Wireless charging technology lets you top up your smartphone’s battery without plugging in a power cable to it directly. This article explains how wireless charging works and explains what charging by induction means? We explain it all.
There are different wireless charging standards, developed by different teams. The most common and most popular is Qi, so you have likely heard of that. Others include: PMA (Power Matters Alliance), Wi-Po, A4WP (Alliance for Wireless Power), and iNPOFi. These others are not as widely used as Qi. As such, the wireless charging plate that you use is most likely using the Qi standard.
Wireless charging is not as efficient as wired charging. At least, not yet. Sometime in the future, that may change. There is a greater loss of power during the charging process when using a wireless charger than when using a wired charger. Wired is also still much faster than wireless. The big selling factor of being able to charge wirelessly is convenience, but it comes at the price of slower charging speeds when compared to wired charging. .
Types of Wireless Charging
There are two types of wireless charging: inductive or electromagnetic induction, which requires direct contact by placing your device on a wireless plate, and resonant, which makes charging possible without physical contact. It does require some proximity. For now, inductive is by far the most common implementation.
Charging By Electromagnetic Induction
Inductive charging uses an induction coil to create an alternating electromagnetic field from inside a charging base, and a second induction coil in the compatible smartphone converts the power from the electromagnetic field back into electric current to charge the battery.
Inductive charging is the most popular form of wireless charging and has been built into many smartphones for a few years now. If you have heard of Qi wireless chargers, they work by inductive charging.
How Wireless Charging Works
To use wireless charging, you need a charging pad. Plug the pad into a wall socket and place your Qi-compatible smartphone on it to charge. Wireless pads or plates now come in all shapes and sizes, with some of them coming in the form of small, colourful pillows.
The advantage of wireless charging is convenience: you do not have to plug and unplug your phone. Just drop it on the charging plate and carry on with your business. It is great for work desks, restaurant tables, and home furniture.
What Of Long-Range Wireless Charging?
At some point in time, you may desire something more freeing – something that does not require close proximity. A new wireless charging technology named Wi-Charge uses infra-red beams to charge devices over longer distances.
It isn’t in use yet by any smartphone manufacturers. So if you want a phone that charges wirelessly, the only available options are Qi enabled phones.
The Qi Standard
Qi wireless charging was developed by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). All the top mobile phone brands have adopted it, and it is what is used in most wireless chargers in the market, including those from Anker, Belkin, and Mophie.
Which Are The Qi Enabled Phones?
There are quite a number of Qi enabled phones in the market. This is because the Qi standard has become the defacto wireless charging standard for smartphones due to its huge popularity. You will find Qi enabled phones from Apple, Samsung, Nokia, LG, Huawei, Xiaomi, Sony, Sharp, and others.
Check the specifications page of the phones you are interested in to confirm whether or not they have wireless charging support.
Picking A Wireless Charger
Now that you understand how wireless charging works, you are better informed to choose a wireless charger.
If your phone is advertised as being able to charge wirelessly, then you can enjoy the convenience. All you need to so is buy a wireless charger. There is a wide range of wireless chargers in the market. They come in different sizes, shapes, designs, textures, and prices.
Here are a few brands that manufacture good quality wireless chargers:
- Belkin
- Samsung
- Case Mate
- Native Union
- Anker
- Yootech
- Seneo
- Aukey
- Choetech
- Ailun
New brands come up every other day though, so be sure to ask at your favourite gadget retail store.
Again, here is the summary of how wireless charging works: electricity is transferred from a charging plate to the smartphone, wearable or other device via elctromagnetic waves. This means that even with a protective case on, your Qi-enabled phone will still get charged wirelessly when placed on a charging plate.
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