We’re here! It’s the future! We’re charging things without even plugging them in now. What’s next, flying cars? Teleportation? Living in space? Honestly, I don’t think we are that far away from either of those two things.
However, as amazing as all of this technological advancement is, it will still take some time for us to figure out how to really improve the new things we’re discovering.
Wireless charging has been out for a few years and companies have been able to diversify the TYPES of wireless chargers that exist, but not so much the stuff inside. What do I mean? Well look, you can buy everything from a wireless charger that will keep your phone upright or in your car, or you can buy a beautiful one like this that takes a more fashionable approach to technology. What you can’t buy is a wireless charger that can work around the following limitations…
SLOW CHARGING: They’re slow. That’s just a fact. The best place for a wireless charger is at your desk so that you can constantly drip charge your phone while you’re working and not handling it. If you are in between meetings and need a quick charge to get you through your next one, wireless charging is not going to be your friend.
MAKES YOUR PHONE HOT: This one is not so much a problem with charging but more of an inconvenience. It just feels weird to hold your phone right after wireless charging it and feel how hot the back is. Especially if you are jumping on a long call after and don’t have your AirPods handy, you’ll start to sweat your ear off by the time you get halfway done with the call.
YOU CAN’T USE IT WHILE IT’S CHARGING: The idea of wireless charging, without any further knowledge, sounds awesome! Imagine, you enter a room and your phone just starts charging while you’re in the room. That would be amazing, but that is not currently the case. In order to wirelessly charge your phone, sure you don’t have to plug it in, but you do have to set it down on a small device and leave it there… for too long… as mentioned previously.
SOME CASES INTERFERE: One of the more popular options for hanging your iPhone on your dash in the car is with a magnet mount. You throw a little thin metal disk between your phone and your case, and you throw the phone up on a magnet and it sits perfectly, no clips, no fuss. However, these metal plates do not allow your phone to charge wirelessly, so in order to charge your phone wirelessly, you have to take off the case and charge it. Other cases also get in the way, so this can cause more fuss than before.
Look, I understand that wireless charging is new and we are still figuring it out, and perhaps I’m just nitpicking a cool new technology, but it’s worth pointing out the flaws so that we can start working to improve them. Every product must go through research and development, and my hope is that these wireless charging companies are reading enough of these articles so that they know the primary issues people are having with their products.
I’m doing this for the good of technology folks! The squeakiest wheel is the one that gets greased first, so I’m squeaking, and hoping for some grease!
