The environmental credentials for wireless charging are pretty poor too. It's an incredibly wasteful way to charge something.
The environmental credentials for wireless charging are pretty poor too. It's an incredibly wasteful way to charge something.
It's not THAT inefficient. Check out the last slide here:
http://www.wirelesspowerconsortium.com/technology/why-not-a-wire-the-case-for-wireless-power.html
I'm not finding much by way of independent test results or I'd have included that instead but it really is roughly in the ballpark of wired charging. Induction power transfer has been around for a very long time, it is surprisingly efficient. Then again, even if it were only half as efficient as a wired charger the difference in power use over the course of the device life would be a few dollars ($1-2 typically).
The difference in efficiency, while real, is applied to such trivial quantities of energy that the effect may as well go unnoticed.
Yes, it's slower than a wired charger (this is largely due to the 1A output, not differences in efficiency). But if you're doing full discharge/recharge on Qi you're doing it wrong. Charge opportunistically, your phone will never be dead. Don't get me wrong I'll welcome the higher power Qi standard but the current one already leaves me with a phone that is perpetually charged.
Viper GTS
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I used Qi charging all the time with my Nexus 5. Missed it a ton when I went to a OnePlus One. Super jazzed to have it back with a S6. Just have a charger at work and you almost never have to charge it at home until the weekend.
a lot of the chargers suck. I got some rubber sticky feet/beads that I install on the chargers as guides for the phone to get into optimal charging location. This is the convenience Qi needed. It's also getting hard to find chargers for $12 which was the point in the first place IMO-- you may have a smaller battery, but when you have one on home desk, at work desk, at coffee table in front of TV, then you're constantly topped up.
that said I got a bluboon wireless charging receiver for my LG G2 that sits on the back of the phone, with a phone case and some tape to prevent it from shifting. It plugs into the microUSB port and works just as well. I do file syncing wirelessly to local FTP I set up so I don't need to be able to plug in. I would prefer having Qi integrated because sometimes you need to quickcharge before leaving, but with the 3000mah battery this hasn't been a problem.
that said I got a bluboon wireless charging receiver for my LG G2 that sits on the back of the phone, with a phone case and some tape to prevent it from shifting. It plugs into the microUSB port and works just as well. I do file syncing wirelessly to local FTP I set up so I don't need to be able to plug in. I would prefer having Qi integrated because sometimes you need to quickcharge before leaving, but with the 3000mah battery this hasn't been a problem.
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so in other words, yes, now that I've gone to it, I don't want to go back, it's easier to place the charger than to plug the cable
one of the anandtech reviewers slowly warmed up to integrated batteries (maybe it was Anand going pre- and pro-Apple?) assuming opportunistic charging. I can get behind that but only with the convenience of Qi.
the problem of Qi is you have to optimize placement-- the optimal coupling isn't but a centimeter wide, and if you don't get it right it's going to heat up. With the cheaper chargers at least. I think Duracell's powermat tech/idea would be much nicer-- bunch of microcoils about 1.5cm wide that individually turn on as needed. This way you just drop it on the mat and it charges. The Qi consortium should have thought of this, and also should have made Qi certification requirements more strict. Lot of crap chargers out there, for example the Docooler ones on amazon have problems with the Nexus 5-- the controller locks up and you have to unplug and replug it.
the problem of Qi is you have to optimize placement-- the optimal coupling isn't but a centimeter wide, and if you don't get it right it's going to heat up. With the cheaper chargers at least. I think Duracell's powermat tech/idea would be much nicer-- bunch of microcoils about 1.5cm wide that individually turn on as needed. This way you just drop it on the mat and it charges. The Qi consortium should have thought of this, and also should have made Qi certification requirements more strict. Lot of crap chargers out there, for example the Docooler ones on amazon have problems with the Nexus 5-- the controller locks up and you have to unplug and replug it.
Apple will never touch Qi unless it's a proprietary only-works-with-Apple-Qi implementation. so many crappy Qi chargers, would interfere with quality experience from the Apple ecosystem
charger at work/not charge at home is a really good point, never thought of that!
