Buzz
When the Qi wireless charging standard was first introduced in 2008, Nokia was perhaps one of the first companies to implement this feature for phones, specifically with the Lumia 920 back in 2012. Subsequently, Samsung's Galaxy S3 also supported this standard, but required an additional accessory to function. Then in 2017, with the release of the iPhone 8, wireless charging was first supported on iPhones, sparking a resurgence in the era of wireless charging. Since then, over a considerable period of time, wireless charging has been a technology that many companies have invested in developing. However, despite this, is wireless charging widely adopted today?
Initially, wireless charging had a power output of only 5W, but now, after many years, the power output has increased significantly. New iPhone models support 15W wireless charging, Samsung offers 15W wireless charging, and notably, Huawei supports 50W wireless charging on the Mate 40 Pro, as well as Xiaomi's Mi 11 series and OnePlus 9 Pro with similar power outputs. Although it seems that the current wireless charging power has reached a level where it can be used comfortably, similar to wired charging in the past, my observation suggests that very few people actually use wireless charging, at least in my surroundings. After some contemplation, I have come up with some possible reasons for this.
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Most people around me do not use smartphones with super-fast wireless charging
This is just my perspective, perhaps a bit narrow, but the reality is that few people around me own phones that support super-fast wireless charging. The majority use iPhones, followed by Samsung. Some of my colleagues, due to the nature of their work related to reviewing smartphones, occasionally get to use phones that support super-fast wireless charging, but they don't use them long enough to warrant buying a wireless charger. And as is often the case, if the phone they are using doesn't support fast wireless charging, they'd rather just plug it in.Adding additional expense for a charging pad while the effectiveness may not be better
Almost all manufacturers do not include wireless chargers, only a regular charging adapter (nowadays many even exclude that). If there is a wireless charger, it's usually a gift for early customers, which is quite limited. Typically, if you want to use wireless charging, you have to spend extra money to invest in a charging pad. Like any other purchase, before buying, you have to weigh the options to find the most suitable, optimal choice for your device, both in terms of power and price. These difficulties will make many people lose interest, unless they are truly passionate and excited about new technology.Ultimately, the most important thing about 'wireless charging' is still the prefix 'charging', and if it meets the charging needs but at a higher price compared to regular wired chargers, then surely the number of people choosing wireless chargers is not many.Wireless charging brings both convenience and inconvenience compared to wired charging
The convenience of wireless charging undoubtedly lies in the slightly simpler charging process. Just place the phone on the charging pad, see the charging notification, and you're done, without the need to find a charging cable. Convenient in this aspect, but the inconvenience of wireless charging is that we cannot use the phone comfortably while charging, even though this need exists and I think many people have it.The iPhone 12 supports wireless charging through MagSafe, allowing you to play games while charging. However, the low charging power often leads to the phone losing charge or barely maintaining it while performing heavy tasks.
