What's the point of wireless charging?

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

looks cleaner. don't have cables all over the place. less clutter is always good imho. ideally it'll be universal like wackydan says.

 

[Belegost]

I've had wireless charging on my phone for 2 years now and won't go back. Like others have said, I find the ports on my phones flake out (even using wireless charging most of the time on my current phone the USB port is still a little flaky after 2 years) so wireless charging walks around that. It's great to just wake up in the morning grab the phone and stumble to the bathroom, no picking it up and yanking a cord - and as others mentioned, no fumbling around trying to get the plug in, just drop it on the pad and it charges.

 

[SAWYER]

I have had a wireless charger and they are nice and all but I dont care about it and a normal charger is good enough for me

 

[jlee]

So do you have to configure your phone every time you want to charge it? Or does it just start charging the moment you put it on the pad? I already have a charging "place" for my phone, so having it automatically start charging whenever I put the phone there would make sense to me.

It starts charging as soon as I put it down.

 

[dainthomas]

Why not? I can still charge mine with a cable if I want to.

You can get them for 15 bucks on Amazon. I don't think that makes them 'rare and expensive.'

My car charging cable broke on a road trip and I swung into a truck stop and got a replacement. Didn't see any wireless charging pads.

 

[Capt Caveman]

When the usb port on my N5 stopped working. I was able to use a qi charging disc. Which I was also able to place inside a cup holder in my car and my phone got charged when placed in the cup holder.

Eventually, I got a new usb port/dock and replaced it on my N5. Today, I use both methods for charging. Comes down to convenience.

 

[eelw]

Until there is an universal charging pad that works with multiple products, it won't go any further as it has.

 

[Belegost]

My car charging cable broke on a road trip and I swung into a truck stop and got a replacement. Didn't see any wireless charging pads.

His point was that a phone with wireless charging will also have wired charging, so it will work with the normal USB chargers just fine.

 

[Rakehellion]

So it's "neater" but it doesn't really do anything.

 

[maddogchen]

tried the wireless charging stations that Starbucks rolled out recently. Was not that big of a fan. You have to plug something into your phone and align it with the powermat circle that they've installed in their tables. And you can't move the phone off of it. don't think I would buy that.

 

[vi edit]

I take 24/7 call coverage. My phone is on my nightstand. Previously the phone would go off at 2:00AM and I'd reach over to grab it, forget it was plugged in, hit the length of the cord and drop the phone. Pick it back up, cuss at the damn cable, fumble in the dark to unplug it and then answer the call. Then come back to bed in the dark so I don't wake up my wife more than I already had and try and find the cable and plug it back in again.

Now I just reach over, grab the phone and pick it up. No cables or things to unhook. When I'm done and come back to bed I just set it down and it starts charging again. No cables to worry about.

It's the little things. It's a lot like push button start for your car or smart fobs that you don't have to take out of your pocket to enter your vehicle. You don't realize how used to it you are until you use it for a couple weeks and then have to go back to a normal car with those silly old fashioned key thingies.

 

[gorcorps]

Until there is an universal charging pad that works with multiple products, it won't go any further as it has.

That's already how it works... Qi charging is pretty standardized at this point. Use any phone with any pad you want.

 

[vi edit]

That's already how it works... Qi charging is pretty standardized at this point. Use any phone with any pad you want.

Yup. I charge a Motorola phone on a Nokia charger. And both that Motorola phone and a Nokia phone will charge on the Energizer inductive charging pad that I have for my Wii remotes.

 

[shortylickens]

I have lots of electronics with wrecked plugs. I think wireless charging should be the norm.

 

[Belegost]

I take 24/7 call coverage. My phone is on my nightstand. Previously the phone would go off at 2:00AM and I'd reach over to grab it, forget it was plugged in, hit the length of the cord and drop the phone. Pick it back up, cuss at the damn cable, fumble in the dark to unplug it and then answer the call. Then come back to bed in the dark so I don't wake up my wife more than I already had and try and find the cable and plug it back in again.

Now I just reach over, grab the phone and pick it up. No cables or things to unhook. When I'm done and come back to bed I just set it down and it starts charging again. No cables to worry about.

It's the little things. It's a lot like push button start for your car or smart fobs that you don't have to take out of your pocket to enter your vehicle. You don't realize how used to it you are until you use it for a couple weeks and then have to go back to a normal car with those silly old fashioned key thingies.

