Hacker News Reader

Comment by Baeocystin | Hacker News Reader

I use Qi chargers as well, and they do work, but man... They would be so much better if they had even a few more millimeters of leeway in their positioning. As it is, each Qi device I have needs to be just so or it won't work. The fast wireless charger I got for my S8 is better than most, but still picky. I genuinely do think this needing to pay close attention to positioning is their biggest limitation to wider adoption.

(that, and android's insistence on turning on the screen to announce full charge, turning off, then turning back on again...)

View on HN

I purchased one recently, and ended up sending it back the second time I woke up and found the phone to have <10% charge. I found because my phone is right next to my bed, the slightest nudge of the table it was on was often enough to misalign the phone (and it would usually start an endless cycle of charger recognised -> screen turns on because the phone thinks it's charging -> charging doesn't work -> connection broken, draining the battery in the process).

Definitely convenient, but also really finicky.

Apple's forthcoming qi charger mat is supposed to be less finicky than most, though it'll be quite expensive. Being super-fussy about positioning doesn't seem to be intrinsic to the technology, though.

> They would be so much better if they had even a few more millimeters of leeway in their positioning.

Well if resonant based charging can ultimately win the standards battle versus Qi (standard magnetic induction), then you could have some spatial freedom to move around and still get efficient charge. Qi has had first mover advantage in consumer electronics, while resonant charging seems to be taking hold in the wireless vehicle charging sector.

Disclaimer: I previously worked at WiTricity on their internal computational electromagnetic modeling tools.

> They would be so much better if they had even a few more millimeters of leeway in their positioning.

Agreed.

Alternatively, maybe phone manufacturers can just stick a freaking magnet onto the phone and charger so that we can more easily feel where the proper positioning is. It doesn't need to be a strong magnet, it just needs to be enough so that I know where to center my phone without looking at the setup.

I use Belkin's charging mat for iPhone X, and it's not picky about the location. Just putting it approximately centered is enough to start charging.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com