How Wireless Charging Works and Why It's Terrible

[@YEdwardP]

What I find most frustrating is that if you're going to go as far as using magnets to ensure "perfect" alignment for the coils, you might as well use them to align metal contacts. Same convenience as "wireless" charging, but with the efficiency of wired charging.

[@MaxPower-11]

Most folks have cases on their devices and as such metal contacts probably won’t work particularly well.

[@iyad8644]

That wouldn't work well due to cases and camera bumps. Do keep in mind that many wireless chargers are integrated into flat surfaces like you'd find in cars, they don't all just flop around with a wire.

[@Alexzw92]

Not a bad thought. Could work with a special case

[@huncorn6938]

@@iyad8644 no problem. apple could make special magsafeish cases and sell for 100$

[@supercellex4D]

invented the iPad smart connector award

[@Poorgeniu5]

*UPDATE:* It seems that if you use wireless Android Auto or Apple Carplay, your phone will get hot and wireless charging just exasperates the thermals further. My dad always complains about his phone getting hot when wireless charging in his car and no matter how centered I align his phone, it'll always gets hot and his phone will stop charging to control the thermals. But this video and illustration of Tesla solution of slapping so many coils might be the problem but my dad resorted to wired charging in his car anyway.

[@RootBert397]

Does your dad drive a VW by any chance?

[@Poorgeniu5]

@@RootBert397 Nah, he drives a 23' Acura

[@bjorncallewaert5841]

I have the same issue with my 13 pro in my 2024 Polestar 2

[@RootBert397]

@@bjorncallewaert5841 i tried so many cars, even expensive ones (i use a lot of car sharing so i drive a lot of different cars over a week) the only car charger that doesnt cook my 12 pro is the cheap 10€ one off ebay i put in my 30 year old shitbox miata. Hilarious.

[@vasiovasio]

Jokes aside - Next time when you complain about this, just tell him the truth that Every One of us Without Exception will Die! Thats it. And see his reaction! 😉

[@MichaelLargent]

I didn't realize the power loss or temps were so high. I'm going back to the ol' wire. Much appreciate the video.

[@monad_tcp]

I'm surprised its between 50% and 100%, I excepted wireless charging to be 300% extra energy wasted

[@faranocks]

@@monad_tcp In ideal scenarios transferring energy through magnets is close to 100%. Many/most transformers use some variation of this, and reach efficiencies exceeding 95%, and many over 99%. This includes the power from the grid to 120/240/110v or from 120v to 12v in your desktop computer. The issue is that the formulas are extremely well known, documented, and explored. Power is directly proportional to the distance squared. You can't really get closer than what we are doing now. If the coils were essentially touching we would see even higher efficiencies, but that's unreasonable for a multitude of reasons.

[@arcmchair_roboticist]

Another important note is how much of our power really is lost this way? Charging a phone, even at 25% efficiency takes 50 wh. Assuming you charge your phone about 1 time per day, this amounts to a very small overall amount of energy still. This energy is comparable to using a kettle, running a dishwasher for 2 minutes, or watching 30 minutes of TV. Personally I'm not convinced that the difference in energy from wireless to wired charging is really worth the inconvenience given that the difference in energy is pretty insignificant compared to so many other daily human activities.

[@MichaelLargent]

@@arcmchair_roboticist if you look at it yearly it becomes more obvious how much power it is. Suddenly you're looking at enough power to run a kettle for over 7 hours. Multiply that by millions of users and suddenly we're looking at enough power waste to run cities and a major carbon impact too.

[@arcmchair_roboticist]

@@MichaelLargent yeah and the electricity consumption of producing a single hamburger is in the tens of kwh, will this change the consumption habits of people? Saving a couple of kwh a year per person is not worth much.

[@NotCaptainToad]

Glad to see this video. I worked in a phone store, where I would continuously correct everyone I worked with including my manager, that no, wireless chargers were not in fact better for your battery longevity and to stop telling that to the customers that weren't knowledgeable enough to know otherwise, so they had to trust our experience and advice. I quickly realized that they either didn't choose to believe me or do any research themselves before making recommendations, or didn't care because selling an additional $40-$70 charger as essential for phone health was part of their commissions. I remember them saying they "trickle charge" like it was some feature of the wireless chargers when it's just something most modern phones do. Mind you I still sold a decent amount of them being completely honest with people, as there are still use cases even without a claim of better battery longevity. Convenience, an alternative if your port fails, to name a few. This is one of the many reasons I chose to move into the electronic repair business instead, a lot more honesty there compared to retail phone sales.

[@larrylarrington9229]

It really irritates me when people blindly trust employees at a phone store

[@SonicXRage]

It's frustrating to me when I see anyone put their full trust in an "expert." It's so easy to be deceived either intentionally or by the negligence of said "expert." That's why I try to do my own research before buying anything.

[@alleeadl289]

people like you make the world a better place for everyone, thanks.

[@mattpolton3802]

@@larrylarrington9229 i agree i think it becaue they the type that trust local people over some one line

[@nemotamang58]

It really infuriates me when the seller tries to sell items beyond their expertise with half-assed sales pitch. Went to buy laptop, seller doesn't know what type of CPU it has. He just says intel i5 or i7 or Ryzen 5. [CPU have H,P,U,G,E etc lineups that indicates how intense it can perform & how power effecient it is. As well as the generation of the cpu.]

[@jarboer]

This is exactly why Apple never released AirPower, even Apple realized so many coils in a wireless charger is too much heat to manage properly. Honestly it’s good they pivoted to MagSafe and the Qi 2 standard adopted the same tech.

[@antman7673]

I don’t know if it is necessary heat from too many coils: -The biggest problem is many coils and even if intelligently managed, there is still a. high chance of bad alignment. That bad alignment is then creating more heat during charging, then it otherwise would.

[@asifabdullahzamee7476]

Bullshit. I'm pretty sure they knew that before showcasing it on stage

[@sippingthe]

@@asifabdullahzamee7476Yeah they most likely assumed that another billion in r&d would fix it but it obviously didn’t, so it was cancelled.

