We’re still in the early days of wireless charging, with competing standards rife and new accessories released often as manufacturers search for the perfect form factor. Add to that the fact that relatively few phones provide wireless charging out of the box, it’s certainly not a big deal just yet.
If your phone does support wireless charging though – whether natively or through an add-on accessory – then it’s definitely worth taking advantage of the feature. Wireless charging is just simpler than wired charging, with no pesky wires to lose or carefully plug in each time. Plus, it’s infinitely cooler and definitely one to impress others with.
In this article, we’re going to look at five wireless chargers that support the Qi standard. This is probably the most common standard for wireless charging in use today, with Windows Phones produced by Nokia and Google Nexus devices both supporting the standard. In addition, there are a lot of Qi-standard wireless charging accessories made for Samsung phones that utilise wireless charging. If you’re not sure if your phone supports Qi wireless charging, look up its specifications online or ask us in the comments below.
Now – onto the recommendations!
5. Zens Qi Double Wireless Charger
This wireless charger offers a rather unique feature – two charging coils, placed side by side. This allows for two phones to be charged at once, which is cheaper than buying two single chargers. The Zens Double features a pair of LED indicator lights and overcharging prevention, and is relatively slim to ensure sufficient portability. If you’ve got two Qi-compatible phones in your house, then you may as well get a charging pad that can handle both at once.
4. Nokia Lumia Wireless Charging Plate
Our next wireless charger comes from Nokia, but it works with Qi-compatible Android phones and tablets as well. It’s probably the nicest looking wireless charger we’ve featured today, with a clean rounded design in your choice of Nokia’s familiar colour range of yellow, black, white, cyan, red or black. The LED indicator is quite refined compared to the previous charger we looked at, and the charger includes the same over-charge protection as the Zens which should keep your phone in tip-top shape and prevent power wastage.
3. Qi Universal Wireless Charging Plate
This Qi wireless charging plate holds the distinction of being the cheapest available from many retailers, at around £25 to £30. While the plate isn’t as beautiful as Nokia’s efforts, it’s quite workable and apart from the bright LED it doesn’t make too much of itself. This is the ideal choice if you’re planning to embed your wireless charger in a table or nightstand, as you’ll never need to look at it in that case!
2. Nokia Wireless Charging NFC Car Holder
Wireless charging in your car? It’s a relatively unexplored realm, but Nokia has shown it’s quite possible. The Wireless Charging NFC Car Holder produces a steady charge over flat and bumpy roads alike, while keeping the phone snugly secured. The price is a bit higher than your standard car charger and won’t fit all devices, but if you do have a compatible phone then it makes a lot of sense.
1. Qi Wireless Charging Orb
Our final choice is this Qi Wireless Charging Orb, which mirrors the design of the Nexus Charging Orb that Google produced for the Nexus 4. The official Google variant was extremely hard to get hold of, so this third-party model is a good alternative that offers similar functionality. You get rapid wireless charging, plus a jaunty angle to rest your phone at. This Qi Wireless Charging Orb is also available in multiple colours, from the black shown here to white with red, blue or green accents. A stylish and relatively inexpensive choice.
We love wireless charging, even if it’s still not a common feature in most smartphones as we’d like.