Unique Wireless Smartphone Chargers

propelled into the big time. Funny how that happens. So if you have an iPhone A and up, which is an iPhone eight eight plus ten, ten S, tens Max or the ten R, you've got wireless charging built into your phone. If you have a Samsung Galaxy S six and up, that's the S six, S seven, S eight, S nine, Oh my gosh, what are they up to now? The Note nine, the Note eight, not the Note seven that was recalled. If you have one of those phones,

you've got it. And LG has it on some of its models, and Google just jumped in with the Pixel th three that also has wireless charging. So overall, I still like plugging my phone in for a more consistent charge, but these little wireless charging devices and pads are great for your desk and when you're on the go. Basically, if you're using your phone a lot, like if you're picking it up and placing it down a lot while

it's at your desk. These are a great solution because you don't have to keep plugging and unplugging your phone in to use it. You can just basically lay them on this charger. It's keeping it topped off and everyone's happy. So, by the way, almost all the manufacturers have adopted this G standard, which is actually spelled QI. I know, a little confusing. There used to be like this big war of standards. There was PMA, there was CHI, but that's

all over now. So basically all wireless chargers now will work with almost all phones, all the newer phones at least. The only thing to know about this is that you have to kind of look at the speed of charging. So the speed might be different depending on the phone and also the wireless charger. So ideally you want to match up what capacity your phone can charge at along with what capacity the charger can push that charge through at.

So here's a few unique models I've been checking out lately, starting with the Google Pixel stand This is eighty dollars and this was really built for the Google Pixel three. It will work with other devices, but it does unique things. When you put your pixel on it first off Pixel three by the way, it will charge your pixel at top speed up to ten watts. All other phones it

will charge at five watts. Now, when you place your phone on the Pixel stand, you'll activate the Google Assistant, so you're gonna see shortcuts on your screen related to the things you might want to do, like the good

morning routine or the bedtime routine for nighttime. There's also this sunrise alarm that will slowly brighten your Pixel three screen in warm sunrise colors before your alarm goes off, which is really nice, so you might even wake up before you hear any sound, easing you into your day instead of with a blaring alarm. Although Pixel three has a nice gradual alarm so you'll be okay there too.

It also turns your Pixel three into a digital photo frame, so while you have this thing on the stand, it's sort of a screensaver mode. It'll show off your digital pictures. They've got digital well being features mixed in as well, so you can set the stand to automatically put your Pixel three into do not disturb mode while it's charging and when you're ready to go to sleep, the screen will go dark until it's time for your alarm, which is really nice. Kind of what the iPhone does with

the do not Disturb wall sleeping feature. Now, there's also seamless integration with the Nest Hello Video doorbell. So basically, if you have your pixel on your pixel stand on your desk, and you also have a Nest Hello Video doorbell, when someone rings your doorbell, this is really cool. Your screen on your phone just comes to life with what your doorbell is seeing. So again, that only works with the Nest Hello does not work with the ring, but

it's a really cool little feature. I saw it demoed at the Google event in New York City and it almost makes me want to switch to a Nest for that feature, because that's really cool. Next up the Samsung Wireless Charger Duo. So this lets you charge two devices at once, which be two smartphones or a smartphone and a Samsung smart watch. No, it does not work with the Apple Watch. This is not the air power system

from Apple that we still have not seen yet. This will charge a Gear s three, a Gear Sport, and a Galaxy Watch. Along with one of these Samsung phones, it will also charge a wide variety of other devices, and there's even a built in fan to keep your device and the charger cool. One thing I noticed about this Samsung Wireless Charger Duo, which by the way, is

one hundred and twenty dollars. It's got a giant power plug that you plug into the wall, so this thing is taking a lot of power to work this thing. Next up, we've got a wireless travel kit from a company called Nimble. This is a new company that was created by some of the folks who originally created Mofi. They're creating high quality, eco friendly tech products at lower prices. They also include an e waste bag with every product that you buy, So basically, this little plastic bag is inside.

