If you are still charging your phone with a wired charger, you need to upgrade with a wireless type. Wireless chargers have been around for a while since their introduction a couple of years back. And today, many manufacturers have been getting on board with ubiquitous Qi wireless charging standard. The tech today is now inside virtually every
flagship phone.
If you spend most of your time on the road, choosing a wireless car charger can benefit you a lot on the road. The good thing with this type of charger, it supports almost the majority of smartphone brands. For instance, Samsung has been at the forefront in wireless charging since the release of Galaxy S6. Huawei company rolled in the market with Mate 20 Pro, while the Apple entry point was through iPhone X,
iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus. Since that time, many of its new phones support wireless charging. Without much ado, let’s see what exactly is wireless charging, how it works here below.
By definition, it is the transfer of power from a power outlet to your gadget, without the need for using any cable. The charging process involves the use of a power transmitting pad and a receiver, sometimes in the form of a case attached to a mobile gadget or built into the phone itself. It isn’t cable free 100% since the pad has a cable going from the outlet into it.
The wireless charging happens based on inductive charging, whereby power is created by passing through an electrical current using two coils to create an electromagnetic field. After receiving a magnetic plate on the mobile gadget comes into contact with the transmitter – or at least within the specified range, the magnetic field generates electrical current within the device.
The current is converted into (DC) DIRECT CURRENT, which in turn charges the in-built battery.
The main wireless standard is Qi, which was developed by Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) for inductive charging over distances of up to 40mm. Many major smartphone manufacturers have adopted Qi wireless charging. The wireless charging technology is also being incorporated in many vehicles today.
Qi design is separated into three power specifications, the first being low power, which is responsible for charging mobile devices. The minimum level of wattage it can provide is 5W as they range depending on the phone capacity as others take up to 15 Watts. The second power specification is medium power, which can deliver up to 120W and is perfect for laptops and monitors. The third and last power specification can deliver up to 1KW to power high demanding devices such as kitchen utensils.
Currently, companies are working to make wireless charging at a distance as possible, but for it to work; you need to place your phone on top of the charging pad for it to function.
All rechargeable batteries start to degrade after several charge cycles. Wireless charging has of late faced a lot of criticism for the increased rate at which it leads to many charge cycles. If you were using a cable to charge, it is designed to power the phone rather than the battery. On the other hand, the power comes out of the battery while the charger is only topping it up, which means the battery isn’t getting any break.
Some mounts are designed you attach a magnetic metal plate to the back of your phone to fix it to the mount. Why? Because the metal is too thick for electrical current to reach your phone battery, that setup does not allow your phone to charge the right way.