Qi wireless charging, also called induction charging, is currently the most popular way to charge your devices wirelessly, that is, without the need for cables (perhaps only surpassed by MagSafe technology, which is still a charge wireless too, but on steroids). Here’s what you need to know about how it works:
Qi is a technology standard owned by the Wireless Power Consortium. This standard has spread rapidly and is already accepted by more than 200 leading technology companies such as Apple, Satechi, and Belkin.
What is Qi wireless charging and how does it work?
It was created to provide easier wireless charging, eliminating the increasing use of cables, and ensuring full cross-device compatibility for chargers (the connector no longer matters and therefore the brand) for all devices. devices that accept it.
As we said, Qi is an inductive charge, which in itself means that physical contact between the phone and the wireless charger is necessary for electromagnetic induction to occur. For efficient charging, the charging coils inside the phone and those in the charger must always be aligned to allow the flow of electrons that will recharge the phone itself.
This precision in alignment is achieved by applying a fail-safe product design (bless Poka Yoke, with permission to the Japanese) so that you only have to worry about putting the phone on the base and that’s it. A clear example of a fail-safe design would be this Nomad wireless charging pad or this other Qi charging pad from Belkin. As you will notice, it is impossible to get confused about how to place your iPhone.
This new charging base from Satechi comes in three possible colors: silver, gold, and gray. In all three cases, the construction material is aluminum, although some parts are still plastic. The two separate areas allow us to place the iPhone charger on one side and the Apple Watch charger on the other. Yes, put the charger, since it does not have the cables included.
According to the manufacturer, its charging base offers up to 15W of power, so in principle, we should not have problems charging the devices. Due to the form factor of the charging base, it can be ideal to put it on the nightstand, since it holds the iPhone vertically and also the Apple Watch, being able to activate the night mode.
This new Satechi dock will be around $ 64.99 and we can buy it from the manufacturer’s website. Although the absence of wireless charging or its own built-in cables can be two points against it, it must be borne in mind that always getting Apple’s MFi certificate to incorporate these technologies is not easy. Be that as it may, unifying the charging of the iPhone and the Apple Watch in one place may be attractive enough for some.