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What Finally Killed AirPower

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Re: What Finally Killed AirPower

#141

Post by mjsweet »

sp332 wrote: post #22
brian-armstrong wrote: post #11

So my phone is charged by a cable. It plugs into the wall on one side and then plugs into my phone on the other. This system works great - I plug my phone in when I go to bed and unplug it when I wake up. The cable is long enough to plug into my phone even if I want to use it in bed. It's easy, cheap and failproof. What is the draw of wireless charging? What is it that I'm missing? Did anyone ask for this?

I can slap my phone down on the charger next to my bed in the dark. I can grab my phone off the charger on my desk at work with one hand. Before wireless charging, it wasn't much hassle, and I only rarely had trouble with my phone battery dying. Now it's almost no hassle, and I never have trouble with my battery dying. It's just a nice quality-of-life boost.

I have a quad lock desk mount with Qi charger attachment I use at my work desk. It's wonderful and fulfils a similar use case that you have specified here. I can quickly attach the phone and it's charging... often charging all day as I work. I also have a Qi Ikea charger next to it that is often used while I am doing other activities away from my desk. The Quad Lock desk mount is great for seeing notifications coming in, and the Ikea charger is handy if I need a quick top-up during the day and I'm in a rush and drop it in place.

Re: What Finally Killed AirPower

#142

Post by benj111 »

_bxg1 wrote: post #53
brian-armstrong wrote: post #11

So my phone is charged by a cable. It plugs into the wall on one side and then plugs into my phone on the other. This system works great - I plug my phone in when I go to bed and unplug it when I wake up. The cable is long enough to plug into my phone even if I want to use it in bed. It's easy, cheap and failproof. What is the draw of wireless charging? What is it that I'm missing? Did anyone ask for this?

It takes something easy and makes it effortless . Like AirPods, this has a surprising number of implications that you really don't think about until you try it. If I'm just setting my phone down on my desk and it's at 50%, and my cable is right there, I may not bother to plug it in. Especially if I might get up again in 5 or 10 minutes. But if I can just set it down in a particular place and regain a couple percentag…

Your argument could equally apply to some kind of dock/cradle. With the added advantage of it being propped up into a better reading position, and the possibility of a wired data connection.

They never seem to have taken off though. My only guess is because it would only fit one phone/ trap a manufacturer into a form factor.

Re: What Finally Killed AirPower

#143

Post by nicois »

accatyyc wrote: post #111
gpm wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Possible positive? If it keeps it in the 20-70% range I'm told we are supposed to keep our devices in.

The things that kill smartphone batteries today are age and power cycles. It doesn’t matter if you charge from 0% to 100% in one go or from 90% to 100% ten times. Both add up to one power cycle. To keep your battery fresh for as long as possible, always keep the phone connected to a charger. No battery cycles. It will get worse after a few years anyway.

The sole reason I rooted my pixel 2 was to install a simple app which disables charging when I reach 80%. I get all the wins of not killing the battery by constantly saturating it, together with being able to leave it plugged in whenever I am at at my desk.

I so wish manufacturers would offer this option, for those primarily deskbound who do not relish ungluing their battery after a year

Re: What Finally Killed AirPower

#145

Post by azinman2 »

NeedMoreTea wrote: post #139
_bxg1 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It takes something easy and makes it effortless . Like AirPods, this has a surprising number of implications that you really don't think about until you try it. If I'm just setting my phone down on my desk and it's at 50%, and my cable is right there, I may not bother to plug it in. Especially if I might get up again in 5 or 10 minutes. But if I can just set it down in a particular place and regain a couple percentag…

This is what I never understood, even slightly. Why not just give an iPod / iPhone dock without all the wireless bullshit? I prefer a dock as it holds phone at a handy angle, syncs, and doesn't have the myriad of drawbacks of bluetooth. Smartphone battery life is so shit, on every model, that I always plug my phone in. Even if the cable / socket is only going to be around for minutes. So no saving here. In the days o…

Many people are not like you. I personally don’t plug in at my desk even though a cable is there, as it’s one more thing to do. It’s also then tethered, meaning I have an extra step if I want to walk away and bring my phone with me. It’s also tethered meaning I have a loose cable now dangling in my way, which aside from functional issues is also ugly to look at.

