Plugging your phone into a cable to charge is old school. These days most flagship phones pack in wireless charging, allowing you to drop your phone on a charging pad when you’re working or sleeping. Pick it back up when you’re done, and boom, you’ve got a charged phone.
Best wireless chargers
There are tons of options to pick from if you’re looking for the best wireless charger, which you probably expected. If you’ve ever tried to buy a replacement charger, you know that there are literally thousands of options on the internet. We’ve sorted through what’s out there to help make that process a little bit easier for you.
Budget charger: Anker PowerWave Pad
You don’t have to spent a ton of wireless chargers these days. Prices have come way down, and there are solid, cheap options like the Anker PowerWave Pad.
Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s not a great charger, though. Anker’s pad can recharge your compatible phones at up to 10W speeds, which covers most smartphones across the spectrum these days. It’s not going to juice things up at 50W speeds, of course, but it’s a fraction of the cost of a proprietary OnePlus Warp Charger, too.
Just keep in mind Anker doesn’t include a wall block with this charger. You get the cable, but you’ll want to use your existing AC charger to actually supply power to the accessory.
Anker PowerWave Pad | $10 | Amazon
Sleek design: Eggtronic Wireless Charging Stone
Nope, that’s not a coaster. One thing that lots of cell phone accessories and chargers tend to miss is the ability to blend in and look like something other than a straightforward gadget. For many people, that’s probably fine, but Eggtronic has crafted their wireless charging stone to look like something that’ll fit in on your coffee table.
It’s mined from solid rock and natural stone, so you’re getting something genuine, not a cheap knockoff material. It’s also environmentally friendly, which helps make the buying decision a little easier.
You can pick up the charging stone in multiple finishes, and it includes a built-in braided cable that matches your color choice. The nice design doesn’t compromise specs, either, with it delivering 10W of charging speed for your phones, headphones, or smartwatches.
Eggtronic Wireless Charging Stone | $50 | Amazon
Double up: Aukey Charging Stand
One outlet, two devices. That’s long been a problem when you need to recharge more than one thing, but there’s not always an easy solution.
Fortunately for all of us, multi wireless chargers are becoming a little more standardized, and Aukey’s got a slick option for you. Their wireless charging stand will charge your smartphone like normal (up to 10W) but behind the slanted back, you’ll find a second charging pad for your smartwatch or headphones.
That’s very convenient for a desk or bedside setup where you might need to juice up a couple gadgets overnight or while you’re working, and this saves a ton of space in the process. At $29 it’s pretty aggressively priced, too, although it’s another charger that doesn’t include the AC adapter in the box, so keep that in mind.
Aukey Wireless Charging Stand | $29 | Amazon
On the go: Yootech Wireless Car Charger
There’s no reason why you have to go back to old fashioned wired charging just because you’re in a car, especially with all these options. And don’t worry, we’re not suggesting that you tape down a regular wireless charger on your dash, either.
Grab something like Yootech’s wireless car charger, a simple little gadget that clips right into your air vent, plugs into your car outlet, and holds your phone while you’re on the go. Not only does this make things like music controls and GPS navigation much better, but you don’t have to worry about draining your battery while you’re on a road trip.
Plus this thing manages to support up to 15W of charging speeds for a few compatible phones, and although it doesn’t come with its own adapter, it’s only $20. It’s an easy decision if your phone can do wireless charging and you travel often.
Yootech Wireless Car Charger | $22 | Amazon
Portable power: Aukey Portable Wireless Charger
Let’s say you’re trying to be really portable, and even a car charger just won’t cut it. You’ve still got options.
Aukey has taken a pretty sizable 20000mAh battery and tweaked it to make sure it’ll work in any situation you put it in. You’re still getting Quick Charge 3.0 speeds if you plug in your phone to the USB-C or USB-A ports, but this doubles up as a wireless charger, too.
Turn it on, drop your phone on top, and it let it do its thing. If you want to use this even more creatively, though, Aukey has built in a kickstand on the back and a small lip that folds out to hold your phone, so you can prop this up and watch movies while your phone charges. Seriously, for functionality, you can’t beat this thing.
Aukey Wireless Portable Charger | $45 | Amazon
RGB Charger: RapidX Prismo Wireless Charger
Alright, maybe adding RGB to a wireless charger is a little overkill, but you can’t tell me it won’t fit in perfectly with all of the PC rigs that people are building these days.
You’re getting a speedy 10W charger out of the RapidX Prismo, but it features 9 RGB modes that light up the bottomside of the charger, letting you pick solid colors or waving, pulsating, or fading effects.
Silly? Yeah, definitely. But if you’re a PC gamer (or just anyone that’s really into the RGB craze right now) toss one of these on your desk and impress your friends at a party.
RapidX Prismo | $30 | Amazon