Yup, it's one of those little conveniences you don't realize you need until you get used to it and then don't have it.

Like the automatic headlights and wipers on my car - I drove my wife's car in some rain the other day, and was really annoyed having to find the wiper stalk and manually turn it on and then choose a speed. And I totally forgot the headlights until my wife bugged me.

 

[96Firebird]

So it's "neater" but it doesn't really do anything.

It charges the phone...

Don't expect it to give you a BJ every night though.

 

[destrekor]

That's already how it works... Qi charging is pretty standardized at this point. Use any phone with any pad you want.

If it's a Qi pad. It is the leading standard, but the other competing consortium groups have just merged. PowerMat, I believe, is a different standard based on the same tech.

There was one that promised to be more capable at a distance, but I have no idea what happened to that. That group merged with PowerMat's group, so... it may be dead.

I think Qi wins simply because it is being baked into devices, whereas PowerMat, save for at most a handful of phones, is an after-market product.

 

[SP33Demon]

No wear and tear on connector, no flaky connections.

On a negative side, you won't be able to get a $5 charging cable if you forget yours.
I have bought at least 5 charging cables of the years when traveling and I forgot mine.
Now every car has at least 1 or 2.
Wireless charging docks are rare and expensive. You can't get one at the grocery store or gas station.
They need to have a backup mini USB too.

Charging docks aren't expensive, mine cost $20 and has triple coils (i.e. you don't have worry about lining it up):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LE6X5VU

Advantages? At least 2. Like:
1) I like to use my phone right before bed to wind down, and in the dark it's a monumental pain in the ass trying to plug in a little part with my big mitts.
2) Wear and tear on the charging cord/ports. My last phone, it someone got knocked off my nightstand (wild sex?) with the charger still in it and after that I had to put a towel under the back of the charging head (i.e. pressure) or it wouldn't charge.
3) Cost. Not having to buy a spare aftermarket new cord for the next phone I buy because most modern phones now have standardized Qi charging (except apple lol). Although this may be only partly true because I noticed that my last Droid charging cord works for my Turbo, but I highly doubt that charger would work with a different vendor (e.g. LG, Samsung, HTC etc).

 

[Humpy]

So it's "neater" but it doesn't really do anything.

Correct, although to summarize, things it may do for the purchaser:

1. Enhance workplace aesthetic
2. Potentially increase longevity of physical connection
3. More convenient
4. Provide charging redundancy
5. Status symbol

 

[Fritzo]

So it's "neater" but it doesn't really do anything.

It's the difference between your counter or desk looking like this:

and this:

 

[Uppsala9496]

I have a Qi charger and never use it. Why? Because in the morning when I get up my phone (N4) is always at something stupid like 74% instead of the 100% I get from using a cable. Not sure if it is a wake lock issue or what, but it is never at 100% in the morning. That means I need to charge it when I get to work which is an extra step.
Might try it on my wife's N5 to see how well it works.

 

[Printer Bandit]

 

[destrekor]

I have a Qi charger and never use it. Why? Because in the morning when I get up my phone (N4) is always at something stupid like 74% instead of the 100% I get from using a cable. Not sure if it is a wake lock issue or what, but it is never at 100% in the morning. That means I need to charge it when I get to work which is an extra step.
Might try it on my wife's N5 to see how well it works.

Could be a bad charger? I've always been exactly at 100% after leaving the phone on the Tylt Vu charger.

 

[yuchai]

The analogy I think of is a docking station for a laptop. It is not technically "necessary", but it makes life so much easier.

 

[Ichinisan]

I personally don't replace my devices ever two years like the phone companies want me to. I typically use my devices until they stop working. One of the first things to usually go on them is the port for charging them. Currently I have to wriggle the connection to make sure it's charging on my Droid 2. If it had wireless charging, I could just set it on my nightstand and not have to worry about waking up to a dead phone, or forgetting to plug it in, or the mess of wires on the side of my bed. All my devices could just sit on one pad. One wire, less mess. I can think of dozens of benefits. In fact, not sure why I haven't invested already. Thanks TC!

A wireless charging stand makes more sense than a flat pad. The coils align better for greater efficiency and the screen is easier to see if a call or reminder comes through.

Wireless charging in general is wasteful and inefficient. I'd prefer something more like magsafe.