I got one of these for my LG G2 that lacks Qi. The larger battery means I don't usually have to unplug it to quickcharge, does make TWRP backups to my USB-OTG difficult, and my battery has only been lasting 5 hours screen on time lately instead of the 7 I'm used to, not sure what's up with that.
Not sure if 100% serious, but in some ways even charging I've found that because Apple has such strict requirements about cables, you don't run into a different experience.
How many Android support threads do you see people complaining about slow charging? The combination of AC adapter + cable makes a big difference, and even though many people suggested buying Amazon Basics MicroUSB cables because its thick enough gauge to allow 2A charging, it does NOT pull 2A for my OnePlus One. More like 600 mA only. I've found more recently that Anker really stepped up their game and all their 1ft, 3ft, and 6ft cables do allow for 2A charging on my OnePlus One... that is if you use a 2A capable adapter. But go ahead and see on OnePlus forums how many people are trying to get 2A charging but cannot with other charger combinations.
Anyhow, with that said I gave up Qi charging leaving Nexus land and moving to the OnePlus one but I don't miss it at all. It's nice to have at home to just plop my phone on a charger, but at the same time a wired experience lets me lie in bed and read on my phone while plugged in. Or heck because my OnePlus One's battery is so amazing I can just go all day now finally and NOT even have to worry about plugging in mid day or while I'm lying in bed. I just use the phone until I really need to go to bed and then it gets charged. So what if it needs a USB plug?
ControlD
Diamond Member
- Apr 25, 2005
- 5,440
- 44
- 91
Strange. I have had nothing but excellent results using the Amazon Basics USB cables for charging my phones. Switching to that cable solved all of my intermittent charging problems with my Note 2 (I believe I damaged the Samsung cable). I also use one with my Nexus 6 and I rapid charge with zero issues using the Amazon cable. Sounds like more of a phone / charger issue to me.
As to the original question, I really wished my Note 2 was Qi compatible and that was one feature I absolutely wanted to have on whatever phone I upgraded to. I now have a Nexus 6 and honestly the battery life is so much better than my old phone I have yet to buy a wireless charger. I still plan on picking one up at some point, maybe when the Tylt Vu has a decent sale.
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KentState
Diamond Member
- Oct 19, 2001
- 8,397
- 393
- 126
Use my Qi charger at work all the time. Since my phone doubles at a wifi hotspot at my desk, it's nice to come and go without messing with cables. Also had good luck with my $19 charging pad and S5 with placement.
The other place that I appreciate Qi charging is in the car. Trying to fiddle with cables while driving is not optimal and having a Qi charger built into the armrest makes it rather simple.
The other place that I appreciate Qi charging is in the car. Trying to fiddle with cables while driving is not optimal and having a Qi charger built into the armrest makes it rather simple.
I got a new more protective case and I put my access card, license in the cover and some money so I don't carry a wallet. Does Qi have trouble charging with too thick a case?
dainthomas
Lifer
- Dec 7, 2004
- 14,915
- 3,894
- 136
Replaceable battery > Quick charge >>>>> Wireless charging
Even with extremely heavy use I never have to plug my phone in during the day as long as I have my extra battery
Even with extremely heavy use I never have to plug my phone in during the day as long as I have my extra battery
gorcorps
aka Brandon
- Jul 18, 2004
- 30,739
- 454
- 126
:\
Not for me. The ease of wireless charging or even plugging it in far outweigh having the shut the phone down, take off my case, take off my cover, swap the batteries out, then put it all back together. People have different uses though, and if you're always on the move without a desk or somewhere to charge your phone then an extra battery would be a better option.
dainthomas
Lifer
- Dec 7, 2004
- 14,915
- 3,894
- 136
Which is pretty much the case. I'm always running to meetings and can't drag a charger with me. Also great for when I'm hiking, at the beach etc.
Between shutdown and having a new battery in and being back on it's probably 60 seconds for me.
I don't have memory to carry all 5 in my head at once. I usually forget what I am going to say if I don't say it immediately. We should implement one of those post-condensers that xda uses, automatically concatenates so that it doesn't count as a unique post
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