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Wireless connectivity is great, but despite pushing for wireless technology as much as I could in my workflows, I can’t stay in the wireless charging field. I’ve been trying wireless charging for a year, and I’m sticking with my cables.
What’s wrong with wireless charging?
Let me preface this by saying that there is nothing wrong with wireless charging itself. It’s a very convenient feature, but it largely depends on your phone. While it may be slow, wireless charging is always a feature you want.
My iPhone 13 charges well with the MagSafe wireless charger on my desk. However, the two Pixels I have (Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7a) tend to get extremely hot while charging, and the charging speed is really terrible. I too started using MagSafe stickers on my Pixel 7a to help better align the wireless charging coils — and while it held in place, it had little effect on charging speed or heat build-up.
Wireless chargers also cost significantly more than their wired counterparts. U the cheapest disc-shaped wireless charging pucks on Amazon it will cost you about $10 for a 15 watt charger. You can easily find 20-watt wired charging adapters for the same price. And this difference only becomes bigger when you start looking for more powerful chargers.
Not all wireless chargers are created equal. Choosing the wrong one means you might not be making the most of your phone’s wireless charging capabilities.
Wired charging is always faster
Wired charging is significantly faster than wireless charging, regardless of your phone. In my case, my Pixel 7a charges at 7.5 watts wirelessly—less than half the 18 watts it charges over a cable.
This is also true regardless of the phone you use. Whether on iPhone or Android, wired charging is always faster and more efficient. Factor in energy efficiency and less heating, and a cable provides significantly faster charging times than any wireless charger.
For example, Qi wireless charging is used by almost all smartphone manufacturers and provides anywhere between 5 to 15 watts of power. This can fully charge your phone in about three to four hours, although in my experience, these times can vary significantly. We’ve got you covered how does wireless charging work if you want to go into details.
In comparison, most phones will go from zero to full charge in an hour when using a cable. Phones like the Realme GT 5 have a 240 watt fast charger that can recharge the battery in minutes. The iPhone 16 Pro can go up to 30 watts, and most Android flagships like the Samsung S24 Ultra can use 45 watts or more.
Note that these are peak power outputs and cannot be sustained for long periods of time. Most USB-C chargers can communicate with the device they are charging and adjust their power to ensure battery safety with the fastest charging speed. That said, wired chargers are still more efficient and maintain faster charging speeds.
No need to hunt for Wireless Chargers or Power Banks
If you rely completely on wireless charging, you may sometimes find yourself in a tight spot if there are no wireless chargers or power banks around. Charging via a cable, on the other hand, means that you will almost certainly find a charging station or you can ask someone for a Type-C charger to suck up your phone quickly.
As mentioned above, not all wireless chargers are the same. You should read the fine print and make sure you get a charger that provides enough power for your phone to charge at a decent rate. Wireless chargers and power banks also cost a pretty penny, and in most cases are significantly more expensive than their wired counterparts.
Another thing to remember is that most wireless chargers end up in a regular USB adapter anyway, which means you can skip the wireless charger and use a cable to charge your phone directly.
In emergencies, wired charging is always the best option. A large number of phones today use Type-C charging, which means you have potential access to millions of charging bricks and cables. That is as long as they can provide the power needed to charge your device – which the majority of them will do.
No Overheating Problems
If your phone is charged via cable at a very high wattage like 65 or even 45 watts, it will heat up about the same, if not more, than when charging wirelessly. However, this warmth is short-lived, as your phone will probably fully charge in an hour at that speed.
In my experience with the Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7a and iPhone 13, the phone always gets hot while charging. And while your phone can handle being hot, your battery won’t like it much.
Transferring electricity by induction can lose up to 50 percent of electricity to heat, which transfers directly to the back of your phone — or more specifically, the wireless charging coil attached just above the your phone’s battery.
While wired charging also generates heat, most of it is dissipated by the charging brick, ultimately resulting in slower battery degradation. There’s only so much you can do to prevent battery degradation, but using wireless chargers every day for extended periods will affect your battery more than wired charging.
What charging method should you use?
Ideally, a mix of wired and wireless charging will serve you well. If you don’t face problems like random charging restarts or overheating while charging, using a wireless charger on your desk or in your car can make your life much easier. For any other scenario, I recommend keeping wired charging. I would choose a fast wired charger over a wireless charger every day.
As someone who aims to go completely wireless with my technology, charging is the only place I still use cables (besides HDMI and Ethernet). My wireless charger has become a phone stand, barely every time I use it, especially if my phone’s battery is on the low side.
With most modern electronics (including laptops) now moving to USB-C charging, you can use one charger to power all your gadgets. Throw a couple of USB-C cables and a power brick or power bank in your bag and you’ll thank yourself the next time your phone runs out of battery somewhere unexpected.
