Maximum charge rate: 10W (7.5W for iPhone), 12W USB-A (x3), 18W USB-C Power Delivery (x2), 5W Apple Watch Oh, and the iPhone 12 Mini and 13 Mini are capped at 12W charging via MagSafe, rather than 15W, for heat dissipation reasons. Does anyone need a wireless charging bowl with yellow underglow, fake wood grain on the outside and fake copper (or faux terra cotta?) on the inside? I don’t know. But I tested 28 wireless chargers for this article and the Tylt Bowl was the only one that sparked joy.

Wireless Chargers - Anker US Wireless Chargers - Anker US

Our exclusive MultiProtect safety system is equipped with foreign object detection, short circuit protection, temperature control and more, so you can experience wireless charging with total peace of mind. Wireless charging is also energy inefficient — by some calculations it takes 40% more energy to charge a phone wirelessly than by plugging it in. Every 10W wireless charger we tested required at least a 15W wall adapter. If you have any phone in the iPhone 12 or 13 families — including the Mini, Pro or Pro Max — you should consider a MagSafe charger. Rings of magnets on the charger and the phone ensure perfect alignment, and iPhones can charge at up to 15W on a MagSafe charger, compared to 7.5W on a Qi charger. And unlike with a regular wireless charger, you don’t have to leave your phone sitting around while it’s charging; you can use it normally. It even leaves the Lightning port free for wired headphones. (Whether that’s a good thing depends on your relationship with screen time and is outside the scope of this article). Size and shape: Since wireless chargers sit out on display, they might as well look good and not take up too much room. The Samsung is the only charger we tested with an active cooling fan, but you can only control it from a Samsung phone. Also, the status LED glows red when the phone is charging correctly, which is counterintuitive.

Anker’s affordable wireless charging stand just about does the job, but is getting a little dated

The Samsung Fast Charge Wireless Charging Stand does charge other Android phones at up to 10W, and iPhones at 7.5W, like most of the other chargers we tested, so it’s still useful in mixed-phone-ecosystem situations, a phrase I can’t believe I typed at 8 p.m. on a Saturday one week before Christmas.

Anker 313 Wireless Charger (Pad) - Anker UK

The Tylt is a plastic bowl, about 7 inches in diameter, with a 10W Qi charging pedestal in the middle at about rim height. The inside is a semi-glossy copper colored plastic, while the outside has an unconvincing wood grain pattern. A golden light shines down into the bowl from the stand when your phone is charging. Provides a max 7.5W charge for the iPhone 12 series. To charge the iPhone 12 series at 15W, use an official MagSafe wireless charger.

The 18W USB-A charger included with the PowerWave 3-in-1 is less powerful and less useful than the 45W USB-PD one that comes with the Zens, but it’s still streets ahead of any proprietary charger.

wireless chargers in 2023 | CNN Underscored The best wireless chargers in 2023 | CNN Underscored

The Anker PowerWave 3-in-1 has a 10W Qi charging stand, a 5W Qi pad for wireless AirPod cases and a stand with a slot for an Apple Watch charger. The Apple Watch charger isn’t included. Instead, Anker provides an internal USB port under the bottom cover, along with a clever routing system for the 3-foot charging cable the Apple Watch comes with. Regardless of the phone, induction charging isn’t as fast as wired charging. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, which we used for testing, can charge via USB-C at 25W. Samsung’s wireless chargers can hit 15W; on a standard Qi charger, it’s limited to 9W. So it’ll charge almost three times faster with a cable than on a wireless charger. The iPhone 13 can charge at up to 20W via Lightning cable, 15W on MagSafe and just 7.5W on a standard wireless charger. If you’re in a hurry, plug it in.iPhone 12 / 12 Mini / 12 Pro / 12 Pro Max / SE (2020) / 11/ 11 Pro / 11 Pro Max / XS Max / XR / XS / X / 8 / 8 Plus