Other than a faulty charging port, is there any reason to use a wireless phone charger over wired?
Other than a faulty charging port, is there any reason to use a wireless phone charger over wired?
Wired is more efficient, you can pick it up and use it while charging, and the cable usually comes free with the phone. What is the point of wireless charging pads?
Admittedly, charging ports are the first to break on any electronic unless it has a joystick. Wireless charging is a lot more robust, more water resistant, and allows you to do sleek shit without a weird hole in it
I just like being able to walk by the nightstand and have the phone "lock" to the charging pad when I lay it down.
In my car it is a lot more convenient than a charging cradle for being able to use turn by turn while driving.
I bought a wireless magnetic battery recently, and what quickly turned me off was that it charges at ~2/3rd efficiency (so effectively I have only 2/3rds of my powerbank capacity) and speed compared to its wired mode, even though it's fast wireless and a solid brand and build. Also heats up my phone battery way more, so I just snap it to my phone and use the short and unobtrusive usb-c cable to charge it instead.
Now, if I was changing phones every year or two and I didn't care about keeping its battery life - sure, I'd use the wireless charging without worries, although it will still be slightly slower than wired (but still fast charging anyway).
On my S5, there's a little flap that you had to open and close to maintain the IP67 rating. Constantly opening and closing it was a recipe to breaking it off, where wireless didn't put that kind of wear in.
With my newer phone, it's easier to keep the cable with a battery pack to charge when out and about, and charge wirelessly at home, since I generally don't need it done with any great speed, and it saves having to buy/replace another cable, or forgetting to unpack and take it with me.
Qi charging is also pretty standard, which is also good if I have a few devices with different cable needs, but mutually support the same wireless charging standard, since I can put an iPhone and an android on the same pad, without having to swap cables back and forth.
I travel on the go often, wireless charging is too inefficient for me. I'd rather charge with my PD battery pack.
Another point, I use my PD pack to charge everything from my phone, drone, camera, to my laptop, ear buds.
Most of those don't have a wireless charger so I just stick to wired PD charging.
It's easier than putting a cord in.
Yeah, to prevent the charging port becoming faulty?
I use wireless charging 99% of the time. It's convenient to plop your phone or earbuds down and effortlessly grab them when it's time to go.
The other reason I like wireless: less wear on your phone's USB port. Even though USB-C is supposedly good for millions of plug/unplug cycles I've had several phones with USB-C that get wonky after about 2+ years. "Wonky" as in having to hold the cable just right to transfer data or even successfully fast charge.
Wireless charging drastically cuts down on the amount of times you'll be ramming a USB cable into it's port, hopefully prolonging it's useful life.
I have a wireless charger by my bed for charging overnight, it's easier to just plop my phone on the stand when half asleep rather than fumble with a cable. Also, charging speed doesn't matter because it's going to be plugged in for a few hours when I and it's easy to grab when my alarm goes off. But when I need a quick charge, then it's a fast charge cable all the way
Mine's magnetic. I have a charger on my nightstand. It keeps my phone in place, so it doesn't get knocked down where it's hard to get.
I also have a charging cradle on my desk. Keeps it upright. Makes it easy to glance at any notifications or quickly deal with MFA. I do sometimes unplug the cradle and just use it as a non-charging prop.
It's also nice because, being magnetic, it also helps when I am having issues with my hands. (Stiff joints.)
I've noticed that with the varying quality of USB cables, and them having broken/cracked wires over time, I usually get much faster charging when doing it wirelessly. If anything is way more consistent. With cords it's a crap shot. Is this a fast charge cord? Was it cheaply made, is it deteriorating? I can use 4 different cords and get different results from each
My port isn't worn out, but I'm worried it will become that way. I also don't need it to charge at full speed overnight. Therefore, wireless charger.
I use one in my car - it's more convienet for short trips or trips with multiple stops. I do keep a cable for longer trips though, especially if I need to keep the screen on for GPS - the wireless charger makes the phone warm enough to stop charging over the course of an hour or so.
It's convenient to place my phone on at my computer and it's just always charged. It is a little less efficient, but if you're running a heater anyway then technically they're both lossless (though gas heat may be cheaper for you if you have gas heat).
I use wireless charging at night and at work. I have a stand that charges my phone, ear buds, and watch simultaneously, which replaces three cables with one and keeps my nightstand/desk free of clutter. I use cables only when I need to charge quickly.
I know people love these and I'm not going to go and break anyone's balls but the reality is, because it is inductive charging you will never get clean voltage
Anything electronic, it really doesn't matter what it is, is going to suffer basically the equivalent of "mechanical damage" when powered/charged with unstable current
An inductive charging is always going to be highly unstable, there's no way around that
Anybody who tries to tell you different just doesn't understand that this is a real thing, and yeah, really nobody should ever use wireless charging unless they're willing to accept continual device (battery) damage
Mainly it is convenience of not having to lug a cable and I have a bit of fear of breaking the interior of the usb-c, it feels fragile to me.
I have an iPhone with MagSafe, so I can use it while charging.
Using a charging pad without MagSafe and cannot use the phone while charging can also be a plus for some people, it forces you to not being constantly on the phone.
Don't want to bother with a cable at night.
Maybe a bit of an edge case but I use a wallet case and I still carry a credit card. Wireless chargers have cooked my credit card a few times.. and nfc Google pay doesn't always work.
My desk wireless charger is magnetic, and my keyboard is wireless and can be switched between devices. So I can switch to my phone and bang out a message on my keyboard while my phone is held up comfortably.
It's very useful in sealed devices (smart watches, ear phones). Much better than pogo pins on your skin; whatever metal they pick, someone is going to be allergic. Things like active pencils (Apple Pencil, but als the Windows open standard ones) also make a lot of sense to charge like that.
I also use a wireless charging stand for my phone. Most phone stands have an opening for a cable, but for some reason that opening is always at just the wrong space, or not right for the cable. K They're also useful when using your phone for navigation in your car. I find a cable sticking from the bottom of my phone quite a handful to manage, especially as the USB ports are all so close to my gear shifter.
For those still sporting lightning iPhones, it also provides a universal charging option.
Oh, and then there's the edge case of "I want to plug something into my phone and also charge it". Tiny flash drives, 3.5mm converters, you name it. Most phones only have one USB port, so using it for anything but charging usually means not being able to charge unless you go wireless.
Still, wired is the way to to moet of the times. Wireless is just a nice backup, and maybe a fun gimmick in certain furniture.
Just use wired. Wireless is a proof-of-concept technology that is just worse.
Like... image if wifi required you to put your phone directly on top of the router... and it's much slower... might as well just use the ethernet.
Maybe if wireless charging one day works throughout an entire building, we no longer need to charge anymore.
When my mom finally ditched her land line and ported the number to a smart phone, getting a wireless charger that propped the phone up was a nice way to set up a sort of designated place to keep the phone (where the landline phone had been) so that there's less chance she misplaces the phone or forgets to charge it.