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9 best wireless chargers for topping up your iPhone and Android battery with ease

Power it up without the cable   (The Independent)
Power it up without the cable (The Independent)

Nightstands, office desks, coffee tables, you name it, wireless chargers are finding their way onto every flat surface in our homes, and for good reason too. The convenience of being able to charge your phone up just by plopping it down on the table in front of you without needing to dig around for a cable is a wondrous feeling.

Samsung was the first company to give Qi wireless charging prominence when it introduced the technology into its Galaxy note phones in the mid-2010s. Now it’s pretty ubiquitous, with almost every smartphone manufacturer including the tech onto their devices, but it’s not always been that way.

When Apple announced the iPhone 8 and iPhone X in 2017 – the first iPhones with wireless charging – the world got very, very excited over another product it unveiled: a revolutionary wireless charging pad called the AirPower. Apple promised that the AirPower would be able to wirelessly charge an iPhone, an Apple Watch and some AirPods completely simultaneously, and it didn’t even matter where the devices were placed on the mat – something that had never been achieved before.

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But two years later, the company announced that it was canning the product, citing development difficulties in making the wireless charging pad reach the company’s “high standards for hardware”.

Although rumours suggest that the AirPower isn’t completely dead in the water, it might not matter all that much anymore. Apple eventually came up with a workaround in the form of MagSafe, a new magnet-based charging solution embedded into its iPhones, which was first implemented in the iPhone 12. And the wireless charger market has absolutely ballooned in size ever since.

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Now a number of third-party manufacturers like Belkin, Anker and Mophie have picked up Apple’s baton, and they have successfully done what the tech giant could not – develop wireless charging stands and pads that can power up three or more devices at once. While you might not be able to place your iPhone in any position on the stand, Apple’s MagSafe has really made multi-charging pads a reality so that positioning has become less relevant.

But with the wireless charger market evolving rapidly and more charging manufacturers throwing their hat into the ring, which ones are the best? And which ones are worth buying? We’ve tested a bunch to find out.

How we tested

We swapped our cables for wireless charging pads, mats, stands and pucks, testing MagSafe-compatible wireless chargers, as well as stands for Android devices. These charging stations had to work well, be built robustly and most of all, charge our devices without any issue, in a convenient way and (if possible) fast.

While all of these wireless chargers technically work with all Qi wireless compatible devices, some are specifically aimed at Apple devices, and work best when partnered with the MagSafe system. Here are all the best wireless chargers we’ve tried out, from simple models to stylish ones to those that double up as a speaker and more.

The best wireless chargers for 2022 are:

  • Best overall wireless charger – Belkin boostup charge pro 3-in-1 wireless charging pad with MagSafe: £139.99, Belkin.com

  • Best wireless charger for iPhone – Apple MagSafe wireless charger: £39, Apple.com

  • Best wireless charger for Google Pixel devices – Google Pixel stand 2nd gen wireless charger: £69, Google.com

  • Best wireless charger stand – Anker MagGo 2-in-1 wireless charging station: £89.99, Anker.com

  • Best wireless charger for Android – Mophie snap+ wireless charger: £34.95, Zagg.com

  • Best wireless charger with in-built sanitiser – Belkin boostup charge UV sanitiser and wireless charger: £59.99, Belkin.com

  • Best portable wireless charger with kickstand – ESR halolock kickstand wireless charger for MagSafe: £22.99, Amazon.co.uk

  • Best wireless charger for design – Twelve South powerpic mod wireless charger: £54.99, Amazon.co.uk

  • Best wireless charger smart speaker – Belkin soundform elite: £249.99, Belkin.com

Belkin boostup charge pro 3-in-1 wireless charger pad with MagSafe

Best: Overall wireless charger

Rating: 10/10

  • Dimensions: H2.1 x W23.7 x D8.6cm

  • Weight: 476g

  • Wattage: 15W

  • Type: Pad

  • Compatible with: iPhone 12 and above, Apple Watch, AirPods gen 2 and above

Belkin’s newest wireless charging pad is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to charging your three most important Apple devices – your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods. It’s a sleek rectangular pad that comes in white or black, featuring magnets that work with Apple’s MagSafe technology. It’s sturdily-built with a nice, soft rubber top that kept our devices securely glued onto the pad, even when we accidentally knocked it over onto the floor (yes, really).

The Apple Watch charging module can be raised, so that you can use it in nightstand mode and view the clock. That magnetic fast charging module is specifically designed for the Apple Watch series 7, meaning we were able to charge our watch up to 80 per cent in roughly 45 minutes.

One weird design choice is that the magnetic circular pads for charging your iPhone and Apple Watch are both white, even if you opt for the black wireless charging pad like we did, but it’s so good that it’s something easily overlooked. We particularly appreciated the LED indicator, which told us when our AirPods were fully charged – you don’t often get this with most wireless chargers. Better yet? You get 15W of power with the included power outlet.

Buy now £139.99, Belkin.com

Apple MagSafe wireless charger

Best: Wireless charger for iPhone

Rating: 9/10

  • Dimensions: Not specified

  • Weight: Not specified

  • Wattage: 15W

  • Type: Pad

  • Compatible with: iPhone 12 and above, AirPods 2nd gen and above

If you want to stick with official Apple products, then you can’t go wrong with the OG MagSafe charger, which charges your iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 at the fastest possible speed. It’s small, pocket-friendly and easy to use, clicking neatly onto the back of any iPhone with a magnet in it. The wire does feel a little flimsy – it’s not reinforced, but you shouldn’t need to replace this one too frequently if you run through lightning cables at, well, lightning speed. That’s because it doesn’t click into the lightning port, instead snapping onto the back, so there’s less pressure on the cable end.