[@asifabdullahzamee7476]

@@sippingthe right. also we are sending rockets in to deep interstellar space, to Mars so wireless charging tech is actually piece of cake and it should be. But apple actually underestimated the tech. Or else airpower actually could have been a great product in my opinion.

[@achmadputra2]

@@asifabdullahzamee7476 the problem with airpower isn’t just the heat, but also the fact that it had different 2 coils stack top of each other. the ordinary Qi coil and the apple watch magnetic coil.

[@ashfakuddinahmed1807]

Living in a subtropical country, 30°C temperature feels almost like late fall or early spring. It's usually 40-42°C during summer and 35-38°C most of the year. So our phone batteries are constantly getting degraded even without charging.

[@hyakinthos_0902]

its the rapid charge and discharge that will definitely wear the battery faster as long as battery temp is within 45C you dont need to worry i have my iphone for 4 years with 83%capacity left and the climate is usually as tropical as yours is

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

I'm told in extreme cold conditions the battery will also have a lot less charge capacity. There's always a temperature rating with batteries, and at either extreme of the operating range they are much less efficient.

[@mynameissang]

​@@MMuraseofSandvichdownright nonfunctioning, in my experience. I used to work in a warehouse where we couldn't take our phones, so I would leave it in my car turned off. In the winter when temps got below freezing, when I got off work, I couldn't turn it back on until I warmed it up with the car heater.

[@monad_tcp]

unless you keep you A/C running forever to drop to 25c. >30c is unbearable

[@LorneChrones]

Lithium batteries have a narrower charging temperature range than operating (non-charging/discharging) range. For instance, a typical LiPo may only be recommended to charge between 5-45C (closer to room temp is still better because less heat related wear). Whereas typical LiPos are recommended to be discharged between -20C and +60C. So there's still some heat related wear on batteries discharging in a hotter climate but its not as bad as charging in a hotter climate.

[@EJP286CRSKW]

1:56 Correction please. The efficiency problem is not in generating the electrical field. The underlying principle here is the transformer, and transformers can be extremely efficient. The problem is the poor magnetic coupling between the primary winding in the charger and the secondary winding in the phone. This could be _improved_ by ensuring correct mechanical alignment, and _not_ as per the Tesla solution of more coils. You could even let the magnetism do the alignment for you. Still won't be as good as a wire though.

[@cywestbrook7448]

Most phones have a feature to disable fast wireless charging which significantly decreases heat and also slows down battery charging overnight to about 3 hours which can actually help reduce wear

[@viktorakhmedov3442]

or you can just... plug it in These aren't the directional MicroUSB days anymore

[@jakefromstatefarm1405]

That's what I do. I have my phone scheduled to disable fast charging everyday from 11pm - 6am. Working well so far

[@Frankfurtdabezzzt]

My pixel also does that when charging wired

[@mr.smitty1804]

Charging batteries for long starches of time degrades health faster... charge in steps.. or "fractions" 30% add another 30% take a break.. rinse repeat

[@PieterPatrick]

Yep, it's disabled and will only charge to 80%.

[@coder543]

At 2:43, the wired connection is represented by a dashed line, the wireless connection is represented by a solid line... an interesting subversion of expectations.

[@DaMu24]

Not sure what you mean

[@coder543]

@@DaMu24 wired charging should be the solid lines, like a charging cable is a solid line, and wireless charging should be the broken lines. Reading the chart with them reversed made it more confusing to my tired brain at the time.

[@c4ldas]

@@coder543 I felt the same, and I needed to pause the video to invert the idea in my mind! :D

[@simplig1272]

​@@DaMu24 an universally accepted and logical thing, not only in technical drawings, but on maps, and in general illustration is that solid lines represent solid, visible objects or features. A dashed line represent invisible, imaginary or theoretical objects or features.

[@ColinTedford]

This bothered me so much! 😅

[@cookiesaregreat]

Appreciate you for sharing your conclusions at the *start* of the video, and making the video only as long as it needed to be to illustrate your conclusions (unlike most youtubers who intentionally breadcrumb the conclusions to force you to watch through their drawn out videos). Liked and subscribed!

[@TReKiE]

I like to use USB-C magnetic adapters as an alternative. You get the benefits of not having to be accurate with plugging in (plus you don't wear out the USB port), but retain the benefits of wired charging. Such functionality should really be added to the USB spec.

[@kalafalas246]

MagSafe 3 on iPhones and iPads please! Such a better solution than the pad junk

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

Magnetic USB adapters are generally not recommended because they're not guaranteed to connect ground first, unlike every USB connector. And since they're not part of the spec, there's no way to verify that they're complying with USB-IF. Also, if there's a data connection in the adapter (required for PD), you could get some weird or damaging behavior if the connector is popped loose and reconnected. However, if it works for you for over a year, it's probably fine, most phones have pretty good protection circuitry. Maybe they'll come up with a type D (or M for magnetic?) connector that uses pogo pins and magnets? They'll cost more than type C, unfortunately...

[@rolf-smit]

​@@kalafalas246problem with MagSafe is that (again) it is proprietary. My MacBook came with one but I always take a USB-C cable with me instead, because I can use that cable for all my devices: Laptop, earbuds, phone, camera, power bank etc.

[@gfyGoogle]

@@rolf-smitthe MagSafe demonstrated in this video helped drive the Qi2 spec. So now Androids and all other Qi devices can have MagSafe alignment too!

[@NithinJune]

pogo pins just aren’t rated for that kind of current

[@davidsanders890]

I have to say that I always thought that wireless charging was pretty worthless until I damaged my charging port out of warranty. I keep my phone for at least 3 years before upgrading and wireless charging has saved me from an early upgrade. With that being said I would still give it up in a heartbeat for a rear mounted fingerprint scanner.

[@Boz1211111]

Why is that such a problem, i replaced charging port myself on my phone. Its not diy for anyone but any phone service should be able to do it

[@winnieid2727]

same here.

