Wireless Qi chargers are handy for many scenarios where you want to avoid the clutter of a cable eg: if you like to place your phone by your bedside to recharge your battery overnight or put your phone on your work desk to charge between uses.
Most standard wireless charging pads and stands recharge your device at a rate of 5-15 Watts.
Mophie snap+ wireless charger
One example is the new Mophie snap+ wireless charger which refuels your Qi compatible phone, watch etc at up to 15 Watts. It’s a very small and slim charging base that will appeal to those who have a small bedside table or little spare desk worktop space. As an added bonus this charger includes a magnetic snap adapter to optionally make your phone Magsafe compatible.a
The Mophie snap+ wireless charger doesn’t come with a mobile phone power adapter, you’ll have to use one of your own that supports output of at least 15W that connects via the USB-C cable supplied by Mophie.
I tested it with a Blitzwolf power adapter capable of up to 30W output, by top up charging LG Velvet and OPPO Find X3 Pro phones. The LG charged at a rate of up to 10W (which is the max it’s capable of) and the OPPO at up to a rate of 15W (which is the max the Mophie charger can output).
OPPO 45W AirVOOC Wireless Charger stand
Then I tried the new OPPO 45W AirVOOC Wireless Charger stand which says it can refuel a Qi compatible phone at up to 45 Watts. The benefits of a stand over a puck sized charger is being able to place vertically or horizontally and still easily seeing the screen easily while it’s on a desk or bedside. A negative is that it does take up more space.
The OPPO 45W AirVOOC Wireless Charger doesn’t come with a mobile phone power adapter. It supports adapters that are compatible with SUPERVOOC, VOOC, QC, PD or old 5V/2A.
To achieve the top SUPERVOOC wireless charging speed you’ll need to use the supplied SUPERVOOC cable and a 65W SUPERVOOC 2.0 power adapter eg: the one supplied with an OPPO Find X3 Pro.
I tested the OPPO 45W AirVOOC Wireless Charger with an OPPO 65W SUPERVOOC 2.0 power adapter by fully charging an LG Velvet and OPPO Find X3 Pro phone. The LG charged at a rate of up to 10W (which is the max it’s capable of) and the OPPO at up to a rate of 30W (which is the max rate the Find X3 Pro can wirelessly charge at).
Which wireless Qi charger should I buy?
For relatively slow charging between 5-15W if given the choice between a branded wireless charger like Samsung that’s primarily tested with its own brand devices or a reputable 3rd party brand that should work with any Qi compatible wireless charging device I would opt for a 3rd party one like Mophie. If you own Qi devices from a brand that offers its own proprietary wireless charging faster than 15W like Oppo, it’s worth getting that unless it’s super expensive.
The Mophie Snap+ Wireless Charging Pad is available for $59.95 from JB Hi-Fi, Syntricate etc. The OPPO 45W AirVOOC Wireless Charger is available from the OPPO Australia online shop for $99 incl shipping.
Bear in mind for both products you need a power adaptor as well. The Mophie is much cheaper to buy overall because most Ausdroid readers will have a spare power adapter capable of 15W output. The OPPO charger only works at its best with the 65W OPPO SuperVOOC 2.0 charger which costs an extra $35-65 depending on whether it’s on sale.
For most people, the Mophie charger with its clever optional snap magnet is the cheaper better choice, especially for overnight charging or just topping up a few times a day where you’re not in a rush to get to 100%. The more expensive OPPO charger top speed is useful only for owners of the fast wireless charging OPPO phones eg: Find X3 Pro.
