The best wireless chargers you can buy

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the best wireless chargers

  • Almost every new high-end smartphone supports wireless charging now, so if yours does, it’s time to cut the cord.
  • The Belkin Boost UP 7.5 Watt wireless charging pad is the best wireless charger you can buy for your new phone.  

One of the biggest annoyances of daily life is charging your phone. You always have to have your charging cable and outlet adapter with you in case you need to juice up on the go, and finding an available outlet in public is a huge pain. Heck, it’s annoying enough to struggle with all those wires at home where outlets are plentiful (hopefully). Wireless charging aims to solve your charging woes by eliminating all those cables.

Many Android phones have had wireless charging for years, but the technology still isn’t as widespread as it should be. Tech geeks everywhere have been waiting for the moment when wireless charging becomes the norm, and that day is fast approaching now that Qi wireless charging has come to the iPhones.

Apple is generally regarded as a leader in the smartphone industry. When Apple adopts a new technology, many other companies follow suit. You’re all but guaranteed to see wireless charging become more popular. Wireless charging stations could start popping up at cafes, hotels, airports, and other public venues. 

With that in mind, we’ve rounded up the very best wireless chargers you can buy that will juice up any smartphone that supports the Qi standard. This includes the new iPhones and many Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 9. You can also jump to our explainer on how wireless charging works and what devices support it here.

Here are the best wireless chargers for 2019:

  • Best overall: Belkin Boost UP 7.5 Watt wireless charging pad 
  • Best for thick cases: Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad and PowerWave 7.5 Stand
  • Best for travel: Fuse Chicken Universal All-in-One World Travel Charger
  • Best for quick charging: RAVPower Fast wireless charger
  • Best for iPhone: Mophie wireless charging base
  • Best travel charger: Mophie Charge Stream Kit
  • Best affordable charger: TechMatte Wireless Charging Stand
  • Best luxurious charger: Samsung Fast Charge Wireless Convertible Stand
  • Best charging lamp: TaoTronics LED Desk Lamp
  • Best charging table: Fonesalesman FurniQi wireless charging table
  • Best quick charge stand: Samsung Fast Charge Wireless Charging Stand

Updated on 03/22/2019 by Malarie Gokey: Updated links, formatting, and prices. Removed older picks and out of stock options. Added a travel pick.

Read on in the slides below to learn more about all of our favorite wireless chargers.

SEE ALSO: The best iPhone for every type of person and budget

The best wireless charger overall

Why you’ll love it: The Belkin Boost Up Qi Wireless Charging Pad juices up the new iPhones or any compatible Android phone effortlessly.

Belkin makes great accessories for many tech products, and its wireless charging pads are no exception. The 15-Watt BoostUp Qi Wireless Charging Pad is optimized for Android phones that support fast wireless charging like the Samsung Galaxy S7, S8, S9, S10, and Note 9; while the new 7.5-Watt pad is optimized for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.

Both pads work with the new iPhones and Android phones because they both support the Qi charging standard, so you can buy either one and be happy. 

We tested the Belkin BoostUp charger with several iPhones and Android phones, and it worked perfectly. It looks great, has excellent traction so your phone won’t slide off while charging, and it juices up any phone quickly.

Wireless charging is traditionally slower than wired charging, but the BoostUp pad with 15 Watts of power should charge your devices faster — so long as they support fast wireless charging. Most new Samsung phones do, which is great. The iPhone optimized pad has 7.5 Watts of power, so it will still be faster than older 5 Watt chargers. 

The BoostUp charging pad is a simple circular disc that measures less than 5 inches across. It has a rubber ring in the middle to ensure that your shiny new phone doesn’t go sliding straight off the pad and onto your hard floor to shatter in tiny pieces (along with your heart).

You simply plug the pad into the wall and pop your phone on it to charge. That’s it! No wires and no fumbling to plug the charger into your phone.

