6 ms·

I'm not a huge Apple fanboy by any measure, but one thing I do appreciate is that they consider wireless charging to be a table stakes feature, and include it e

by ss3000 6y ago

I'm not a huge Apple fanboy by any measure, but one thing I do appreciate is that they consider wireless charging to be a table stakes feature, and include it even in their "budget" phones. They clearly understand how dramatically it elevates the user experience. Compare that to every Android manufacturer who either don't offer wireless charging at all or gate it to flagships, it's a really sad state of affairs for someone like myself who won't even consider a phone without wireless charging today.

mehrdadn 6y ago
Never used wireless charging but also never really understood what is so dramatically elevating about it. Is it just the requirement for 1 hand vs. 2 hands that people find so life-changing? Doesn't it waste a ton of power in the process?
- jakub_g 6y ago
  (Not using wireless charging either) One advantage is that it does not destroy the USB port. Constant plugging and unplugging can really wear some ports after 1-2 years, depending on manufacturing quality. To the point that it won't charge anymore. (Hopefully will be less of an issue with USB-C which seems better designed than microUSB). Plus the convenience.
  - rand49an 6y ago
    To counter that though, it's not nearly as efficient and the additional heat definitely puts more stress on the battery possibly lowering it's lifespan.
    - ss3000 6y ago
      My hunch is that you're probably correct about the heat effects of wireless charging on battery lifespan to some degree, but I'd love to see more emperical studies on the topic. Especially comparing it to usage of wired quick charge solutions that tend to result in much higher spikes in temperature than wireless charging, but over a shorter timespan. It's not obvious to me that one would be more harmful to battery lifespan than the other. Newer wireless chargers also usually have some form of active heat management (i.e. fans), and anecdotally my phone only ever gets lukewarm to the touch, even with a somewhat bulky case on it. At the end of the day though, I personally wouldn't mind having to upgrade my phone slightly faster than I would otherwise in order to enjoy the convenience offered by wireless charging, but definitely speaking from a position of privilege here.
  - AdrianB1 6y ago
    A cheap workaround for me is to use magnetic USB connectors & cables. They are small enough to have a connector permanently attached to most my devices and I have several matching cables on my desk, in the car etc. I found about this option on a motorcycle forum where a specific helmet headset was quite sensible to breaking the micro USB charging port. I bought a couple of cables and several micro-SUB connectors, then I bought a handful of USB-C ones and a few more cables and now everything is by default using magnetic connections.
  - coin 6y ago
    Seems like an expensive way to workaround a weak port
- droidno9 6y ago
  It's one of those things that you don't think you'd need until you have had it, and then wonder why you've gone so far in life without it. As someone who constantly has to step away from my desk during the day, I don't have to think about charging the phone anymore. It automatically goes on the wireless stand (directly in front of me) when I'm back at my desk. I can be certain that if I choose to go out for the evening after work, I wouldn't have to worry about being stranded somewhere far from home because my phone died. (Side note: Uber and Lyft have really decimated the taxi industry, even for a downtown area in a medium-size city.)
  - mehrdadn 6y ago
