Glad to see this list. Just got an iPhone 8 Plus for my wife and myself, and don't really see much of the benefit of wireless charging. I understand it is faster, but I usually only charge at night. Takes all of 5 seconds to plug my phone in and the charging pad still needs a power cable running to it.
I suppose getting a larger pad (which would then take up too much space on my nightstand) would be beneficial to charge more than one device. Apple's pad, when it comes out, may be interesting. Once iPads have this feature added, I would hope to see charging devices that can hold multiple devices vertically to save space.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad this option is included. Interested to see where it goes from here, but with only one device to charge using this, not sure it is worth the extra cost just to avoid plugging in my phone itself.
I thought the same, but ordered the Belkin when I pre-ordered the 8+, and have to say that, gimmick it appeared at first, it's really easy to just drop the iPhone on the pad, and done. Waking up to phone calls and messages no longer means trying to find the damned thing, and having the cord sweep things off the nightstand. So at least so far, it's been awesome. The same with the rather large Apple Watch charging dock, which I bought a few months after it came out.
Apple should have probably done wireless charging sooner, but for all their talk about 'think different', and 'rebel', they really like to play reactive rather than revolutionary, don't they... *shrug*
[doublepost=1514554747][/doublepost]
Point taken, but part of the difficulty is that "best" means something different to everyone. So it's really an overview laying out some impressions that will hopefully help everyone be more aware of the options out there and help them decided for themselves what will work best for their situation and usage patterns.
And up to this point, I never knew there were so many chargers on the market. I don't know if I would have chosen anything other than the Belkin, but it's nice to know of the other options now.
Given rumours that the Apple charger will be 'large', these will probably still sell rather well. At least until the wireless charging iPads come out...
The Powerstation is a good idea. I bought the Belkin portable power brick with the Apple Watch charger puck, and actually needed it on a road trip. I also had to jump my 8+, and had to use a cable, so having a powerbrick that could do BOTH wirelessly would be pretty cool for road warriors. Carry on...
[doublepost=1514555048][/doublepost]
Samsung has the best looking premium Wireless charging convertible hands down
To each their own.
I think they all look hideous, but they perform a function, and when in operation, are usually covered mostly, or completely, by the charging device. I was looking at the Samsung chargers for a 'travel charger pad', and find them to look too... 'Samsung'... I thought that I'd rather have a small disc, and after seeing these other offerings, think that I'll wait and see what else comes out this spring.
But one thing is for sure, there will not be one pad that rules them all, one pad that will control the market. Especially when they start going in the 'desk fashion accessory' direction.
