The wireless chargers allow you to charge compatible phones without the need to connect any cables, but using the special magnets located on the back of the device: placing the smartphone on the special charging base, the wireless charging process will begin! With a wireless charger you can avoid forcing and ruining the USB socket of the mobile phone and you can keep the phone charged all day, simply by placing it on the table, at home or in the office, while working or watching TV.
Not all smartphones and mobile phones can be recharged with a wireless charger, but, to date, the technology is increasingly common so, as will be discovered in this article, there are many popular smartphones, including many Android and iPhone (starting with the iPhone 8). So let's see how to use the wireless charger for Android and iPhone smartphones, what are its advantages and what are its disadvantages.
How to use the wireless charger
The wireless chargers use magnetic induction to recharge the battery and work automatically, without having to attach anything and without pressing any button. The current from the wall outlet moves through the cord of the wireless charger creating a magnetic field. The magnetic field generates a current in the coil inside the device and pass it to the smartphone battery which integrates a compatible coil inside.Wireless charging technologies
At present there is no single standard for wireless charging. In fact, three standards are available: Qi, PMA (Powermat's Power Matter Alliance ) and A4WP ( Alliance for Wireless Power ); this means that often a wireless charger can be compatible with one model of mobile phone, but not with another.
When purchasing a wireless charger (or wireless charger) you must therefore be careful, in the specifications, that your smartphone is compatible. The Qi standard is the most used one, so we will mainly talk about this technology.
To get good charging times, make sure that the charger supports an induction current of 10W or higher (preferably 20W, so as to benefit from fast wireless charging).
Advantages and disadvantages of wireless charging
The benefits of wireless charging are numerous and have contributed to the spread of technology on all high and medium-high end phones:- No need to have a wire hanging or hovering between wall outlet and telephone
- Significantly reduced risk of breaking the USB port
- Really nice charger designs, compared to the simple cable sticking out of the wall
- Possibility to recharge different devices with support for the same technology
- Possibility to use the phone immediately, even without light (just lift it to stop charging)
Unfortunately, despite the continuous evolution of technology, there are still some disadvantages:
- Longer charging times, although many modern devices support fast wireless charging comparable to the old non-optimized USB cable (with the right chargers)
- Greater risk of exposure to electromagnetic waves, especially if we keep the cell phone near the bed
- Greater overheating, since induction technology heats both the contact surface and the internal charging plate.
- Difficulty using the phone while charging, since a minimal movement is enough to block the process.
These problems have been minimized in the latest versions of wireless charging, to the point that we can say that on many high-end phones they have almost completely disappeared !
Compatible Android smartphones
Beyond these talks, Android smartphones that support wireless charging are as follows:- All Samsung Galaxy S3 onwards
- All Samsung Galaxy Notes (from 2 onwards)
- All LGs from LG G3 onwards
- All Huawei from P8 onwards
- All Xiaomi from Mi 7 onwards (including Notes)
- All Motorola G5 motorcycles onwards
If we have an Android smartphone from a manufacturer other than those listed above, we check in the product data sheet if there is Qi wireless charging .
Compatible Apple smartphones
Apple has added support for wireless charging from iPhone 8, so it's also available on all higher models (including X-series models).For iPhones it is preferable to use the wireless charger offered by Apple, avoiding the use of non-original ones: only in this way will we obtain maximum charging capacity and we will minimize the disadvantages of wireless charging. In any case, we can always charge our iPhone when needed using Qi certified chargers and using Qi chargers in cars certified for Apple.
The best wireless chargers
In this chapter we will show you which wireless chargers to buy for your Android smartphone and iPhone, so as not to make mistakes and get the maximum charging speed and the maximum compatibility.Currently the best wireless chargers for Apple are:
- Mophie wireless charging mat (39 €)
- Belkin BOOST UP Special Edition wireless charging pad (€ 59)
- Dual wireless charging pad by mophie (€ 89)
- 3 in 1 wireless charging mat by mophie (149 €)
- CHOETECH Wireless Charger, 10W Fast Wireless Charger (12 €)
- Limxems Wireless Charger, Qi 10W Wireless Charger (14 €)
- XLTOK Fast Wireless Charger 10W Induction Charger (14 €)
- AUKEY Qi Certified Wireless Charger, Fast Wireless Charger 10W, 7, 5W & 5W (19 €)
- Te-Rich 15W Wireless Charger Maximum Qi Charger 10W (20 €)
- Seneo Dual Wireless Charger, 2 in 1 Wireless Qi Charger (24 €)
- Xiaomi Mi Set Wireless Charger, 20W (49 €)
To learn more about wireless chargers, we invite you to read our guide on Wireless smartphone charging .
Conclusions
To use a wireless charger, no configuration or installation is required, the charger works immediately without problems, just place the compatible smartphone on it (it will activate the wireless charging mode by itself). The only precaution is not to place the smartphone on the plate diagonally, but to "center" it as much as possible.Always on the theme of charging, we invite you to read our two guides on how to increase the charging speed of the battery of your mobile phone smartphone or iPhone and the guide to Okay leave your mobile phone charged at night, where we can find valid tips to apply to the wireless charging.
