Is wireless smartphone charging worth the hype?

The big advantage of “cordless” charging is that you dont run the risk of damaging the cover over the charging socket or the socket itself.
This is especially important with the waterproof phones like the Samsung S5.
It is also quick and easy to give your phone a quick top up, just pick it up if you need to use it !
With the S6 having wireless charging built in , I would expect to see even more 3rd party charging pads around IKEA were rumoured to be going to offer them built into desks !

This type of charging system is a standard feature of most electric toothbrushes.

Arguably, it is should really be called “contact-less” charging or “induction” charging because there are still wires going to the pad but there are no cable and socket contacts to fail over time.

I see the Garmin Vivoactive Watch has a “magnetic cradle” for charging which is possibly marketing talk for induction charging. The advantages of having common mats on which you can charge several small items and from different manufacturers would seem a good idea.

Incidentally the Garmin only needs charging weekly rather than daily which brings up the subject of lifespan of tiny batteries and frequency of charging. Do mats lengthen or shorten the lifespan or are they neutral compared to cable charging.

Here is an alternative approach that would suit anyone who wants to be able to charge their phone while away from a power source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAM9-glUVIE

I like the idea. My Nexus 4 can be charged wirelessly. I’m tempted to buy a wireless charging bad and install it inside my bedside cabinet, so I’ll just have to put my phone on the desk at night to charge it.

The big problem I see is that I often use my phone at night while it’s charging. This may be a symptom of it’s poor battery life, but there are some things only a cord can do.

That is unless we can get charging fields so that things charge as soon as you’re in the vicinity of the charger…

There’s nothing new in this, I have an ancient (by smartphone standards) Nokia Lumia which came with pad charging built in. If you know where you are likely to be and have pre-positioned pads for instance on the bedside table, in the back of the dashboard clamp and on your desk they can be very useful. No fumbling with a cord and no phone going out of commission because the USB socket gets damaged by wrenching or a piece of pocket debris being jammed inside.

My main phone finds itself on trickle charge most of the time so there is neither need nor temptation to use it whilst physically ‘plugged in’.

For me it’s advantageous but for many it might not be. Having got the strategically placed pads I’ll certainly look for a phone with this facility next time around.

i purchased one from ebay for my samsung galaxy s3, worked fine but one had to ensure it was more central,and it was easy to knock off or dislodge, after a while i noticed it was not charging as well, so i replaced the battery and after a while the unit stopped charging completly, anyhow one get what one buys from china, i expect 90% of our tech eventualy comes from china but with a nice company label slapped on it, i had a look at the ikea types chargers i expect they will be fine if your phone is preset to charge, but if not the induction gadget you need to attach to your present phone looked bulky and out of place on the phone, my view its expensive, but if it make life easier for you go ahead, but there nothing wrong with a stand except that awkward part when you need the phone now!