Wireless Charging Explained: Power Your iPhone or Android Phone Wire-free
Wireless charging has been around for a good while now, but it’s only in the last three or four years that it’s become mainstream.
More and more manufacturers have been getting on board with the ubiquitous Qi wireless charging standard and the tech is now inside virtually every flagship phone, and some true wireless headphones too.
The biggest manufacturers have supported it from early on. Samsung has supported wireless charging since the Galaxy S6 and Apple adopted wireless charging with the iPhone X and iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, and the Airpods (2nd Generation). Since then it’s appeared in all new iPhones and AirPods, with recent generations adopting a magnetic wireless charging capability called MagSafe.
An increasing number of Android phones also support reverse wireless charging where you can charge other devices from the phone – for more information on this, check out what is reverse wireless charging and which phones have it?
But as for wireless charging, how does it work and does your phone even support it? Allow us to answer all these questions and more.
What is wireless charging?
Wireless charging is the transfer of power from a power outlet to your device, without the need for a connecting cable.
It involves a power transmitting pad or stand, and a receiver, which is usually built into the phone itself. When we said it was cable-free, it isn’t quite, because the charging pad or stand will still need to be physically plugged into a power outlet. Tech hasn’t quite managed that level of wireless just yet.
How does wireless charging work?
Wireless charging is based on inductive charging, whereby power is created by passing an electrical current through two coils to create an electromagnetic field.
When the receiving magnetic plate on the mobile device comes into contact with the transmitter – or at least within the specified range – the magnetic field generates an electrical current within the device.
This current is then converted into direct current (DC), which in turn charges the built-in battery.
What is the standard for wireless charging?
The main wireless standard is Qi (pronounced “chee”). Qi is a standard that has been developed by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) for inductive charging over distances of up to 40mm.
Qi wireless charging has been adopted by many smartphone manufacturers, including Samsung, Apple, Sony, Honor, Oppo, OnePlus, Huawei, Nokia (HMD), Motorola and Xiaomi. It’s been incorporated inside numerous vehicles now too.
Qi has three separate power specifications, beginning with low power, which is primarily what we’re talking about here, for charging mobile devices. At the moment there are several wattages that can be applied to this. 5W is a minimum, while some handsets support 7.5W, 10W and up to 15W and then onto 30W in a later version of the standard.
Source: www.GhanaCNN.com