I know many who almost never charge their phones, essentially always living at 5%.

Having a clean looking mat that’s permanently located where I can throw my phone on, without regard to position or orientation, would be awesome.

Re: What Finally Killed AirPower

#146

Post by NeedMoreTea »

azinman2 wrote: post #145
NeedMoreTea wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what I never understood, even slightly. Why not just give an iPod / iPhone dock without all the wireless bullshit? I prefer a dock as it holds phone at a handy angle, syncs, and doesn't have the myriad of drawbacks of bluetooth. Smartphone battery life is so shit, on every model, that I always plug my phone in. Even if the cable / socket is only going to be around for minutes. So no saving here. In the days o…

Many people are not like you. I personally don’t plug in at my desk even though a cable is there, as it’s one more thing to do. It’s also then tethered, meaning I have an extra step if I want to walk away and bring my phone with me. It’s also tethered meaning I have a loose cable now dangling in my way, which aside from functional issues is also ugly to look at. I know many who almost never charge their phones, essen…

All of which is covered by having a dock as the act of picking it up breaks connection.

With the added advantage they were cheaper than wireless, and unlike AirPower actually available.

Re: What Finally Killed AirPower

#147

Post by durability »

benj111 wrote: post #142
_bxg1 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It takes something easy and makes it effortless . Like AirPods, this has a surprising number of implications that you really don't think about until you try it. If I'm just setting my phone down on my desk and it's at 50%, and my cable is right there, I may not bother to plug it in. Especially if I might get up again in 5 or 10 minutes. But if I can just set it down in a particular place and regain a couple percentag…

Your argument could equally apply to some kind of dock/cradle. With the added advantage of it being propped up into a better reading position, and the possibility of a wired data connection. They never seem to have taken off though. My only guess is because it would only fit one phone/ trap a manufacturer into a form factor.

The difference is with a sock I need to consciously put it in and take it out. Getting a text message with the phone at an angle so I can read it doesn’t matter to me because I still need to pick it up and carefully line it back down to respond.

Yes it takes less than a second but you know what’s even more effortless? A wireless charging mat that I can just set my phone onto.

Not sure what’s so hard to understand about this.

Re: What Finally Killed AirPower

#148

Post by hmottestad »

7granddad wrote: post #120
the_pwner224 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There wouldn't be any need for pressure sensors; this already happens. The charged device adds some power to its own coil and the charging station detects that (it's unidirectional communication). For example my charging station lights up about a second after putting my phone down, and can show the battery status with the light. I would assume that when there's nothing on them the coils transmit in a low-power mode,…

What I don't follow is how other multi-charging mats do exactly this. According to the article, by their estimation it was powerful harmonic EM interference that did AirPower in. If AirPower were only powering 3 coils at a time like other multi-charging mats why did it run into this problem when others had not

I guess it is because no other mat has overlapping coils. In the apple one they wanted you to not care where you put down your devices. Since they have so many coils, it then becomes likely that the 3 active ones overlap.

Re: What Finally Killed AirPower

#149

Post by _ph_ »

eclipxe wrote: post #40
tolmasky wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The wireless charger is a better experience than putting a cable in your phone in my opinion, but the dock they used to include in the box is a far better than both. It was simple to put your phone in (as opposed to a cable that might fall off the table or move around), and kept the phone facing you making it easy to interact with while charging (unlike the wireless charger). But at some point they probably figured o…

They make wireless chargers in a dock form. I love it - same interactivity as a dock but easy to pick up and go.

I second that. I have an Anker charging stand and it works beautifully. As it is a stand, there are no alignment problems, and it is easy to keep using the phone, especially, as face id always triggers when looking at the phone when I get a notification. The charging mat I have requires careful alignment and while lying flat, face id usually does not trigger.

Re: What Finally Killed AirPower

#150

Post by Razengan »

etatoby wrote: post #95
skellera wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does that have an effect on battery life though? Constant micro charges?

It should have a positive effect, because you're avoiding larger charges and keeping your battery at optimal levels.

All battery myths should be accompanied by a verifiable source.
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