The Best Portable Wireless Charger 2019

Wireless Charger? Come again!

Ok, let’s cut through the confusion. Portable wireless chargers can sometimes be called many different names.

From power bank, battery packs, portable chargers, wireless power bank, USB charger, pocket power cells to name but a few. In essence, these are all portable wireless chargers.

Whatever the name is given, they all do the same thing – they charge your phone without the need for a power outlet.

One cool fact about portable wireless chargers is that they were invented by a couple of teenagers on a school trip. They were on a school bus, the bus had no chargers and they needed to charge their phone, so decided to make a portable device to do so.

Now portable chargers has grown into a million-dollar market place. In 2017 the market was valued at just over £16,300 million.

There is increased usage of digital products worldwide from smartphones to iPads and Bluetooth headphones driving this thirst for wireless charging.

With such a large market place comes increased competition and many models to choose from.

So how do you choose the best portable wireless charger?

The first thing you notice is that they come in all shapes and sizes, colours and accessories.

The smallest portable power adapters can weigh as little as 3 oz. Some come with cables or some with multiple ports so you can charge more than one device.

The technology behind a portable power adapter is based on the type of battery being used. There are basically two types, Lithium-ion cells, and Lithium-Polymer cells.

The former type of battery has a higher energy density but they are bulky and can lose their charging capacity.

Lithium Polymer cells are more expensive but hold their charge better and take less time to charge another device.

The most obvious reason for owning a portable wireless charger is that you can always have access to charge your phone or tablet. You will never have to stress about charging your phone again!

The other unique thing is that you can carry these guys around with you where ever. They usually fit in your pocket, handbag, briefcase and are lightweight and easy to use.

One of the first things to consider is the power of the charger itself.

Portable power chargers are usually given a power rating. This is stated in what is called milliamp-hour or mAh. The bigger the number of mAh the more charges you will enjoy for your phone.

They usually range from 2,000 mAh to 10,000 mAh but you can also buy up to 26,000 mAh. Although the bigger the battery capacity the weight of the power pack will increase also.

Using a fully charged 5000 mAh battery you should be able to enjoy at least 2.5 charges for a standard iPhone. It goes without saying that the bigger devices you want charging will need a bigger battery size.

Most chargers are fitted with a standard USB port that will fit any USB cable. Bigger chargers will sometimes have more than one USB port to allow multiple device charging.

Now not all USB are the same, they also have an impact on how fast you can charge your devices. Many phones and tablets have adopted the USB-C adapter which allows for faster charging – so bear this in mind when choosing your portable power charger.

Also when it comes to charging there are a couple of other aspects to consider.

There is something called pass-through charging that allows you to charge your device while the power pack is also being charged. That means if both your phone and portable power charger are running low this can be a useful feature.

Another feature that is becoming more common is wireless charging. This allows you to re-charge your device without the need for a cable, you simply rest your device on the power pack itself.

This is a wireless standard called QI (chee) charging. This is normally built into an array of smartphones such as Apple and Samsung. It is the only wireless standard that is actually built into the phones themselves.

Now for cables.

Not every portable power charger comes with the cables to charge your phone. Nearly all will come with a power cable supplied but not for your device.

Make sure you check out what comes with the charger and what doesn’t.

The other thing to bear in mind is that the portable power charger will need charging itself. No power bank has yet been developed that will charge itself – it still needs refueling from the socket. That is unless you choose a solar-charged power bank!

Most power wireless power banks have an LED indicator to tell you when it is ready for use again. When looking to buy a portable wireless charger make sure you check out the quality aspects.

Most reputable chargers will have gone through rigorous testing. These will be for things such as efficiency, temperature, and voltage protection.

Check it out on the packaging and look for kite marks and quality marks – there are quite a few counterfeit chargers out there.

Although it is rare, there are some instances where a portable power adapter can harm your phone battery.

These instances can be due to:

• Using a poor quality power adapter. It can damage your charging port as well as your phone battery.
• Using the wrong voltage. The ideal voltage to charge a phone is 5V. If any power pack gives a voltage of 4.7V it will drain the battery rather than charge it.
• Overcharging. Don’t always use the power adapter to charge your phone. Make sure you use other charging methods to protect your battery.

The Future Of Wireless Charging.

At the moment using qi technology, the distance from the device to the charger is usually a few feet.

Wireless charging not only for mobile devices but for larger battery-powered products such as vehicles is constantly being developed.

There have been advances in wireless charging range but the pipedream of truly wireless charging wherever you roam may be a distance away. Until then, why not check out our range?