[@SirKrumpleOWrapper]

​@@Boz1211111Yes I know but it's not cheap and for an old phone it probably isn't worth it

[@hongkyang7107]

​@@SirKrumpleOWrapperbruh, which service did you tap in? I replace my charging port for 20 dollar or less. At least way better with degraded battery, which I did that too and it is 200+. Aside what is with the notion of old phone repair isn't worth it? 5 years old or less phones is totally serviceable, while new phone cost upto 2k (5k if you count them shinny folded), nvm the environment, save your own wallet.

[@soacespacestation8556]

@@hongkyang7107 USD? Not really.

[@RainbowGin]

I work in a phone store and always recommend wires over wireless charging. It's so much better

[@1ssac1]

hidden cost of cable is the repair of broken charging port. How many users will buy a new phone i/o paying hefty repair ?

[@CommodoreFan64]

@@1ssac1 maybe I'm more careful with my stuff, but I've only had to replace a phone do to a bad charge port once, and that was Motorola Moto G3 that used crappy Micro B USB, and it really was not the port itself but a faulty charge controller chip that caused the port to get hot enough to start smoking.

[@SnowyRVulpix]

Its more efficient but its not better. Imo the convenience makes wireless so much better

[@ImMattFromAus]

Yeah but I bet your boss wants you to sell more wireless chargers.

[@AMabud-lv7hy]

​@@1ssac1Oh right, US peeps spend an arm and a leg for something as rudimentary as a port repair

[@judgemint5374]

Finally someone competent pointing out this waste. Thank you!!

[@coldbrew6104]

No

[@AC-wl7ve]

i love it in my car, but always use a wire at home

[@humanser]

They called it wireless but i can still see the wires

[@anianii]

With that argument, WiFi isn't wireless either because there is an Ethernet cable going to the Access Point

[@inconsistencyon]

except that with wifi, you could go anywhere in your house...?

[@anianii]

@@inconsistencyon Sure, but the further you go, the more energy is wasted. You can also go sort of far with QI charging, it's just not enough energy to charge a phone anymore. WiFi needs a lot less energy to arrive than QI

[@ikjadoon]

@@anianii Wi-Fi is _practically_ wireless, though, as you can move 10+ meters and still get a reliable connection. "Wireless" charging is pure marketing; it should've been marketed as "tap charging" or "near field charging", e.g., you have a few millimeters before the connection is dead. See NFC / tap to pay /etc.

[@anianii]

@@ikjadoon The connection is not "dead" after a few millimeters. It just turns itself off because it gets too inefficient to make sense. Which, by the way, is also what cell towers do. Your phone might actually be able to connect to a cell tower, but if its configuration says not to connect if the signal strength is lower than some value, your phone would show no signal instead. With QI, that threshold is simply much lower due to the high efficiency being necessary for charging to happen at a reasonable rate. If you're 500 meters away from a cell tower, you won't get the best connection either, but in that context it's good enough to work. But I have to agree that calling it wireless is mostly marketing. Inductive charging would be more clear.

[@tamwilfred]

This video seems to exaggerate the negatives of wireless charging. While it may produce some heat and potentially cause minor battery degradation, if it were truly detrimental, it wouldn't be a feature in modern smartphones. Consider the scenario of using wireless charging to incrementally charge the battery throughout the day. I maintain my battery between 20-80% and avoid leaving my phone on the charger overnight. Having used wireless charging since the early 2010s, I've observed no significant impact on my phone's longevity. It's worth noting that older Samsung wireless chargers included a built-in fan to mitigate overheating. I still use the older version, I think it was a 2018 or 2019 model.

[@oplkfdhgk]

1:06 try it with budget phones. i have seen like 40-50c on cheaper phones.

[@kouhaiii3182]

of course. and they did say that they were going for a best case scenario, hence the more expensive phone

[@MinhThangDam]

Budget phone usually skips multiple PMCs to alternate the amount of power feeding to the battery base on its temp, that's why they tend to get significantly hotter esp at low battery

[@teardowndan5364]

Budget phones have wireless charging? None of mine do.

[@HansPannekoek-up3sr]

0:27 I’m confused: if you live near the equator, where it basically always is above 30c, your battery degrades faster?

[@hubertstrawinski]

Yes, I’m noticing faster battery degradation every summer, even though I live in Norway, where temperatures can reach over 25°C. When using my phone in full sun with maximum brightness, the battery is under constant stress. Playing Pokémon Go also causes the phone to get very hot, which accelerates this process. Warm climate is battery’s worst enemy.

[@Ulquiorra_Cifer]

Yeah generally my phone battery dies faster during summer or generally whenever the phone is hot

[@WhatzHappeningNow9]

I've been slow wireless charging my iPhone for 3 years, the battery health is 92%. And the battery life is still excellent like day 1. Maybe slow wireless charging doesn't degrade it too quickly since heat is low.

[@charlienyc1]

Exactly

[@shashankmlrj]

3 years and 92%?…crazy good. My 12 pro battery health is 79% in 3 years

[@bjornroesbeke]

It's all about compromises. The ease of being able to pick up the device and put it back to charge in a second is handy for example when you're doing many short trips in a car, and would rather not break the charge port. There's no point in choosing wireless over wired when the device is charging overnight.

[@a1white]

How difficult is it to spend 10 secconds more plugging in a phone?

[@bjornroesbeke]

​@@a1white Nothing is difficult per sé, but forget disconnecting it once while exiting the car, and you can forget about using your usb port ever again. They break easily. A magnetic cable/connector combo is a good compromise, but in my experience, the two parts often stick to eachother a bit too well and i've lost many such connectors. Wireless charging was not the ideal, but still the better solution for me in that case.

[@EnterTheSoundscape]

@@a1whiteIt’s less wear and tear on the charging port. I’ve had 3 phones where the charging port broke, I don’t plan on that happening again.

[@jr.sw23]

​@@a1whitequite difficult actually when you deliver for Amazon and have to get into and out of the van approx 130 times a day.

[@batdroid2705]

After my daughter (11) damaged three phones by always forcing in charger, we promptly got her a wireless charger. No issues since

[@TechInspected]

Appreciate the testing. I was hoping there was more tests about how much batteries degrade with higher temperatures, but that would take a huge amount of work and data.