    Oh I see. But putting it in the charger all the time just makes the battery die more quickly, right? Though I see the value now if you don't care about that.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - Dylan16807 6y ago
      It might lose some life from keeping the battery at a high level, but it will gain life from using the battery less. If you can keep it from charging too high, it's all upside.
      - fulafel 6y ago
        The last 10-20% of the charging causes most battery wear (many times more than in the mid band). So charging from almost-full to full many times per day is going to be harder on the battery than charging fewer times per day. This is especially pronounced on phones, where batteries are already calibrated to have a high charge cutoff (ie battery longevity vs capacity compromise is heavily at the capacity end).
        int_19h 6y ago
        What I don't get is why phones can't be configured to just never charge past 80% or so, for people who rarely need that 100%, and would rather the battery wear less. It's a thing for some laptops; e.g. Lenovo specifically advertises such a setting.
- fulafel 6y ago
  You need it to work around the inability to charge while using headphones.
Exmoor 6y ago
Completely agree. Given that a lot of smartphone maker's model has been to wait for Apple to do something and then copy it (whether it was a good idea or not) I was really surprised that wireless charging didn't become a standard feature for Android phones after Apple added it.
orliesaurus 6y ago
Is wireless charging like this having any negative impacts on phone battery with daily usage/charging patterns?
koyote 6y ago
My Nexus 4 had wireless charging back in 2012; the Nexus 4 very much being a budget phone. I am a bit disappointed about how wireless charging was ripped out of Android phones instead of simply being the standard. I thought the iPhone finally adopting it would bring it back to Android phones but it does not seem like the case.
- ss3000 6y ago
  Ah yep, the good old Nexus 4, that's how I was introduced to wireless charging as well.
greggman3 6y ago
I bought an iPhone11Pro and bought a charger. Tried it for about 2 weeks, one of 4 times I'd wake up and it failed to charge. I stopped using wireless charging. I think there's a reason Apple doesn't sell a wireless charger and that's because they couldn't get it to work reliably. So, they can add the feature to the phone but don't have to take any support calls on how flaky it is since they can blame the non Apple charger.
ponsin 6y ago
One of the problems with wireless charging is that I typically get a cheap $5 "rugged" case from eBay that lets me drop my phone with harm only potentially happening to my disposable case. unfortunately, those cases block wireless charging
arvinsim 6y ago
Dramatically evaluate the user experience? It removes inconveniences while adding downsides. It has been understand that wireless charging causes the battery to heat more, which potentially can decrease the battery lifespan. People are also constrained in what cases they buy lest it blocks wireless charging. People cannot use it on the desk when battery is empty. It is also less efficient when charging, taking more time compared to wired charging.
fomine3 6y ago
Now I have higher-end phone (AQUOS zero2) but it doesn't feature Qi to make it lighter, and I love the decision. Previously I had Galaxy S8 that features Qi but I don't use it much because it gets hotter while charging so not seems good for battery health. Adopting Qi has another side effect: it prevents using metal to back surface, so most high-end phones choose to use glass rather than resin so phones are much getting heavier.

