I have been using Qi chargers with Nexus 5 for about a year. I love the technology, it is convenient and does not stress on the micro USB connector by constantly needing to connect and disconnect it. I own several Qi chargers and through experience found several features that make some Qi Chargers work better in day to day use than others.
➀ Speed of charging
Some charger charge my phone faster than others. Speed is always important to me. I compared charging Nexus 5 with WiPack Qi Charger to the same test run with the other chargers and found that it falls in the middle of the pack. It is not the speediest and not the worst. On avereage it up charges the phone 5% in 10 minutes.
I was able to charge the phone from 65% to full in 1 hour and 20 minutes. The battery in WiPack went from fully charged 4 dots to 1 steady dot.
Looking at the level of charge during this charging cycle:
Start -------------- Phone battery is 65% full, WiPack 100% full (4 dots)
15 minutes later --- Phone battery is 76% full, WiPack at 3 dots
52 minutes later --- Phone battery is 93% full, Wipack at 2 dots
1h 20 min later --- Phone battery is 100% full, Wipack at 1 dot
Note: Nexus 5 is running Lollipop 5.0.1 release of Android OS.
➁ How well the phone stays on the Qi charger
The phone can be easily knocked off the sweet spot of the charger unintentionally (especially if you have kids or pets). The charges that handle those unintentional bumps best are the ones that have non-slippery finish. WiPack has a slick surface which looks great but has a drawback of being slippery. The sweet spot is average size. As you can see in the video I have slightly under 1/2" in either direction.
WiPack size is 5.125" x 2.5" x 0.31", it is a good match for Nexus 5 which is 5.43" x 2.72" x .34". WiPack weighs 3.90 oz.
My trick for charging on the go: When I need to charge the phone on the go (i.e. when it cannot lay flat) I double wrap a rubber band around the phone and a Qi Charger. This keeps the phone on a sweet spot charging in a pocket/purse. I like it better than having a micro USB connector which can be damaged if the phone/battery are jarred. The rubber band trick works very well with this Qi Charger because it is square, thin, and similar in size to Nexus 5.
➂ How easy it is to see that the phone is charging
I like being able to see a visual indicator that the phone is charging. If the phones stops charging I like having a quick way of telling this without having to look at the phone charging status. Nexus 5 is 5.43" x 2.72" x .34" in size, so WiPack is just a little bit smaller than Nexus 5. But because the difference is fairly small I can still see the charging indicator under the phone (as shown in the video). The indicator lights are pretty small, I prefer slightly larger and easier to see indicators but they work ok.
When Qi charger is working you see a red light on the charging indicator. If it is not charging the lights are green.
➃ Is the battery using standard cables
I like the chargers that use a standard micro USB cable, so I don't need to worry about losing a special cable. WiPack uses the standard micro USB cable. Excellent!
➄ Whether the Qi Charger provides charge through charging (i.e. I want to be able to charge the charger while my phone is charging on top of the charger).
WiPack does NOT support charge through charging when it is in wired mode, however it does charge in wireless mode when the battery is plugged in and charging. Since the capacity of the battery is not that large this is critical for over-night charging. It works!
✔ Wireless Charging (Nexus 5 phone)
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5% upcharge in 10 minutes (average)
✔ Wired Charging (Nexus 5 phone charging via micro USB cable)
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current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.11A and 5.05V (Excellent)
✔ Wired iPad Mini Tablet
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0.93A / 5.08V (below average in general, but typical for 1A port)
(for comparison, for the fastest charger I own the current monitor for Nexus 5 shows 1.42A/5.21V)
✔ Wired Charging (Galaxy Nexus phone)
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0.88A / 5.07V (below average)
Bottom line? I thought it was good. Its thinness and shape makes the battery work well with my rubber band trick and that is very important to me for charging on the go. The battery is average in the speed of charging. It looks sleek and is a good match for Nexus 5.
I received this Qi charger with a request for a detailed and honest review from Wireless Efficiency. I hope the pluses and minuses I described will help you determine if this charger a good match for you.
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.
Ali Julia review ★★★★☆
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