As someone who hates wires, charging has always eluded me. I tried wireless charging for a year, but ended up going back to cables.
However, getting a new phone with improved wireless charging and advances in tech made me give it another shot. I ended up going all-in on wireless charging, and it changed how I use my phone.
Charging went from being a chore to an afterthought
Never forget to charge your phone again
The biggest change came in how I think about charging now. Previously, charging required plugging in my phone while putting it on the stand at my desk. If I forgot to plug my phone in, which happened a lot, I was out of luck.
I had a binary relationship with power: either my phone was charging or not. Wireless charging has flipped this completely.
I have two wireless charging stands—one at my desk, and the other on my nightstand. There are no more cables to plug in, I put my phone down where it’s supposed to be, and it instantly starts charging.
So instead of waiting for my battery to fall to 20% and sitting tethered to a wall outlet for 40 minutes, my phone is now constantly getting small boosts of power every time I’m at my desk.
This approach shift from charging “sessions” to small boosts of power throughout the day has made charging my phone an afterthought now. I no longer have to worry about charging my phone—it always has power when I pick it up.
Of course, this can vary based on how you use your phone and other habits around it. I’m a stickler for putting things in dedicated places, which means my phone already had a dedicated spot at my desk. If you keep changing where you place your phone, placing a wireless charger will feel restrictive at first. However, once you get the hang of it, you’ll be glad for the habit.
As it turns out, it’s also better for your phone’s battery. Charging your battery to full capacity less often, and not letting it run out completely, can extend its life somewhat. When you get into wireless charging, you’re essentially never letting the battery run out, as your phone is constantly charging every time you put it down. You’ll also be less likely to reach a full charge, as there will be times you pick up your phone in between to use it.
You get durability and aesthetic benefits
Who doesn’t like a cleaner desk?
Wireless charging does more than just help you avoid cables. It removes cables and the friction associated with them from your daily life.
If you’re charging your phone with a cable, you also need to keep it handy and visible. I use all-wireless tech and hate wires, which means my clean wireless setup had a difficult-to-manage charging cable just lying around when I wasn’t charging my phone.
This might sound superficial to you, but I much prefer having a cleaner, cable-free environment for my workspace. No more hunting for the right charging cable when everything looks the same, no more cable management headaches—just a clean desk with dedicated spots for all my gadgets.
You also wear out your phone’s USB-C or Lightning port less often. Every time you plug your phone in, the charging port suffers some wear and tear. If you fumble and take a few tries to get the cable in, that’s extra wear that’ll cause your port to get loose over time.
This results in broken ports, failures, and several other problems down the line. Now getting a port fixed isn’t a huge repair, and most repair shops will get it done in a few hours for relatively cheap. However, it’s still a hassle that you completely avoid when going wireless.
There’s something psychologically satisfying about the seamless nature of wireless charging. It feels futuristic in a way that still hasn’t gotten old. The simple act of putting my phone down and instantly seeing it start charging just takes away that one worry that I’ll forget to charge my phone.
Turns out wireless charging is great, but not perfect
Don’t throw those charging cables yet
As much as I’ve enjoyed my second stint with wireless charging, the reasons why I didn’t go wireless initially are still there. In order to get the most out of wireless charging, you need both a phone and a wireless charger that can work reliably together, and that can be a bit of an investment.
My old Pixel 7a supported wireless charging, but only up to 7.5W and would drop to 5W on just about every charger. I tried sticking with it, but the wireless charger I was using wouldn’t charge my phone reliably and would generate a lot of heat. In the end, I was left with a hot phone that charged way too slowly for wireless charging to be practical.
With my new Pixel 9a, the wireless charging stays at 7.5W using the same wireless charger. However, it’s not the difference in charging speed that matters here as much as the difference in charging reliability and heat generation. The 9a charges much more reliably and stays cool all day sitting at my wireless charging stand.
The situation is a little better if you own an iPhone. They’re usually more reliable in terms of wireless charging, and MagSafe ensures your phone lines up with the charger perfectly. You can use stickers to add MagSafe to Android phones, but the results may vary between phones. However, with the Qi2 standard coming to Android phones, that won’t be necessary going forward.
Overall, you’re going to need a phone that can reliably sit on a wireless charger, and a wireless charger to go with it. Both of these items are going to be a bit of an investment, especially the wireless charger. Just because a phone supports wireless charging doesn’t mean your experience with it is going to be good.
However, when you do get a phone that works well with wireless chargers, you’ll find the experience much better than plugging in cables. Sure, your phone takes a little longer to charge, but the convenience is well worth it. Besides, you can always plug it in if you need to charge your phone quickly.
Going all-in on wireless charging won’t drastically change your life, but it will eliminate a lot of small, daily friction points that you don’t even realize. The real benefit of wireless charging isn’t the technology itself; it’s how seamlessly it integrates into your life.