by ss3000 6y ago

mehrdadn 6y ago

Never used wireless charging but also never really understood what is so dramatically elevating about it. Is it just the requirement for 1 hand vs. 2 hands that people find so life-changing? Doesn't it waste a ton of power in the process?

jakub_g 6y ago
(Not using wireless charging either) One advantage is that it does not destroy the USB port. Constant plugging and unplugging can really wear some ports after 1-2 years, depending on manufacturing quality. To the point that it won't charge anymore. (Hopefully will be less of an issue with USB-C which seems better designed than microUSB). Plus the convenience.
- rand49an 6y ago
  To counter that though, it's not nearly as efficient and the additional heat definitely puts more stress on the battery possibly lowering it's lifespan.
  - ss3000 6y ago
    My hunch is that you're probably correct about the heat effects of wireless charging on battery lifespan to some degree, but I'd love to see more emperical studies on the topic. Especially comparing it to usage of wired quick charge solutions that tend to result in much higher spikes in temperature than wireless charging, but over a shorter timespan. It's not obvious to me that one would be more harmful to battery lifespan than the other. Newer wireless chargers also usually have some form of active heat management (i.e. fans), and anecdotally my phone only ever gets lukewarm to the touch, even with a somewhat bulky case on it. At the end of the day though, I personally wouldn't mind having to upgrade my phone slightly faster than I would otherwise in order to enjoy the convenience offered by wireless charging, but definitely speaking from a position of privilege here.
- AdrianB1 6y ago
  A cheap workaround for me is to use magnetic USB connectors & cables. They are small enough to have a connector permanently attached to most my devices and I have several matching cables on my desk, in the car etc. I found about this option on a motorcycle forum where a specific helmet headset was quite sensible to breaking the micro USB charging port. I bought a couple of cables and several micro-SUB connectors, then I bought a handful of USB-C ones and a few more cables and now everything is by default using magnetic connections.
- coin 6y ago
  Seems like an expensive way to workaround a weak port
droidno9 6y ago
It's one of those things that you don't think you'd need until you have had it, and then wonder why you've gone so far in life without it. As someone who constantly has to step away from my desk during the day, I don't have to think about charging the phone anymore. It automatically goes on the wireless stand (directly in front of me) when I'm back at my desk. I can be certain that if I choose to go out for the evening after work, I wouldn't have to worry about being stranded somewhere far from home because my phone died. (Side note: Uber and Lyft have really decimated the taxi industry, even for a downtown area in a medium-size city.)
- mehrdadn 6y ago
  Oh I see. But putting it in the charger all the time just makes the battery die more quickly, right? Though I see the value now if you don't care about that.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - Dylan16807 6y ago
    It might lose some life from keeping the battery at a high level, but it will gain life from using the battery less. If you can keep it from charging too high, it's all upside.
    - fulafel 6y ago
      The last 10-20% of the charging causes most battery wear (many times more than in the mid band). So charging from almost-full to full many times per day is going to be harder on the battery than charging fewer times per day. This is especially pronounced on phones, where batteries are already calibrated to have a high charge cutoff (ie battery longevity vs capacity compromise is heavily at the capacity end).
      - int_19h 6y ago
        What I don't get is why phones can't be configured to just never charge past 80% or so, for people who rarely need that 100%, and would rather the battery wear less. It's a thing for some laptops; e.g. Lenovo specifically advertises such a setting.
fulafel 6y ago
You need it to work around the inability to charge while using headphones.

Exmoor 6y ago

Completely agree. Given that a lot of smartphone maker's model has been to wait for Apple to do something and then copy it (whether it was a good idea or not) I was really surprised that wireless charging didn't become a standard feature for Android phones after Apple added it.

orliesaurus 6y ago

Is wireless charging like this having any negative impacts on phone battery with daily usage/charging patterns?

koyote 6y ago

My Nexus 4 had wireless charging back in 2012; the Nexus 4 very much being a budget phone. I am a bit disappointed about how wireless charging was ripped out of Android phones instead of simply being the standard. I thought the iPhone finally adopting it would bring it back to Android phones but it does not seem like the case.

ss3000 6y ago
Ah yep, the good old Nexus 4, that's how I was introduced to wireless charging as well.

greggman3 6y ago

I bought an iPhone11Pro and bought a charger. Tried it for about 2 weeks, one of 4 times I'd wake up and it failed to charge. I stopped using wireless charging. I think there's a reason Apple doesn't sell a wireless charger and that's because they couldn't get it to work reliably. So, they can add the feature to the phone but don't have to take any support calls on how flaky it is since they can blame the non Apple charger.

ponsin 6y ago

One of the problems with wireless charging is that I typically get a cheap $5 "rugged" case from eBay that lets me drop my phone with harm only potentially happening to my disposable case. unfortunately, those cases block wireless charging

arvinsim 6y ago

Dramatically evaluate the user experience? It removes inconveniences while adding downsides. It has been understand that wireless charging causes the battery to heat more, which potentially can decrease the battery lifespan. People are also constrained in what cases they buy lest it blocks wireless charging. People cannot use it on the desk when battery is empty. It is also less efficient when charging, taking more time compared to wired charging.

fomine3 6y ago

Now I have higher-end phone (AQUOS zero2) but it doesn't feature Qi to make it lighter, and I love the decision. Previously I had Galaxy S8 that features Qi but I don't use it much because it gets hotter while charging so not seems good for battery health. Adopting Qi has another side effect: it prevents using metal to back surface, so most high-end phones choose to use glass rather than resin so phones are much getting heavier.