You dump all your old cables and gadgets in there, and then you mail it in. They will properly dispose of this old stuff for you. But if you're like me, you can't give up any old cables, so they just collect in a drawer in your house. I've got lots of them now. The Wireless travel Kit works in two ways. You can plug it into the wall and then plug in two gadgets with USB, or you can also use it as a wireless charging pad, so you can charge an iPhone at seven point five watts or Samsung and

Android devices at ten watts max. There's even one extra USB port at the bottom even when you're wirelessly charging, so you can charge one gadget wirelessly and plug another one in. The Nimble device also looks and feels cool. It's kind of different from all of your typical black chargers. This is made from recycled water bottles. It's a gray color, it's kind of fabricy feeling. It's made from organic hemp and plant based bioplastics. Plus you can store the USB

cable right inside the device. It snaps together magnetically, hence the travel charger. That one's a cool one. Next up two devices that I'm loving from Mofi. Mophy's kind of the leader when it comes to all of these chargers and things, but they are expended. You pay a premium for these things. The charge Stream power Station Wireless XCEL is basically their portable battery bank, but it also has built in wireless charging. So this one looks like your

typical backup battery. If you've used one of these, It's basically a battery that you plug in, you charge that and then you unplug it and you can plug your phone in to charge your phone. But this one also has wireless charging built in, so you can just lay your phone on top of it and it will charge. It has a ten thousand million amp hour battery, so it's going to charge your iPhone several times. That model

is one hundred dollars. They also have a six thousand milliamp hour model for eighty dollars, but I say spend the extra twenty dollars. You're almost getting double the charging capacity for just twenty more dollars. One other thing I

like about the charge Stream power station wireless Excel. There is a tiny indicator light and led light that lets you know when your phone is charging, which is really handy because yes, you can look on your phone and see if it has the battery icon with a little charge amp on it, but it's nice to just be a to look at the charger and know that the light is lit up. That means your phone is seated properly and it's actually charging right. Also from Mophy the

charge Stream vent mount for seventy dollars. This one's for your car. You pop it onto your car's air vent, which by the way, my wife hates because it blocks the AC and I'm always concerned about these things in the winter because you have the heat on the car, so you're pumping all that heat onto the back of your phone. So I usually switch to the vents in the floor so my heat comes out of there. I know, so complicated with all this stuff, but I don't want

my phone to overheat, especially when it's charging. And these things are very convenient because they hold your phone in a very nice place in your car so you can see the screen. So once you pop this thing on your vent, you then plug it into your car's USB poor and then you pop your phone into the holder and it will wirelessly charge your phone. So that means you can have your maps right in your view and

your phone is charging at the same time. My favorite part about this thing, I love how you can place your phone in and out of the holder with just one hand. It's super easy and it's the first time I've seen that, and I love it now. The only downside for me is that I use CarPlay and Android Auto, so I need to hardwire my phone into my car's USB port, like plug it directly into there, so you have to take that into consideration if you're thinking about

getting this one. If you want a similar setup, there's a device called the Keynu airframe that I also like. It's much cheaper and that serves a similar mounting purpose on your vent, but that does not have the wireless charging built in, and you also can't place your phone in and out with one hand. You kind of have to use two hands. It takes a while each time,

but it works and I do like that one. And finally, Bezilel they're taking the idea of a portable battery bank and they're adding a useful feature which is a sticky back. This way, you can stick the portable battery to your phone so it stays put with nanosuction technology. Now this is useful because if you've ever tried walking around with one of these wireless portable battery packs, it can be

really tricky. Like I said before, your phone does need to stay in a sweet spot for it to stay charging. So Bezilel has a great idea. But this also has to work with your case, and in my case it does not because I use a case that is texthured. My favorite case is the Spec Presidio grip and yes it's super grippy and I love it, but it is not smooth on the back, so it will not stick to this Bezelel sticky charger, So keep that in mind if you're thinking about this one. The Bezelel Prelude Portable

Power Bank is five thousand million hours. It has a fifteen watt charging Oh my gosh, it will be ninety dollars when it officially launches. Right now, you can get out on Indiegogo for half that price if you back it, and there you have it. Some useful wireless chargers. These are some of the more unique models. You can get the one that sits on your desk from a company like Belkan. Those costs anywhere from thirty to sixty dollars. They're even cheaper if you get one of the no

name models from Amazon. But just keep in mind. The thing to look out for here is the charging watted. You also want a high quality charger because you don't want your phone to overheat or this device to overheat, so make sure you're getting the right fit for your phone, Otherwise the charge is going to be so slow it will not be worth the time time that your phone spends on top of this device. Thanks so much for

listening to the podcast. If you like it, please feel free to share it on social media on Instagram, on Twitter, on Facebook, and be sure to tag me so that I can share the love that you've put out into the world. About the rich on Tech podcast. If you want links to everything I mentioned here, just go to my website richon Tech dot tv, or check the show notes. Thank you to everyone who has purchased my book one hundred and one Handy Tech Tips for the iPhone, now

in paperback on Amazon. I'm rich Dimiro. Have a great day. I'll talk to you real soon.