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gb5757870

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#175774 11-Jul-2015 14:24
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I have an iPhone 6 and thought it would be good to share my experiences of having recently dipped my digital toes into the world of Wireless Charging.

Although I've been aware of this functionality first introduced with a Nokia phone I think last year, never really gave it a second thought for the iPhone. Just chalked it up to another one of those "sacrifices" that as someone who lives in the iOS ecosystem has to make. Then a few weeks ago an Android-using colleague asked me if I had tried wireless charing with the iPhone. Blink, blink. That's possible? Turns out sure is, and lots of options. And so I delved into my looking at reviews mode.

Several days later I had the BEZALEL Qi Wireless Charger for the phone and PowerBot® PB1020 Qi Enabled Wireless Charging unit on the way from Amazon. I decided to get just one charging pad as this charging style, might prove to be incongruent with lifestyle etc. The choice of the adapter for the phone was quite straightforward. The charging unit however was a bit more tricky. Price seem to start about US$13 which is what I paid and then just go up. From what I've seen and read, the more expensive units provider a larger surface area on which to place the phone without making niggly adjustments to ensure gets a charge.  Given that this was my first foray, I decided to go with the cheapest unit (although it still had excellent reviews).

They both arrived today (go Youshop once again!) and so far I'm pretty impressed. The BEZALEL fits in really nicely and is barely noticeable or protruding with my iPhone case (http://apple.co/1HjMsT1). Similarly the PowerBot "just works". And as for the correct placement on the charging unit, easily done. 

The only bummer is that my recent interest in switching to a wallet case for the phone has been put on hold. Partly because I'll probably fry the magnetic or PayPass/PayWave chips and also because the cases are too bulky I imagine to get enough "Qi" through them.

I'll update this post after a few days or weeks with more.


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gregmcc
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  #1341133 11-Jul-2015 14:30
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It is a shame that it's taken several generations of iPhone to catch up Android, and even then it's with a 3rd party attachment.




Shoes2468
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  #1341144 11-Jul-2015 14:56
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gregmcc: It is a shame that it's taken several generations of iPhone to catch up Android, and even then it's with a 3rd party attachment.



Catch up with android, it's funny how people lump all the android manufacturers together as one, at the end of the day Apple is just another smartphone manufacture, which makes hardware

gregmcc
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  #1341154 11-Jul-2015 15:31
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Shoes2468:
gregmcc: It is a shame that it's taken several generations of iPhone to catch up Android, and even then it's with a 3rd party attachment.



Catch up with android, it's funny how people lump all the android manufacturers together as one, at the end of the day Apple is just another smartphone manufacture, which makes hardware


ok fair enough, Catch up to Samsung or Google (is that better)



grant_k
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  #1341157 11-Jul-2015 15:44
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gregmcc:
Shoes2468:
gregmcc: It is a shame that it's taken several generations of iPhone to catch up Android, and even then it's with a 3rd party attachment.



Catch up with android, it's funny how people lump all the android manufacturers together as one, at the end of the day Apple is just another smartphone manufacture, which makes hardware


ok fair enough, Catch up to Samsung or Google (is that better)

Or catch up to Nokia which has had native wireless charging for the past couple of generations on various models of their phones.  Having owned a phone with wireless charging, I wouldn't buy another one that didn't have it.





timmmay
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  #1341158 11-Jul-2015 15:49
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I got a Qi plate for my S4 a year or more ago. Works pretty well, but I plug in a lot of the time as it's a faster charge.

gregmcc
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  #1341162 11-Jul-2015 15:57
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timmmay: I got a Qi plate for my S4 a year or more ago. Works pretty well, but I plug in a lot of the time as it's a faster charge.


Had one for my S4 as well, the cheap Chinese ones were rubbish, ended up buying a genuine s-view cover, quick charge and let the NFC work as well

gb5757870

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  #1341163 11-Jul-2015 15:57
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timmmay: I got a Qi plate for my S4 a year or more ago. Works pretty well, but I plug in a lot of the time as it's a faster charge.


That's a good point and one I should have probably mentioned. That was the one constant criticism from reviewers. 
One of the reasons why I'm unsure if I'll really use it. With this model anyway, the lightning adapter is quite easy to remove, so not a big deal if I want to pop it onto a proper charger.

If I find a time that suits, I'll test how long takes to charge a flat battery.

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