The best wireless chargers you can buy right now including pads, stands and power banks.
The best wireless chargers for 2021 are going to use the Qi standard compatible with any modern iPhone, Samsung phones, Google Pixel 4, OnePlus 8 Pro and every major smartphone that supports wireless charging. That part is easy. What’s harder is deciding which is the best wireless charger for you. They all have different designs, prices, and power delivery specs. We’ve tested the top products on the market to find out the ups and downs of each, along with our personal recommendations, to give you final answers – and a variety of choices, too. As anyone who’s bought a Qi-charging-capable phone can attest, you don’t just get a first-party wireless charger in the box, so you have to go out and buy one separately. Aside from Samsung, none of the major phonemakers even produce their own. Our list is full of trusted third-party brands like Belkin, Anker, Mophie, and other recognizable names – along with a couple you might not have heard of. Most of them won’t juice up your devices as fast as wired chargers, but they’re handy when you don’t want to keep plugging your phone in or want to get rid of messy cables. It’s a lot more elegant to have small pads around the house to top up your phone when needed. We’ve tested these wire-free chargers with a variety of phones, smartwatches like the Apple Watch, and other rechargeable devices to see if they also charge those – not all do. We also note charging rates, in wattage, which might juice up some devices faster depending on their maximum wireless charging rating. Lastly, make sure your phone can actually use wireless charging, as some older handsets – especially those with metal backs – likely don’t. Without further ado, here is our ever-growing list of the best wireless chargers we’ve seen. The Belkin 10W is a step up in design and charging power – both of which are noticeable. That charging rate refilled 16% on our iPhone XS Max in 30 minutes. The Belkin 10W has upstyled glossy plastic with matte rubber for the flat charging surface, as well as the ‘arms’ keeping your phone from sliding off the surface. It tangibly feels higher-quality, and in the solid black color, looks a bit more refined than cheaper chargers. Whether you like pads or stands is more up to personal taste, but we enjoy the usefulness of keeping your device upright to check the time and scroll through notifications. It only charges phones, though – no smartwatches or tablets. The Apple MagSafe Charger is best known as the new recommended method for charging the latest iPhone 12. It uses the smartphone’s magnets to properly align so you get the fastest charging speeds possible. It doesn’t feel entirely wireless as you basically have the magnetic charger clipped to the back of your phone but it’s far less fiddly than using an actual charging cable. While you’ll get the most out of it in conjunction with an iPhone 12, it also works with older Apple devices and even Android phones too. If you need the official solution, this is the one for you. The MagSafe Duo is one of the more portable chargers out there, easily folding together for added convenience. You can use it to charge your iPhone as well as your Apple Watch or AirPods at the same time which is very useful for avid Apple fans. However, the MagSafe Duo is pricey to say the least at $129/£129/AU$199 not including a wall adapter, plus it’s not the fastest at charging as you’ll get either 11W or 14W charging depending on the wall adapter you purchase. Still, if portability is everything, the MagSafe Duo certainly has the form being incredibly simple to pocket at a moment’s notice. The Anker 15W is one of the faster chargers on our list for this low of price, though only some leading Android phones will be able to notice the difference.
