What To Know When Looking For A Wireless Charging Pad

Wireless charging is freeing many of us from the tyranny of cables, using the power of low-level magnetic fields to get your phone powered up. Yet it's still a new enough technology that you might not know what to look for quite yet. If you're new to these pads, here's what you need to know.

First, you'll need to know your phone's wireless charging standard. For the most part, it'll be a standard called Qi, which was the first widespread technology to gain popularity among the major smartphone makers. However, check to ensure your phone's compatible before you buy; there are still some attempts to get new technologies out there, and it's still relatively young.

Look for a pad with a textured design on the top and a large surface. Since your phone isn't being held in place by anything other than gravity, you'll want to be sure it doesn't have a chance to fall off your charger either by it being too narrow or too slick. Some chargers will also come with handy "rails" to rest your phone between, so you'll never wake up with a dead phone under your bed.

Consider other devices you might want to charge as well, to keep everything in one place. The Apple Watch, for example, uses inductive charging, so you can easily find charging pads that will charge both. Keep in mind, though, that technology can vary from device to device, so what works on one watch may not work on another.