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

Even then you would need a water sample size, probably for it to be meaningful data. If you're just testing one version of a few different brands over time, I don't know how much we would learn. Probably why there's not a lot of studies on Long-Term battery degradation and phone habits and charging habits etc...

[@mhilyard1]

@@michaelcorcoran8768 Yep there is a fair amount of variation between battery capacity from the factory and so many other factors. Wired is better but I will say over the past 28 months I've had my current phone, I've just thrown it on a 15W wireless charging stand 9/10 nights and according to accubattery, which I installed on day 1, it still has 91% capacity. I've charged it 912 battery cycle equivalents/ 88,032% so I feel like it's doing pretty well. Unless you are keeping a phone for like 5 years or something it's kind of a non issue in my experience but fun to learn about.

[@thisaintart]

Side note: Thank you for all your videos, they’ve helped me pay the bills fixing people’s stuff for many many years now ❤

[@-aexc-]

i only ever use wireless charging overnight with a 5w outlet so im sure it charges very slow and doesnt let it get that hot

[@Kavyatej]

0:27 - me living in an area which hits 40C everyday

[@plaintext7288]

summer Kyrgyzstan🎉

[@Sunilwastaken]

Me with 45⁰C And feels like 50⁰C

[@HockeyPlayer323]

Happy to see more people talking about this!

[@NathanTheZealot]

Something that should be mentioned in defense of wireless charging is that wireless charging prevents wear and tear on the charging port; which (unfortunately) for many phone models is not as easily replaced as the battery, if it's even replaceable at all. I've had to replace several otherwise working phones in my life due to the charging port being worn out to the point it would not consistently charge.

[@woodalexander]

Exactly. This is why I use a slow wireless charger, limit my battery charge to 85% with the Samsung setting, and use a Wi-Fi Android Auto dongle. I've reduced by total plug/unplug cycles by around 95%.

[@GreySectoid]

This has been my problem as well. USB C just doesn't seem to be robust enough for this purpose. The ideal solution would be magnetic plug in the phone but wireless slow charging overnight works as well without destroying the battery.

[@FreddyHartanto]

Finally someone say something about this, been feeling disturbed for a long time with people glorifying wireless charging over fast charging. Thanks iFixit for mentioning this!

[@teh_hunterer]

You need to go outside

[@YISTECH]

​@@teh_hunterernone of us are going outside, especially you.

[@dswngz]

Wireless chagers degrading battery feels kinda strange because I remember when they just appeared around 10 years ago, it was said that they are better for the battery because they are slower.

[@SignalStealer]

Finally someone speaks about this, thank you! I am not using wireless charging exactly for these reasons for a few years already. When I tried it, I did not find it any more convenient than plugging the phone in.

[@theagentsmith]

Yeah it shouldn't be your primary charging method, however keep in mind it allows you to keep using the phone when its wired port is worn out. Additionally in some parks and in restaurants there are some wireless chargers which are super convenient.

[@zeux5583]

There is a power rectifier in your USB charger plug to convert 230V/120V AC to 5-20V DC, a power inverter to convert it back to AC in the wireless charger, and the induction coils in both the phone and the charger which only take and give AC current, while your phone needs DC, which means another rectifier. All of those components have a loss factor, especially the induction coils, which wastes power into the ether due to impedance or resistance.

[@ashrude1071]

I almost always use wired, however it is useful to have a MagSafe cable around for when water gets in the charging port

[@Meistor]

Good Video, loved the facts! One thing I would mention as a benefit of wireless charging though is that you will have way less trouble with loose connection plugs. I keep phones for 4 years on average, and when only using cables, I often have quite loose connections in the end which sometimes start bugging around.

[@kylehazachode]

Apple Magsafe kinda nailed it. Get the right magsafe stand and you really don't worry about charging. Even when I'm drunk I can wave my phone over my charging stand and it'll grab my phone outta my hand.

[@CallMeRabbitzUSVI]

This right here is one of the maky reasons for wireless charging

[@GreySectoid]

Lol at the mental image drunken wave of the phone x)

[@HSNG10]

Sony Xperia 3 actually had a magnetic interface on its side that allowed for the convenience of "wireless" charging with the advantage of actual electric contact that avoided the loss of wireless charging. If only we can establish a standard interface using this concept for phones.

[@quinton1661]

I use wireless charging out of convenience since I'll need to plug and unplug frequently. I always place it under a small desk fan pointed at the phone. It keeps it nice and cool even after charging for over an hour - I imagine the battery temperature is kept a bit cooler from this. For overnight charging it's a 5 W charger to minimize heat. No need to charge from 20% to 80% in 30 minutes when it's going to be plugged in for 7 more hours anyway.

[@Zatchillac]

They make wireless chargers with fans built in. I have 3 of them and my phones never even get remotely warm when using them. I also have some without built in fans and phones DO get fairly warm on them

[@buffuniballer]

@@Zatchillac I was going to say the same. The ESR Magsafe certified chargers I use in our cars include a fan. Even with my Belkin chargers at home, I don't perceive my phones getting to 30C

[@BlueBillionPoundBottleJobs]

Wow, you need to point a fan at your phone to charge it at a slower speed with less efficiency, sounds real awesome

[@quinton1661]

@@BlueBillionPoundBottleJobs The reason for this is I charge while I'm frequently using the phone. I simply disconnect from the charge, do what I'm going to do, then put it back on to charge. Otherwise I would just plug it in.

[@homie7218]

sounds like skill issue lil bro

[@vanguy9780]

Something you completely ignore is the super cheap and flimsy USB C ports on most phones and yes even the flagships. If you plug in a charger everyday most ports won't last a year before they are sloppy loose.

[@Pumpkinwaffle]

Brilliant! We definitely need more educating videos like those! People need to learn best practices to avoid environmental impact.

[@Akuu820]

I've been waiting for someone to make this video for years!

