You have a new smartphone that supports wireless charging, but you don't know what to do with it? We bring light into the darkness and decipher the confusion of terms for you. That means you will learn what Qi charging means actually and whether you really need a 30-watt charger.
What is wireless charging anyway?
Wireless charging looks like a big innovation, but it's basically not that new. So everyone who uses an electric toothbrush will charge it inductively just as current smartphones do. A coil is hidden in the charger, which creates a magnetic field using alternating current. Such a coil must also be built into the smartphone so that the smartphone can charge. As soon as this gets into the magnetic field, electricity flows through the coil in the smartphone, and the battery is charged.
The whole process is called inductive charging and works without the mobile phone connected to a cable. Since a coil must be built into both the charger and the smartphone, wireless charging cannot simply be activated via a software update. If you still don't want to do without inductive charging, you can retrofit the charging standard with a mobile phone case. There are suitable models on Amazon, for example. The disadvantage here is that your USB-C port is then permanently occupied, and the cell phone becomes a bit thicker.
More and more new smartphones - at least from the upper class - support wireless charging. You don't have to buy a flagship from Samsung and Co. to get wireless charging. When buying, however, always pay attention to whether the manufacturer is promoting wireless charging as a feature. The technology is advanced but still not standard, and it is still scarce in the lower price range.
Terms: what are the differences?
The names for wireless charging stations already give rise to confusion. The titles often look like this:
Magic Circle Charger
The retailer simply wants to be found using all the different search queries. The individual terms actually all mean the same thing.
Wireless charger / wireless charger
The most common name for the models is "wireless charger." This is just the literal translation of the wireless charger. No information is given about the performance. A wireless charger is always an inductive charger, as this is only the name for how it works. All wireless chargers charge inductively.
Qi charger
The greatest confusion arises from the addition of “Qi charger” (pronounced Tschi / ˈt͡ʃiː). Qi is Chinese and literally means (life) energy. That means: Qi is neither a protected term from a manufacturer nor a requirement that only certain devices meet. Until a few years ago, there was also Rezence and Powermat in addition to the Qi shop. After the initial competition, these are now all mutually compatible, with Qi chargers have become the recognized standard.
Ultimately, you always get the same thing delivered with a wireless charger, Qi charger, and an inductive charger. So don't get confused by the different names; it's more about reaching as many customers as possible. There are still differences among the chargers, although two variants have now established themselves - more on that in a moment.
Which wireless chargers are there?
There are two market-leading variants of wireless chargers (as of June 2020). The charging pad is available from many different manufacturers (for example, from RAVPower), the charging process always works the same. You have to put the station near a socket because, of course, it still has to be powered somehow. Most of the time, this happens via a micro USB or USB-C port. Unfortunately, you usually have to order the power supply separately; a micro-USB or USB-C cable is already included with most offers.
There are also many different designs of the round pad, whereby the principle, of course, always remains the same. There are also the so-called "charging stands." In terms of price, these hardly differ from the charging pad; only the application differs. You can always charge your phone vertically. With some models (for example, with Anker), you can also charge horizontally thanks to a second coil - which has its advantages. So you can watch movies and charge your cell phone while doing so.
If you can't decide, you can also order a bundle of both devices from Anker from Amazon. The Qi charging standard is now even being integrated into jukeboxes, which works more or less well. We were impressed by the Anker Soundcore Wakey Box, which can charge with 10 watts and deliver good sound.
5 watts, 10 watts, or even 30 watts - what do I need?
Is 10 watt enough for wireless charging? In short: yes. The initially normal 5-watt chargers are now rather rare; the small surcharge for 10 watts is worth it. There are only a few exceptions that can load faster:
In individual cases, you should look again for your smartphone because even 10-watt charging is by no means supported by all models. iPhones, for example, only charge with 7.5 watts. As a rule, you can get by with the "normal" 10 watt Qi chargers. If you have one of the models mentioned, you can look at the 30-watt charger from Xiaomi, but the selection is (still) very manageable.
The prices naturally rise with the performance, with the simple charging stations starting at around € 10. Normally, the chargers also recognize which device is connected and regulate the output accordingly. For example, if you place an iPhone on a 10-watt charger, it will automatically be charged with the maximum possible 7.5 watts.
The right charger is crucial.
Unfortunately, the higher the power of the wireless charger, the more complicated it gets. So it is not enough to buy a 20-watt charger and then connect your normal power supply; you have to be a little more careful here. Because of the charging pad's energy loss, choosing the right power supply is no longer that easy.
Effective charging power: 20 watts
Power input required for this: 27 watts
Due to the loss of energy, your power supply must be at least 27 watts. Since wireless chargers require high voltage (V) and low amperage (A), the connection will not work with every adapter. Specifically, this means:
❌ A power supply unit with 9V and 3A (= 27 watts) does not work.
✅ Power supply unit with 20V and 1.35A (= 27 watts) works
With wireless chargers with 30 watts of power, the whole thing becomes even more difficult. In the best-case scenario, you should have a suitable power supply unit and charging cable in the scope of delivery. This is the case with OnePlus, for example, and the power supply unit is directly connected. Otherwise, however, the frustration is great when the charging pad doesn't even work.
Can only smartphones be charged?
Of course, wireless charging becomes practical when more than just smartphones are charged with it. In theory, this is not a problem either, so it is technically possible to install the corresponding coil in tablets or the like. Unfortunately, this is still the exception; for example, the new Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is equipped with wireless charging. Headphones or the corresponding charging boxes already support Qi charging; here, the Aukey EP-T10 headphones are to be mentioned as a cost-effective example.
Wireless charging is still not widespread in smartwatches, but some models already come with the Qi charging standard. The Moto 360 Smartwatch, for example, supports wireless charging, but otherwise, this feature is still rather rare. Inductive charging also becomes interesting if the smartphone is also capable of "reverse wireless charging," i.e., can also deliver energy wirelessly. You can charge your Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 with the Samsung Galaxy S20 today.
Conclusion
magic circle charger has long ceased to be a dream of the future and has also become quite affordable. Due to the loss of energy, cable's usual charging is much faster, especially if your smartphone supports QuickCharge. Unfortunately, you will have to accept significant losses in terms of speed with wireless charging with a few exceptions. However, the technology has great potential and will probably also be installed in cheaper price ranges in the future.
Xiaomi and OnePlus are definitely pioneers with 30-watt chargers and already deliver fast charging speeds. But this is currently still associated with a higher price. It remains to be seen to what extent fast wireless charging will be compatible across manufacturers because, unfortunately, the manufacturers are going their own way here.
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