If there’s one bit of transformational technology in the mobile world today, it is wireless charging. Just as the world got a hang of using microUSB to charge everything and anything (naturally excluding Apple), the next best thing came along. That thing is wireless charging, and I’ve a few things to say about it over the next few days. But first… what is wireless charging?
Frankly, I find wireless charing is far better than using microUSB. It might seem that the difference between plugging a cable on your desk into your smartphone and removing it as you leave has the same level of frustration as placing a smartphone on a charging station and picking it up as you leave is minimal; but the difference in comfort, speed, and usability is like night and day.
Wireless charging works on the principle of electromagnetic induction. Coils of wire in the base station (the charging plate) create a magnetic field as the current passes through. This field can induce an electrical current in an adjacent coil of wire without actually touching it. If this wire is part of a battery charging circuit, then you have wireless charging.
It’s not as efficient as a direct cable connection between the batter and - wireless charing is around 60%-70% efficient and it is still recommend that booting a device from cold is done through a wired connection. But for day-to-day use, just lining up the coils and letting electromagnetism do the rest is the simple value proposition at the heart of wireless charging.
It’s worth noting that the lithium-ion chemistry used in smartphone batteries happily copes with having short bursts of energy to charge them up – which is exactly what wireless charging can provide as you lift your smartphone up from the charging pad and replace it throughout the day.