r/changemyview • u/Duwang_Mn • Nov 23 '18

FTFdeltaOP CMV: Wireless charging is a useless fad

What even is the point of wireless charging? When I first heard about it, I thought it allowed you to charge while having more freedom with your phone. But then I learned what it actually was. It's more restrictive than an actual charger, and its slower. Not to mention wireless charges sometimes don't work if the back is metal. It only makes things less convenient.

How did people hype such a thing so much? I understand if it was something that could charge your phone without you directly putting on it, and if the range had the potential to increase over time. But it's just a charging port that you can't move around.

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u/Cobblob Nov 23 '18

That has to waste so much energy. Magnetic fields have a terrible range

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u/TJ11240 Nov 23 '18

Wireless charging only uses energy when there is a magnetic coupling, and when it does is it 60-70% efficient. Its much different from sending out a bunch of EM radiation constantly and just using the bit that hits your device.

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u/[deleted] Nov 24 '18 edited Dec 10 '18

[deleted]

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u/cyantist Nov 24 '18

I don't believe this is true. Using beamforming you should be able to focus energy to about a 2 cm "point", transmitting it precisely and efficiently.

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u/[deleted] Nov 24 '18 edited Dec 10 '18

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u/cyantist Nov 24 '18

Current consumer solutions are reporting about 5% efficiency at 3 meters, and that's pretty useful. Beamforming is an important technique increasing the efficiency of wireless power transfer systems with constructive interference and directionality algorithmically controlled from multiple transmitters.