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Other than a faulty charging port, is there any reason to use a wireless phone charger over wired?

Wired is more efficient, you can pick it up and use it while charging, and the cable usually comes free with the phone. What is the point of wireless charging pads?

139 comments
  • Some phones can get hotter (which is bad for battery health) when charging wirelessly.

    • The cold is also bad for batteries, so if you’ve been out in the winter for a while, it’ll help warm your phone up.

      • But how often are you charging outdoors? I have my phone in my pocket when I'm not using it during such temps, which always keeps it decent. Li-ion really only starts taking a hit from cold temps <40° F; in fact, slightly cold is better than room temp.

  • It's very useful in sealed devices (smart watches, ear phones). Much better than pogo pins on your skin; whatever metal they pick, someone is going to be allergic. Things like active pencils (Apple Pencil, but als the Windows open standard ones) also make a lot of sense to charge like that.

    I also use a wireless charging stand for my phone. Most phone stands have an opening for a cable, but for some reason that opening is always at just the wrong space, or not right for the cable. K They're also useful when using your phone for navigation in your car. I find a cable sticking from the bottom of my phone quite a handful to manage, especially as the USB ports are all so close to my gear shifter.

    For those still sporting lightning iPhones, it also provides a universal charging option.

    Oh, and then there's the edge case of "I want to plug something into my phone and also charge it". Tiny flash drives, 3.5mm converters, you name it. Most phones only have one USB port, so using it for anything but charging usually means not being able to charge unless you go wireless.

    Still, wired is the way to to moet of the times. Wireless is just a nice backup, and maybe a fun gimmick in certain furniture.

  • Maybe a bit of an edge case but I use a wallet case and I still carry a credit card. Wireless chargers have cooked my credit card a few times.. and nfc Google pay doesn't always work.

139 comments