So this wireless charging "thing"...

[anon(10092459)]

How is it puzzling? It couldn't be simpler. It's a feature that you don't care about. I don't care about it either for what that's worth.

But for some, it's a feature that will really make a difference in how they use their device. So why don't you "get that" like the headphone jack, design or Samsung Pay?

Sure, I'll try to add some more clarity. When I read "no wireless charging" as a detractor, I think loss of benefit. So my OP was around trying to figure what that loss of benefit could be since whether wired or wireless the phone itself ends up in the same condition, charged. So since both methods do that, I read that as a zero sum item.

Unless a person has multiple tech items that can be charged wirelessly, I don't see a pickup in wire/cord reduction as it would still be one cord coming from the wall to power one device. So if the phone is the only device that can be charged wirelessly again that, to me that's a zero sum item. Plus the phone is stationary in both situations.

I guess another way to look at it is understanding what's the advantage to having that feature vs. wired. Now having read some of these posts, I can see the main advantage for some users is convenience for them.

 

[Itsa_Me_Mario]

I really enjoyed wireless charging when I had it on my Nexus phones. I know that wireless charging and a metal body is possible, but so far OEM's aren't doing that. For the Pixel, if the choice is metal body and no wireless charging or glass body with wireless charging, I'd give up wireless charging every day of the week. Of course then there is HTC... glass body without wireless charging. Also IMO USB heavily mitigates the frustrations of having to "fumble with the plug". It's reversible, even my cat can get that thing in there.

 

[paradroid]

I had a phone with wireless charging when it first came out. I swore it would be a deal breaker for my next purchase but it hasn't been.
Honestly, as far as I'm concerned it's not really wireless charging as in power transmitted wirelessly over a distance. That's coming soon from what I hear.

I own a stock called WATT. They are developing a wireless charging method. In december they got FCC approval for their Tech. Stock shot up from about $9 to $30 a share. It has settled in around $20 for now.

One day, phones will have a chip that converts radio waves from a device from a company like WATT into power for the battery. It will be trickle charging but around the house and at conferences it would be pretty great. I was at CES 2016 and there was a talk about the coming of real wireless charging, as in no wires.

I remember thinking wouldn't it be great to use my laptop downstairs and connect to the internet when downstairs. I though to running Ethernet lines to various points in my house. Now WiFi is everywhere. Wireless charging will be the same 5 years from now.

 

[sixty_four]

Sure, I'll try to add some more clarity. When I read "no wireless charging" as a detractor, I think loss of benefit.

That was your mistake. You should have also considered "benefits gained" and excluded the ends of the process (charged phone) from the means (wired vs wireless) if you're trying to evaluate a zero sum situation.

 

[Mike Dee]

That was your mistake. You should have also considered "benefits gained" and excluded the ends of the process (charged phone) from the means (wired vs wireless) if you're trying to evaluate a zero sum situation.

Woah!

 

[Ca_lvn]

Re: So this wireless charging "thing"...

As convenient as wireless charging is I do not like glass back phones

Try Dash charging its incredibly quick

 

[Ry]

You'd have to use speaker phone mode.

The Tylt wireless charger holds the phone at about a 45 degree angle, it's not horizontally flat. When I used my phone while wireless charging it was to read news apps, read Tapatalk, catch up on my Twitter feed. With my tablet it was used to read e-books on the Kindle app.

I never liked tilting wireless chargers just because the coils may not line up correctly.

 

[Almeuit]

Re: So this wireless charging "thing"...

As convenient as wireless charging is I do not like glass back phones

Try Dash charging its incredibly quick

That would require me using a OnePlus product .. No go for me .

 

[Mike Dee]

I never liked tilting wireless chargers just because the coils may not line up correctly.

The Tylt was always spot on

 

[anon(10092459)]

That was your mistake. You should have also considered "benefits gained" and excluded the ends of the process (charged phone) from the means (wired vs wireless) if you're trying to evaluate a zero sum situation.

Well, I'm not I'm really looking for approval. I'm sure we both evaluate phones they way we both like as individuals and, for me, end result matters. Again, the question posed is why is that benefit a thing. Posters have given some great feedback, which I appreciate.

 

[mcostajr]

Although not a deal breaker per se, I have a wireless charger at my office and when I had a note 8 I would just put it in the charging cradle when I sat at my desk then pick it up when I had to leave my office. My phone always had about 70%. If I went out after work I didn't have to worry about a low battery. In many cases I didn't worry about charging it until the next day when I got to the office. I didn't have to bother plugging and unplugging the charger. Plus, the charging cable is really short and keeps my phone at an inconvenient distance.

 

[Ry]

The Tylt was always spot on

Depended on the phone though.

 

[Mike Dee]

Depended on the phone though.

I'm sure some might have issues. The Droid Maxx and the iPhone X work well on it

 

[PowrDroid]

I never liked tilting wireless chargers just because the coils may not line up correctly.

Tylt charger plays a chime sound and a green light comes on indicating the device is charging.

 

[Forest Dane]

I don't miss it at all. Charge phone at night and it lasts the day.

 

[real0395]

I'm a former W10M user and used wireless charging on my lumina phones and it was such a convenient feature I didn't know I loved until I had it. It's one of those things that sounds meh on paper but actually really useful when you have it, which is why for some people once you have it then it's hard to imagine not having it anymore.

Like some people have already said, the convenience of just setting your phone down without worrying about plugging it in to charge is nice. I can set it down to charge and then pick it up occasionally to check a text or something. The downside was the charging speed (though I hear that's gradually improving) and the fact if your phone is about to die you couldn't just pick it up from the charger otherwise your phone would turn off.

I currently have the Pixel with no wireless charging, but currently to me the fast charging capabilities are more convenient than wireless charging. Once wireless charging speeds increase significantly and/or the distance you can have between the power source and phone increase then I think that'll make it better than the current USB C fast charging.

 

[mundo472]

USB ports take a beating. one good fall with the plug in and you're fiddling to get a connection until you get a new phone.

 

[Mike Dee]

USB ports take a beating. one good fall with the plug in and you're fiddling to get a connection until you get a new phone.

Mini USB yes, micro USB less so than mini.
USB C ports are a lot more durable and I haven't heard of any failing. I'm not saying they don't but I don't think it's wide spread. I have two older phones with USB C and they function perfectly.

 

[chriskwarren]

Two reasons for me:
1. I have wireless car charging mounts in my car. I just pop the phone on the mount, no loose wires cluttering up the car

2. Places like McDs, chains, and car manufs are integrating wireless charging pads into furniture, car dashes, etc. Can charge your phone without having to look for ports, etc.

Bonus: if something happens to your charging port (or it wears out prematurely, because of plugging cables into it all the time, etc) you have a backup method to get some juice in your phone before you send it in for RMA, etc.

 

[dbareis]

At least having reversible USB ports has removed the need to try 3 times to plug in a cable, without glasses I couldn't even do so by sight.

Being able to just put your phone down without plugging anything in and pick it up without worrying about having to unplug it or tangling it is great. It is hard to see how this is not on everyone's must have list of features.

Every time you plug a USB cable in it puts stress on the connectors, this may break your device, and before anyone says how many insertions they are rated at, do you really want to see if your expensive device lives up to that expectation? I've had the USB port fail on a tomtom GPS as well as having connectivity problems on 2 previous phones.