ordering.

Multiphase chargers are usually a premium feature. On Zecar's charger comparison tool, other multiphase options include the myenergi Zappi at $1,595 and the Autel AC Single Multiphase at $1,730. At $1,199 for Eco Premium, or $999 for Eco Life, the Eco Series is among the most affordable multiphase chargers available in Australia. It's also priced competitively against other smart chargers offering scheduling and RFID access, most of which sit above $1,000.

Key Specifications

The Eco Premium carries the certifications you'd want to see on a charger installed in Australia. The IP65 and IK08 ratings, along with the -30°C to 55°C operating range, are independently tested standards, which means the unit is built to handle outdoor installation and knocks without issue.

The charger is befitting of its namesake. In the hand and on the wall, it feels like a well-built product. The housing is solid, the finish is clean, and at 3.5kg it's compact given everything packed in: a 22kW multiphase charger, 5-inch screen, RFID reader and three-sided cable entry. It doesn't look or feel like a budget unit, and next to most other AC chargers on the market, it's one of the more attractive designs.

The Eco Premium's screen shows charging status directly on the unit, useful in a shared car park where drivers won't always have the app open. Access can be set to open or restricted. Returning drivers can also just plug in and go, since the MSI AutoCharge feature recognises the vehicle and starts the session automatically without an app or card tap. On a restricted setup, drivers otherwise authenticate through the app via a QR code or by tapping the included RFID card.

Only one person can own the charger on the account. Everyone else is granted access rather than given their own admin login, which suits a workplace or apartment setup with one responsible party. Adding extra RFID cards is done in the app: open the menu in the top right, go to the card list, tap add, then tap the new card against the charger to register it.

The MSI aConnect app connects over Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or LAN and covers the basics: start, stop, and scheduling. Without built-in OCPP support, the charger can't be directly managed through a third-party charge point management system out of the box, a non-issue for most users, who won't have their charger managed by a third party such as an energy retailer.

The Eco Series has also been engineered for ease of installation. For installers, the enclosure accepts power input from three sides, so cable entry can come from the wall, floor, or side of the unit depending on the site. This should reduce installation time for the charger.

For most home users, get the Eco Life and save $200. The charging hardware is identical, so you lose nothing on speed or reliability.

Eco Life shows charging status through a circular light bar that illuminates blue while charging. Detailed information like power, current and charging speed is still available, just through the app rather than on the unit. For a single-car garage, checking that on your phone is a minor inconvenience at most.

The LCD screen on the Eco Premium earns its keep in a few specific cases:

• Shared or public sites, where a driver needs to check status without pulling out the app, or where a site manager wants status visible at a glance
• Fault diagnosis, since an on-unit display can show more specific error information than a status light
• Multi-user households or workplaces, where several people use the same charger and having status on the unit avoids each person needing the app set up

If none of those apply to you, the light bar and app combination on the Eco Life covers the same features for less money.

We charged a BYD Atto 3 during the test. The Eco Premium can deliver up to 22kW, but the Atto 3's onboard AC charger caps at 7kW, so that's what it drew. The session started as soon as we authenticated via the app and ran without any faults or drop-outs.

If you're driving an EV with a higher-output onboard AC charger, expect a materially faster session on three-phase power. Zeekr 7X owners, for example, could complete a full charge in as little as 3.5 hours thanks to its 22kW onboard charger.

The Eco Premium is built for sites where more than one person charges: apartment building car parks, workplace bays, and commercial or managed properties. The RFID card and access restriction stop the charger being used by people who shouldn't have access, which a basic home charger doesn't offer.

The Eco Premium charges reliably and is backed by a solid warranty. For an apartment building, workplace, or any site with shared access, it's a sound choice; for a single-car home garage, Eco Life offers the same performance for less.

Where to buy: MSI Eco Series

The MSI Eco Premium was tested at a commercial site in Sydney. This review was created in partnership with MSI.