[@Maxime_K-G]

I agree, never understood the "inconvenience" of plugging in a wire or why phone stands stopped being a thing. The loss of energy and wearing out of materials are a shame. It is true though that the lack of securing mechanism on USB-C causes the wire to fall out more than it should.

[@GreySectoid]

USB C is the most fragile part of the phone which breaks first. Well at least if you don't drop it and shatter your screen. But wear and tear on the charging port will eventually destroy the phone.

[@ahmadynamics]

I was already concerned about this that’s why I stopped charging my phone wirelessly, but now I’ve clear idea, thanks for this video 🙌🏻

[@Chuzz1]

commenting to support these findings and data. love your work.

[@drscopeify]

Great video! I always knew Wireless charging was not great due to heat I tried it for a few months but switched back to wired. My trick is to have a small plastic bracket like a U shape upside down screwed in to my desk, that is smaller than the cable, it is set near the rear of the desk, so I pull the cable from this U bracket and plug in to charge my phone, then when it is done, I unplug and let go, the cable will be pulled by gravity and get stuck in the U bracket and just wait there until I need it again.

[@oneunderall]

@2:45 use large bold font for your labels and axis numbering, even at 2160p we have to squint to see this.

[@NJdaniels96]

Even if efficiency was equal, I still wouldn't see the appeal of wireless charging. The pad still needs to be plugged into the wall with a cord. Is it really that more convenient to place your phone on a pad than it is to put your phone in the exact same place and plug it in? Also, a big use case for wired charging is that you can continue to hold and use your device while it's charging. It's a lot less ergonomic to do that with wireless.

[@chriswilcox8977]

Having used a 5w Anker wireless charging pad for many years, it never manages to create enough power to make my iPhone get even barely warm 😂 Wired charging still seems to make the phone get noticeably warm, though I can’t decide if the slower wireless charging is overall better for the battery or not. Based on my son using my old 12 Pro Max which is still on mid 80’s for battery health, I’m inclined to think slow wireless charging is no concern beyond energy waste….possibly balanced by a phone which still has great battery health and life.

[@trustbuster23]

I noticed the same. The faster, mag safe wireless chargers make the phone uncomfortably hot, they will definitely degrade the battery over time. The little cheap, low-wattage Anker pads trickle charge the phone overnight and generate essentially no heat unless you seriously mis-align the phone on the pad. Yes, they do waste energy, but the amount is trivial in relation to the typical person's overall electrical use in a day. If I need a fast charge, I plug in. But for overnight charging, the low wattage pad is very convenient.

[@GreySectoid]

My experience as well. Fast charging makes the phone noticeably warm, while slow wireless does not. I think this video misses the point entirely.

[@supervoveriukas]

I’m using baseus magsafe stand to charge my iPhone. Yes it gets longer to charge but it doesn’t get that hot as charging by wire. In my opinion mag safe magnets are the best way to perfectly align your phone to wireless charger.

[@renofumi28]

1:19 That's why the recommended power for wireless charging is at 5 watt, leave them charging wirelessly during your bed time.

[@FakeMichau]

Charging overnight is bad in itself

[@renofumi28]

@@FakeMichau not in modern phones except you're still in that one with micro usb or very thick chin and forehead

[@xelemorf]

I've actuually arrived to the same conclusion couple of years ago so switched to magnetic charger cables, the phone or devices have a small magnetic plug which attaches to a magnetic cable similar to apple laptop chargers but the contact pads are recessed to it won't burn out the charger as it's difficult to accidentally short circuit with nearby metal objects. For USB-C Elough was the company who started selling these but nowdays a lot of other companies are selling the exact same solution like Ugreen. Also these cables and adapters became dirt cheap. Additionally there are 60-100W variants aswell available now.

[@dvdragon]

I had a feeling that was the case. Thanks for the testing.

[@RenatoLaporte]

I’ven been a big fan of magsafe charger. Been using almost exclusively on my 13 pro max since its launch and I do not see any extreme battery wear, even with the frequency I charge my phone due to how much i use it. Must add that i live in a pretty cold region, with summer with >25° temperatures only lasting for a couple of weeks. When its hot i definitely feel my phone getting toasty no matter how I charge it. One solution I used last year was to put the phone in a thin plastic container, add a thin layer of water and then connect the magsafe under the container.

[@Rickyp0123]

I never understood the point of "wireless" charging. You still have a wire that goes all the way to the phone PLUS a big puck underneath it PLUS it's less efficient PLUS before mag-safe you couldn't use your phone while charging it wirelessly since it had to be on the pad. The only time I've ever used wireless charging was when I wrecked the ports on some older phones--it's great to have as a second option, but not as a first.

[@pandazpaa]

Then, it's not for you... Simply as that.

[@Rickyp0123]

@@pandazpaa so, who is it for?

[@pandazpaa]

@@Rickyp0123 does it actually matter for you? I mean, if they're selling, there's someone buying. I do use one in my office's computer and works pretty well for me for example... Even with a lot of cons.

[@Rickyp0123]

@@pandazpaa no of course not! I just see zero upsides (except as a backup option) so I was wondering what I could be missing. I’m happy to hear about use cases I hadn’t considered.

[@pandazpaa]

@@Rickyp0123 understood. I personally don't think that you're exactly wrong in your initial thoughts (since those are valid points). They can sell wireless charger because some weird use cases (like myself), which a person kinda uses a worse technology because "personal reasons" I guess.

[@tikycz8261]

Im charging wirelessly since iPhone 11 and I’m using MagSafe with iPhone 15 pro max now and i love it.

[@almfreak]

Great video! Thank you for sharing good info with tests and data to back it up! I appreciate the effort that you guys put into teaching things that benefit us users! Keep up the good fight!

[@mirage809]

Great to see some solid numbers on charging efficiency and thermals. I’ve heard claims about wireless charging degrading battery life for as long as I’ve seen wireless chargers. But I’ve never seen people get into details and produce numbers. Are the temperature tolerances on lithium ion batteries that low? 35 degrees Celsius is stuff I see often on holidays and are quite common in some parts.

