The ups and downs of wireless charging

The ups and downs of wireless charging

The purpose of the Weekend Debate is to look at both sides of the story; to get a true idea about a concept, or two competing concepts and hash it out and see where we all stand about this. We’ve had some really great debates in the past, and I thank you for that. But if I’m going to be really honest with myself, there is one thing that I have not debated. I have taken it for granted that it is great, and maybe that was premature on my part. Wireless charging is a concept that hearkens back to the beginning of my webOS days. I’ve loved it ever since then, but maybe I have been mistaken.
Wireless charging is one of those concepts to me that feels like I’m using “the future.” You set your phone down, and it charges. Easy. Cable charging, despite advancements like USB Type C and Lightning connectors that are reversible, still require two hands to complete. If you come in the house with an arm full of bags, or groceries, or kids, or whatever, you are not going to be plugging in your phone, because you need that arm. Not so with wireless charging. Down. Boom. Charging.

 

Not just for power

Some wireless chargers also have additional built in functionality. The Qi charger for the Moto 360, and the latest charging stand for the Samsung Gear S2 both serve the dual purpose of charging the watch, and turning it into a clock, perhaps for a bedside table. Sure, that may not be the definitive end to the debate, but it’s still a useful function beyond just putting gas in the tank. Other wireless chargers also serve to prop up a device so it can be useful while charging. Aukey’s Luna charger did much the same thing, along with – yes I’m going to that well again – webOS’s phone and tablet chargers.
Wireless charging also allows for phones to be more water and dust proof because there is no port needed to charge. Yes, there is a port needed for data transfer, but if that has a cover, you’ll be using it less because you charge every day, you don’t necessarily transfer data. So that eliminates wear-and tear on the port cover, and also eliminates the annoyance of having to open the cover every day. So there’s that.

And yet…

But wireless charging isn’t all lollipops and roses is it? I mean really when you stop and think about it, wireless charging can be a touch inconvenient at times as well. For one thing, when you set your phone down to charge, it’s ~down~. You’re not picking that phone up for anything because it will stop charging. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing, but to those of us who like to lounge on the couch with a charging phone, this might be a bit of a deal breaker.
Also consider the accuracy involved with wireless charging. Charging coils need to be aligned with each other in both the charger and the charging device, with some amount of room for error of course. But when the phone is on the charger, it’s there. A careless bump can knock the phone off its charger with no one being the wiser. You know what happens then? You wake up with a dead phone. Ruh-roh.

Like totally

Roe vs. Wade…or something

Also, lest we forget there are two different standards out there – Qi and PMA. New chips are making it possible for phones like the Samsung Galaxy S6 series to be compatible with both standards, but still there are two standards. Phones that have come out in the past are not backwards compatible with the other standards, so this is something that is going to be an issue for some time. Plus, as long as carriers like AT&T still get to push around OEM’s we may see scenarios in the future where a phone is capable of accepting either, but is being forced to use one or the other.
Finally, remember that by and large, wireless charging is slower than its wired counterparts. It’s true that some wireless chargers are being advertised as fast-chargers, but how will that measure up against the “50% in 15 minutes” that other wired phones are boasting? Time will tell in this particular argument. But again, this is not one that I believe holds a lot of water, because our phones are meant to recharge while we recharge – over night.

 

Palm had the answer

Now, I don’t want to bang my Palm war drum too much, but it largely solved a couple of those problems by embedding magnets into its chargers and phones. Magnets ensured the phones are aligned properly, and in a pinch a phone could be picked up – charger and all – and used without disrupting the power flow. webOS also built in a Presentation Mode and a number of other features (such as automatic speakerphone while on charger) that negated a lot of naysayers at the time.
But anyway, now that we’ve taken a good look at both sides, where do you stand on the wireless charging fence? Are you a believer in a wire-free phone or do you need your juice so fast, air can’t deliver fast enough? Sound off below in the comments and let’s see if we can figure this out.