[GTO]

Was just reading about the VW Taigun's interior unveil and well, here is yet another car following the latest trend = wireless phone charging. IMHO, wireless charging is seriously overhyped. I drive about 30 - 40 different cars every year and prefer to carry my smartphone cable along. Reasons:

• It’s faster! Like MUCH faster. Especially with the high powered USB ports seen in some new cars.

• Wireless charging makes the phone hot! Not the case with wired charging (at least not as much).

• Wired is cheaper.

• Wired charging = Wired Android Auto, which I have found to be quicker & more responsive than wireless Android Auto.

• Wireless charging isn’t compatible with all phones & hard cases.

• Try hard cornering with the phone lying flat. In some cars, my phone flew off and ended up in the driver / passenger footwell!

• I can use the phone even while its charging.

• Precautions such as not placing the smartkey or coins on the wireless charging pad.

Any other BHPians feel the same? Am sure the technology will evolve and I will become a convert someday, but as things stand today, give me wired charging any day!

[condor]

KISS is a very practical principle to follow in many cases. I would apply this to phone charging in cars too. GTO has covered the points very well, and only one I will add is that wireless charging in cars adds to the cost a little more - and also another point of component failure.

Wired USB charging is straight forward, and the charger is not part of the car's electronics. It goes bad, we just get another charger.

[Mr.Boss]

Except for the case of multiple (wireless charging compatible) phones with different charger port I don't find wireless charger to be a wow factor.

PS:
All my cars have 3 cable sets (Micro USB, C-type, lightening) and only one of the phone has wireless charging function.

[Rajeevraj]

Not much aware of wireless charging in cars, but I assume you can charge only one phone at a time. Would definitely prefer additional USB ports at different locations instead of the wireless charging gizmo.

Also, wireless charging as far as I know is still not very common in the high volume phone segments, so putting it in the car does not seem very useful too.

[VKumar]

A few things better be kept KISS (Keep It Short and Simple)

Advantages of wired charging are already listed by GTO, one more I would like to add:

• Ease of finding the phone after a hard corner, just get hold of the wire, and phone will be pulled towards you by itself. It really works when you are alone in the car and end up taking a corner too hard.
• Secondly, I use my earphone while driving instead of car's bluetooth, reason being the better voice clarity (for other party). And it is important for me to keep the phone at a place where I can look at the screen without much distraction, and even touch it if needed - wireless charging cubby is normally either under armrest, or a small slit ahead of the gear lever - both are uncomfy
• Thirdly, my phone doesn't support it! I am quite old school, have a fixed upper price limit decided for cars, and phones. I doubt if a phone with this feature will fell in that category even in next 5 years!

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

but I assume you can charge only one phone at a time. Would definitely prefer additional USB ports at different locations instead of the wireless charging gizmo.

That's actually an advantage with wireless charging. You can always charge the (N+1) number of phones. Where:

• N == Number of ports or charging points available, including ICE point which also connects you with Android Auto or Apple car Play
• 1 == The wireless charging tray

One Advantage of Wireless Charging:

• If your GFs' phone supports it and she is a social media buff. Won't it be good to have her phone getting charged - away from her hand! Be it GF or not, it frustrates me when I am driving and my passenger is simply lost inside his/her phone - there this one can be a huge advantage.

[padmrajravi]

True that. The current implementation of wireless chargers in cars is overhyped. The biggest advantage I see in the wired charger is that the phone can still be placed at an angle where you can have a look at the maps while charging.

The real usable feature would be if some car manufacturer designs a dashboard slot where the phone can be held at a comfortable angle without moving around and being wirelessly charged. In other words, something like the Xiaomi auto clamping wireless charger integrated into the dashboard.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by GTO

• It’s faster! Like MUCH faster. Especially with the high powered USB ports seen in some new cars.

• Wireless charging makes the phone hot! Not the case with wired charging (at least not as much).

The above two are the key points for me – not just in cars but even at home I hardly use the wireless charging.

In coming years, I feel the Apple MagSafe kind of technology will get more popular in cars – having the phone hooked to a strong magnetic dock on the dashboard. It will keep the phone planted, can use for navigation, and will get charged at the same time.

[extreme_torque]

My car has wireless charging and the biggest issue I have is the phone getting hot. It gets unusually hot if it there for a long time and I dont understand why because I use wireless charging all the time and it never gets hot while charging at home.

[viXit]

This would strictly be a "good to have" feature in my eyes.

I hate how my phone gets hot, but since it's slow , I use it for trickle charging.

In more intense environments like cars, robust and foolproof technologies like plugs and wires are far better. It is a futuristic feeling thing and only a marketing gimmick this wireless charging in cars, it has no added benefit except for one pad fits all, unlike plugs which require unique connectors for each phone.

But there is no escape, Apple is rumored to remove the charging port and switch to MagSafe completely, And soon, all the spineless manufacturers will make fun of it but will follow suit within a generation or two, forcing us to use the inefficient wireless charging option.

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

My car has wireless charging and the biggest issue I have is the phone getting hot. It gets unusually hot if it there for a long time and I dont understand why because I use wireless charging all the time and it never gets hot while charging at home.

Alignment issues, wastages and losses as heat are minimal when the charging pads are both perfectly aligned, easier to do that in a more controlled environment like a home, rather than a moving car

[Kln]

It baffles me that anyone would pay extra for wireless charging. It's absolutely useless as far as charging is concerned. For a 30-45 min commute, wired charging will juice up your phone to nearly 60-70%+ whereas wireless will give half of it, while making your phone too hot to handle. Come to think of it, the only good use of wireless charging is overnight trickle charging at home to preserve battery life. Slower charging speeds are good for battery life.

[greenh0rn]

I have a question regarding wireless charging.. If the phone is kept on the charging mat, can you still use Google maps via android auto Or Apple CarPlay? Does it not create issues in catching the GPS signal?

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by greenh0rn

If the phone is kept on the charging mat, can you still use Google maps via android auto Or Apple CarPlay?

No, it doesn't interfere.

[14000rpm]

I'm all about clutterfree interior and hate wire's weaving around the cabin and for that, I like wireless charging but then, the technology, where it is right now, doesn't make it a good case yet. highest in that list of improvements I'm waiting to see is shorter charging time. Untill then, it is a trend that is driving it.

[Turbanator]

I don't think it's over-hyped, rather it's the future. If you are having both an iPhone and android, carrying 2 wires all the time can be a pain. My office, home and cars, I love and use the pads.

Regarding cars, all depends on how the manufacturers have implemented. On one of my Toyota's, it sucks, charging is not only slow, but it's not sufficient and depending on the battery capacity of phone, it can take ages.

Whereas it's a breeze on the BMW. Not only the charging speeds are faster, we can keep the phone pretty much anyway, just dump in the space, serves well on these fast cars. Wireless car play on BMW also helps a clutter free experience.




And, wait, we are not even yet talking about electric vehicles, am sure, anybody who has used the charging pad on the Tesla can vouch for the speed at which your cell phone gets charged.

[manjubp]

Thanks GTO for the thread.
I was about to receive my order of wireless charger for my car, but now I am cancelling the same. Some of the points you mentioned an eye opener, specifically on phone being hot, which is something for safety reason I personally avoid inside car with Li-ion batteries. As said, I need just arrange by cabling, with right length.