[@minipli]

very nice video, quick and compact from the start on

[@nikol596]

This may sound like something with hindsight. I felt increased battery degradation when using wireless charging pad after I got my iPhone 11 in 201. The battery degradation went crazy. I initially guessed Apple may somehow use batteries of lower quality for iPhone 11 series but I was not sure. Happy that IFixit has cleared it out.

[@Diogoafsimoes]

Loved the video. Would like to see how it compares with wireless charging stations that have fans

[@mrmarr8308]

Lol

[@SonnyDarvish]

This explains why my magnetic Anker warmed up my iPhone that I didn't like, but it still was better than the 5 euro Hama without magnet that actually makes the phone hot to touch.

[@joshuauriarte452]

I have a Galaxy S22U and wireless charge with a 5W charger. The battery does not get anywhere near 30C. It's even recommended to use wireless charging at 5W at night when the phone is of. Your phone being off is what helps prevent it from getting hot, and battery degradation.

[@theagentsmith]

Makes sense. For overnight change 5W is adequate and the charging loss is a lot lower than at 15W fast wireless charge

[@unliving_ball_of_gas]

Why not use a 5W wired charger. Benefits of slow charging + wired.

[@NotCaptainToad]

It's the slow 5W charge that is helping the battery, not the wireless charger. You would see arguably better battery longevity and a dollar per month come back on your electric bill by using a 5W wired cable instead.

[@Kalvinjj]

@@NotCaptainToad Yes, but an USB port likely soldered to the motherboard (it's so on the S10, dunno the S22), that ain't getting any younger. In my case I went wireless slow charge as the lesser of the two evils. I would rather replace a battery sooner than a connector later, since I do intend to keep the phone for many years. Sure USB-C helps, but if there's also another option, may as well.

[@joshuauriarte452]

@unliving_ball_of_gas there's benefits of both wireless charging and 5W. The benefits of wireless is you are allowing less damage to the USBC port. This reduces the risk of needing to replace the port. T

[@xeel224109]

Every video should have their main points at the start, like this one.

[@viStringTheory]

I'm glad to see someone calling this out. I wish this were more widely known so people could make informed choices to not purchase or use wireless charging.

[@angryakita3870]

Doesn’t everyone know this? Magnetic charging is convenient, not good.

[@od1sseas663]

How it’s convenient? It’s really that hard to plug a cable?

[@cameronf3343]

I used wireless charging twice when I got an iPhone 12 several years ago. Haven’t touched it since. I already was aware of the lower efficiency and power loss from charging over a distance in general but was extremely unimpressed at how hot my phone became compared to how long it took to charge. And on top of that you scale it across several billion units, it uses a lot more of the precious copper to do the same exact thing but worse.

[@3mekG]

I really love wireless charging for slow charge overnight - I even connected my charger to slow power adapter on purpose - to not allow it to fast charge. What i really like os that I don't have to plug in a cable, not only does it look nice, but also does not wear the USB-C port. So you just have to use it in a smart way.

[@eugeneputin1858]

I've exclusively been using magsafe since inception. One mounted permanently in my office and one mounted in the car. Both have cheap copper ssd heatsinks adhered to the back to reduce throttling of any kind(probably not even necessary tbh). It quiet is the perfect charging solution. Haven't used a wire in almost two years.

[@RevLimitHero]

“Regularly exceeds 30 degrees centigrade” my brother in Christ Australia exists

[@electrified0]

Regarding power loss, whether you use a case, the material, and how thick it is will all further contribute to slower charging and a hotter phone. Most tests remove the case to eliminate it as a variable so your results will likely be a lot worse.

[@Donnner93]

I always use wireless charging when charging my phone during the night, it's waaay to convenient not to, and cable if I need to top it up during the day - Could be worth pointing out the wear and tear on the USB-port by constant having to plug it in, one of the reasons I prefer wireless charging for my phones, an S23 Ultra as of now.

[@TheVision2]

We really live in a world where spending 5 seconds to plug a cable in is not convenient. Good lord

[@BlownMacTruck]

@@TheVision2It’s fine. He pays for his complete laziness by shortening his battery life.

[@MLCHRL]

It's all about heat management. I've switched back to a low-wattage charger for overnight use and I'm utilizing the 80% charge option, since I can essentially charge my phone throughout the day at work. Occasionally, I switch to auto mode if I'm on a hiking trip or engaged in similar activities. My 14 Pro Max still retains 100% battery health. I'm somehow addicted to hold my batterylife at a constant level. It feels like an achivement :D

[@KofieBluejay]

Thank you iFixit! Just a small geeky fix: it’s degree Celsius, not centigrade. This is not the same scale and I think you are using Celsius thermometers.

[@sdjhgfkshfswdfhskljh3360]

It looks like "centigrade" is just outdated name for "Celsius".

[@KofieBluejay]

@@sdjhgfkshfswdfhskljh3360 We could think so but this is not the same scale. It’s close, but not the same.

[@feynstein1004]

@@KofieBluejay I've never heard that before. How exactly are they different?

[@bradhaines3142]

@@KofieBluejay there are only 3 measures of temperature, farenheit, celsius, and kelvin. anything else is a word for one of those

[@KofieBluejay]

@@feynstein1004 They are different by around 0.025 degrees at 100 centigrade. In celsius, that would be 99,985 celsius (rounded). Sure it's very much minimal, but it is, by definition, not the same scale and the ISO norm is the celsius scale, not the centigrade.

[@electrified0]

It's worth mentioning the one advantage of wireless charging - a lack of an opening or port that can become damaged or broken from prolonged use or exposure to foreign material. Though I still only bother with using it as a backup because it's so slow. I tapped directly into the USB-C port for my car's built in wireless charger and it went from a 4 hour trickle charge to a 40 minute rapid charge.

[@Pwnopolis]

Did you have a stroke?

[@The.Jimmyboy]

I've charged my Sony Xperia 1 IV wirelessly for almost two years now without issue BUT that being said I've only charged at 5w max to keep temperatures down. If i charge at 15w the phone becomes quite toasty (battery temps close to 40C). Wired 30w charging pretty much never exceed 30C but wireless charging at 5w is only a degree or two above room temperature. It's nice to just drop the phone on a pad after work and if I need faster charging wired is always an option.