Pros: Simple design, good grip, optimized for iPhone or Android, works with most slim cases, charges at 7.5 Watts (iPhone) or up to 15 Watts (Android)

Cons: Expensive

Buy the Belkin Boost Up Wireless Charging Pad on Amazon for $49.88 (optimized for iPhone) 

Buy the Belkin Boost Up 15-Watt Qi Compatible Wireless Charging Pad & Charger on Amazon for $39.95 (optimized for Android phones)

The best wireless charger that works with thicker cases

Why you’ll love them: The Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad and the PowerWave 7.5 Stand can charge your iPhone 8, X, XS, XS Max, XR, or compatible Android phone even in a thick case.

Anker is known for its excellent, affordable tech accessories. The company makes our favorite lightning and Micro USB cables, excellent battery packs, and really great wireless chargers. Our favorite is the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Watt Charging Pad, which can charge any Qi compatible device with up to 7.5 Watts of power.

For about $30, you get the charging pad, a Quick Charge 3.0 AC adapter, and Anker’s great PowerLine Micro USB Cable to power the pad. The Anker pad is very simple with its white design and 4.33 by 4.33-inch charging space. 

You can also get it as a stand if you prefer that style versus a flat pad. It also comes with the wall adapter and cable, but it does cost more at $49.99. I use the stand at my desk in the office every day to top off my phone before I head home.

Anker says that the charging pad and the stand have several safety features, including “over-charge protection, foreign object detection, and radiation shielding.” The company also claims that its new technology allows you to charge your phone even when you have a thick case on.

In our testing, both the pad and the stand charged an iPhone XS wearing a case and a PopSocket with no problem, which is incredibly impressive. We haven’t been able to charge through the case and PopSocket with any other charger we’ve tested.

Buyer reviews for both products are very positive on Amazon. The stand has a 4.5-star average, as does the pad.

Pros: Affordable, small, charges fast with right adapter, works with all Qi compatible devices

Cons: Outlet adapter not included, may not charge when case is on

Buy the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Pad on Amazon for $45.99 (originally $79.99) 

Buy the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Stand on Amazon for $49.99

The best wireless charger for travel

Why you’ll love it: The Fuse Chicken Universal All-in-One World Travel Charger is a combination of a battery pack, wireless charger, and travel adapter, so it’s perfect for jetsetters.

The Fuse Chicken Universal All-in-One World Travel Charger makes it easy to charge your phone in a variety of ways while you travel. It’s a combination of a battery pack with a wireless charger and a travel adapter.

If you set your phone down on the charger, it acts like a quick-charging, 10 watt wireless charger, but if you’re on the move, you can also use it as a battery pack, thanks to the 6,700mAh battery inside the charger.

It’s a smaller battery, though, so it only fully recharged my iPhone XS once before it needed to be juiced up again. Luckily, you can see how much battery life is left in the internal battery by pressing the power button. The percentage left will display in a tiny LED screen.

When it comes time to plug in the charger and rejuice the internal battery, you can plug it right into a regular wall outlet. If you’re not in the US, and you happen to be traveling to the EU, UK, or Australia, Fuse Chicken has you covered with travel adapters for all those countries. A small bag comes with the charger so you have a place to safely store those adapters.

It also has a 2.4A USB Type-C port and a USB-A port, so you can plug your phone’s charging cable and juice up your device that way if you prefer. You can use both ports at the same time to charge multiple devices at once, too. Sadly, it can’t charge a USB-C laptop like the MacBook, but you can charge any phone, tablet, ereader, or accessories like headphones with it.

The main downside to this travel-friendly, all-in-one wireless charger is that it is very expensive. However, if you travel to those countries a lot, it’s worth it.

Pros: Great for travel, all-in-one charger, compact design

Cons: Expensive, adpater selection is limited

Buy the Fuse Chicken Universal All-in-One World Travel Charger on Amazon for $84.95

See the rest of the story at Business Insider



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