[@ericdavidson9974]

I really only use wireless charging for two things. I have a MagSafe charging phone mount in my car with a built in cooling fan for driving. I also have a wireless charging pad beside my bed so I can charge my phone at night, but that’s connected to a 5 watt power supply for low-speed charging.

[@tommolldev]

Just use a “slow” 5W wireless charger for overnight charging. It’s much better for your battery to slowly charge (after a deep cycle preferably) than a super fast charge on a wire or a powerful wireless charger

[@slavb0i646]

Its alot nicer to go eat breakfast and come back to your phone already charged to 85% in the morning than it is to have it on over night, when it will charge in the first 3 hours anyway.

[@berengerchristy6256]

If your phone is built to fast charge, fast charging does not wear out the battery. If it lacks sufficient battery management software or you are charging out of spec, then you will wear out your battery

[@thersten]

Try the magnetic cable chargers that come with usb-c adapters. They have the added benefit of not wearing out the port since you don't plug in and out every time

[@Phlegethon]

I’ve gone back to wired

[@varunaX]

Why? Cause of this video? I've been wirelessly charging my lg for 5 years now and the battery is just fine

[@zUltra3D]

​@@varunaXit's still inefficient

[@dannyboots]

Good thinking buddy boy

[@ginco_bnz]

Agreed, I use a wired 1amp Apple plug from like 7 years ago, and only charge to 80%. Battery is at 98% life after a year of being drained almost daily. My previous phone was at almost 87% at this point with wireless charging every night and 100% charge.

[@motalkbadazs]

@@zUltra3Dwho needs efficiency? Charge your phone at night and youll be aii

[@LeMassiveNoob]

Thank you so much for making this video. I have been arguing for yeas about how bad wireless charging is from an efficiency and battery perspective. It's slower than wired when you need speed, it's less efficient when you wanna save energy, and it will degrade your battery faster. Yet people still see is as an essential feature, for some reason...

[@radikk7874]

I use a wireless charging stand for iPhone and apple watch. They are always on it. I never have to bother about checking battery and charging before going out. When I take my phone, it’s always full. The same goes for the watch. I will change my phone faster than the battery dying.

[@thefilmdirector1]

same, and mines vertical, and my phone never gets hot or even warm when on it. Been using it for well over a year and no battery degradation issues, though to be fair i barely use my phone so it just sits there on the pad 24/7 in "idle" mode (charger light turns red showing its fully charged but keeps it trickle topped up while the phone sleeps)

[@Nopraz42]

What about dash charge and other "fast charge" technologies? Do they reduce the battery life of our phones?

[@mattbosley3531]

I just like wireless charging because it's easy. I just set my phone down on the pad and it recharges. And I have CPU-Z on my phone to check the health and temperature of the battery. It doesn't get above 26 or 27 C.

[@charlienyc1]

I keep my devices for as long as practically possible. I use a non-fast charging pad overnight to keep my phone charging slow, generally better for the battery. It's never more than slightly warm. Also, there's zero stress on the USB C connector, which failed on a previous phone from all the connecting & disconnecting.

[@xetsuma]

The biggest issue with wireless charging is that the charging pad itself requires a cable, and it's so close to the phone that you might as well just plug that cable into the phone anyways.

[@oleksandrfedoriv]

@@xetsuma exactly. functionally, it’s not much different from a wired connection. it’s just tech for tech’s sake.

[@GreySectoid]

Wireless charging is for different purpose, I have one at my bedside table and leave the phone there overnight. I'm sure you have a place for your phone as well, why not make it charge it meanwhile you sleep.

[@xetsuma]

@@GreySectoid You don't need wireless charging to do that.

[@Stray396]

I'm not posing this is a naysayer opinion, but this video is a bit misleading and it introduces the differences between the two methods but doesn't quite present the whole picture. I'm not an expert by any means, but just based on my experience - there are wired chargers (think quick or fast charging, high watt output) that contribute to higher battery temps during charging, and there are wireless chargers (slower, low watt) that don't contribute to high battery temps. and when we consider the energy loss, I would estimate in practical terms, it would amount to...a difference of less than $1 USD over the course of a year? yes, the amount of energy required to charge phones is that low. if folks wanted to adopt wired charging to go green, the difference would ultimately be a rounding error when examining total energy consumption. I think the major drawbacks and comparisons demonstrated in the video are valid for the specific products shown, but there are a lot of options in this space that weren't mentioned. so I wouldn't necessarily agree with the blanket comment that wired is always better than wireless, it depends on the situation. I would personally vouch for slow charging on low watt wireless for overnight charging, and wired (not fast charging) throughout the normal course of the day if needed.

[@mort996]

It's not even convenient bro, I can still use the phone while charging with cable and it just sits there on the pad unusable. The wireless chargers are utterly useless. Unless your cable port doesn't work I don't see one case use for wireless chargers

[@Ardeact]

I love my Qi2 magsafe charger. It sticks to the back of your phone and you can use your phone without a cable protruding from the port unlike wired. Also, USB C does not last that long, so I want to only reserve the port for only data transfers.

[@shashankmlrj]

@@Ardeactlightning port is even worse

[@Ardeact]

@@shashankmlrj Empirically I think the lightening port is pretty solid. Never had it fail.

[@shashankmlrj]

@@Ardeact i beg to differ, my 12 pro's port got completely damaged in 2 years and i have not dropped the phone nor dipped it in water. and even battery health is just 79% in 2.5 yrs. i hate lightning

[@Ardeact]

@@shashankmlrj Battery health isn't a factor in what port is better, heat management and charging habits are. My experience with USB C consists of 4 new cables and 2 port changes. The reason why C is so flimsy is because USB C terminals are very small and any sort of deformation on the port misaligns them.

[@davejoseph5615]

One of the main attractions of wireless is avoiding the connector damage that always seemed to eventually occur. I don't understand why the battery gets hotter with wireless? Also in an array of coils such as the Tesla platform -- why doesn't it detect and use only the one coil that is best aligned?

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

Can we stop calling it wireless charging and just call it induction charging? When real wireless charging arrives, what will that be called?

[@mizatt]

Long range wireless charging

[@Abadeez]

ULTRA PRO WIRELESS SUPER CHARGING 3.0 Obviously.

[@jackwilson5542]

"True wireless charging"

[@coldbrew6104]

Hm let's think. It's charging, but not with a wire. WireLESS? WIRELESS! IT MAKES SENSE NOW

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

@coldbrew6104 You lie. I can see the wire.

[@jonathand7531]

Magsafe is just so convenient. I use a foldable magsafe charging pad that charges my phone and apple watch together, and is amazing for travel. And I use a magsafe wireless charger I can throw in my pocket for days out at an amusement park or wherever if I need more juice half way through the day.

[@ronlevin2339]

this is why I do not care if phone have a wireless coil, I never used it anyway

[@TheVision2]

Yet for some reason, it was a deal breaker for people trying to buy phones like the OnePlus open from last year. I argued for days and they didn't see reason

[@a1white]

I’m not using the wireless coil in mine again now!

[@daveacbickford]

I used to work with BMW.and during 2021 in the chip shortages we couldn't offer wireless charging on several models, and that was without a doubt the single thing customers were MOST upset about missing, never mind things like heads up display, active cruise or adjustable seat bolsters being unavailable on some models...Nope, it was wireless chargers, despite our protestations about how slow and inefficient it is. We even had some folk claiming their previous cars were faster and never got hot, which is obviously false. I'll keep your video here bookmarked to send to folk like that in the future 😂

[@obayrafi2632]

wireless charging is like freezing some water , then bringing that forzen ice above your head , heat it using a lighter , and then drinking the melted waterdrops. i honestly never understood the point behind wireless chargers.

[@CallMeRabbitzUSVI]

You really dont understand why someone would use a wireless charger instead of plugging it in? Convenience, design, and overall tidiness.

[@coldbrew6104]

​​@@CallMeRabbitzUSVI He's dense, don't bother. Let him live in ignorance.

[@Silent_Wolf]

Yup! I knew about the heat problem with wireless charging. I remember taking my phone off the wireless charger and felt how warm my phone felt which made me remember how heat and battery is a bad combination. After that I went strictly with wired charging for my Note 9. There is a problem with only using wired charging for your phone and that is the wear and tear on the port. Last year I finally ditched my Note 9 for the S23 Ultra and said this time I’ll only charge with wireless chargers because I don’t want to wear down the port on the phone. I guess now I’ll have to see how long it will take for the battery to degrade to the point where I have to replace my phone. Ahh and I put on every setting available to help prolong the battery life like turning off fast charge, charge only to 80%, etc.

[@Jallerblue]

I think this is an example where the inefficiencies and battery degradation are absolutely worth it. Especially if you use Magsafe or Qi2 chargers, and actively cooled ones when possible. The convenience of Magsafe/Qi2 especially is incredible for phone mounts on desks and in cars to keep you topped up throughout the day and keep your phone easily accessible. Also, every phone I've ever used has had charging issues eventually before wireless charging (even my first USB-C phone). With my last phone, I used wireless charging almost exclusively and saved my USB-C port from the same fate. Videos like this are great to inform consumers about these trade-offs and what to look for to avoid the worst cases, but I definitely think this video is a bit overly critical of the technology.

[@Acer113]

Good video, but it could use some nuance for wired charging. Wired fast charging has very similar downsides vs. wireless charging. Not as bad, but it is certainly not as binary as suggested during this video.

[@asamson23]

Ever since I switched to using iPhones, I really enjoy the convenience of plopping down my phone on my magsafe compatible wireless chargers. I don't mind the slower charging time as I put it there for the night. However, if I need the charge to be done faster, I will most certainly plug my phone into a faster wired charger.

[@Sleeperknot]

Wireless charging would have been awesome if I could place my phone anywhere and still charge it, not on the wireless charging platform pad. But obviously there's not going to be a true wireless charging system anytime soon. If I can bring the phone to a wireless charger pad, I can very well connect it with a charging cable. They could have designed a system which uses magnetic alignment to make electrical contacts to charge normally.

[@ballenf]

The energy wasted over a lifetime of wireless charging is still less that used in a single car ride. Perspective is important here.

[@a1white]

It’s not wasted though is it, that’s the point. All energy has to be converting into another form in this case heat which is degrading your battery a lot quicker

[@mastercng]

​@@a1whitecars are wildly inefficient.

[@GreySectoid]

@@mastercng Compared to what, walking?

[@MooTaters]

30C(86F)...that could be every time you charge a phone these days, I've definitely seen over 90F on a third party app(GSam) on the battery sensor several times.

[@MinhThangDam]

To be fair, the wireless charging pads on this video is on the budget side. More expensive and even prorpietary solution like Oppo's Airvooc wireless charging pad has dual coil for maximum efficiency and an active cooling fan working in tandem with the phone's pmcs to control the temps. Even then it's still much more inefficient compare to just plug a cable in. Which is why super fast charging through cable is superior, and a modular charge port design should be made a requirement by law

[@kalafalas246]

MagSafe is not a budget charger

[@crispyjokingtuna1495]

Could you test the MagSafe duo? Specifically I’m interested in knowing what battery temps and energy efficiency are like when a phone and watch are dropped on it

[@loucam08]

Never had a phone with wireless charging and never needed it. Seeing people mark down phones for not having it, especially budget phones, makes my eyes roll.

[@anub1s15]

taking the efficiency hit seems even less logical since we got USB - C. sure with any previous USB when your sleepy in bed but notice you need to plug in your phone or it will be useless tomorrow and never find the right orientation in the first 6 tries, it sucked. but now you just find the hole cable go's in immediatly and your charging fast but smart with the phone telling the charger what to do, ideal imo. if your charging overnight it can even slow charge the whole night to be at 100% when your alarm go's which i'm hoping is keeping my battery nice and strong (got a ~3 year old pixel 6....seems to be working as intended :P).