As with most of the Qi wireless chargers on this list, it can charge an Android device, but it’s more suited to use with iPhones. If you just want something simple and fast, then the original MagSafe charger does the job, just make sure to pick up a high enough wattage power source as well.

Buy now £39.00, Apple.com

Google Pixel stand 2nd gen wireless charger

Best: Wireless charger for Google Pixel devices

Rating: 9/10

  • Dimensions: H11.3 x W7.16 x D8.2cm

  • Weight: 71g

  • Wattage: Up to 23W

  • Type: Stand

  • Compatible with: Google Pixel and Qi-compatible devices

Google’s second generation Pixel stand is a fast wireless charger that Pixel 6 and 6 pro owners should consider picking up. While it works with all Qi-compatible devices, only Pixel 6 devices will get the fastest speeds – 23W for the Pixel 6 pro and 21W for the Pixel 6. Other Qi-compatible devices will get 15W of charge, which is still pretty significant.

There’s a built-in fan that helps to keep your Pixel 6 cool, a requirement if you want it to charge at the fastest speed. It’s pretty quiet and unobtrusive overall. But that’s not all, because the stand has a few more nifty features...

It doubles up as a digital photo frame. The first time you dock your phone onto the stand, Google asks you which photo albums you’d like it to display, showing your photos in a slideshow format. You can set it up so that it automatically turns on “do not disturb” mode when placed in the stand and also set up a sunrise feature, which slowly brightens your display 15 minutes before your morning alarm is about to go off.

Buy now £69.00, Google.com

Anker MagGo 633 2-in-1 wireless charging stand

Best: Wireless charger stand with removable power bank

Rating: 9/10

  • Dimensions: 10.7 x 10.7 x 15.79cm

  • Weight: 348g

  • Wattage: 7.5W

  • Type: Stand and power bank

  • Compatible with: iPhone 12 and above, AirPods 2nd gen and above

This magnet-compatible wireless charger might look small, but it’s one of the best wireless charging stands we’ve tested in terms of design. It’s not only a wireless charging stand that magnetically holds your iPhone in either portrait or landscape mode, but that pad which you rest your iPhone on doubles up as a 5,000mAh power bank that can actually be removed as well. And that’s not all, because the base of the stand acts as an AirPods wireless charger too, so even if you’ve taken the power bank off, you can still use the stand to charge your AirPods.

With most third-party chargers, you’re only going to be able to get 7.5W of power, and that’s what you get with the Anker MagGo, despite shipping with a 25W power adapter in the box. That’s because while it uses magnets, it’s not actually MagSafe certified like the Belkin boostup charge pro (£139.99, Belkin.com).

Buy now £89.99, Anker.com

Mophie snap+ wireless charger

Best: Wireless charger for Android

Rating: 9/10

  • Dimensions: D5.6 x W5.6 x H0.5cm

  • Weight: 47g

  • Wattage: 15W for Android, 7.5W for iPhone

  • Type: Pad

  • Compatible with: Android and iPhone

If you’ve got an Android phone and feel a little envious of Apple’s magnetic charging system, fret not, because Mophie has designed a wireless charger that works in a similar way for both.

Mophie calls this functionality “snap+”, and it’s integrated into the company’s snap+ wireless charger. Like the MagSafe charger, it includes an array of magnets for any iPhone to attach to, but if you don’t have an iPhone with MagSafe, then the included snap adapter performs just as well. Best of all, it’s easy to attach to the back of any Android phone or case. This essentially adds magnetic capabilities to any smartphone.

The charger itself is actually better at charging Android devices than iPhones, with the pad juicing up an Android device with 15W of power and an iPhone with 7.5W of power. It’s small, portable, well-built and extremely easy to use.

Buy now £34.95, Zagg.com

Belkin boostup charge UV sanitiser and wireless charger

Best: Wireless charger with in-built sanitiser

Rating: 8/10

  • Dimensions: H3.5 x W19.9 x D11.8cm

  • Weight: 440g

  • Wattage: 10W

  • Type: Pad

  • Compatible with: iPhone and Android

There are a bunch of two-in-one and three-in-one wireless chargers around, capable of charging multiple devices at once, but this wireless charger from Belkin is a different kind of two-in-one. Clearly designed for our post-Covid world, it’s a UV sanitising box first and foremost that doubles up as a wireless charger.

Roughly the size of a thick paperback book, it opens up to reveal a UV-C light chamber. Belkin says it’s able to sanitise non-porous items, such as phones, keys, wallets, cards and cash. Basically, if it can fit in the UV light chamber, then it can reportedly remove 99.99 per cent of bacteria. There are two settings – a three-minute quick clean or a 15-minute deep clean. It’s silent and easy to use, and comes with an 18W power outlet.

Once you close the lid, you can pop any Qi-enabled device on top of the box and charge it, with it delivering up to 10W of power. It’s not the best-looking thing in the world, and it’s a bit of a clunky device to throw in your bag, but it’s a pretty clever piece of kit that charged our phone up fast.

Our one wish? That it could charge our phone while sanitising it at the same time. You can sanitise your keys and wallet in the UV chamber while charging your phone, but popping your phone into the UV chamber won’t charge it.

Buy now £59.99, Belkin.com

ESR halolock MagSafe kickstand wireless charger

Best: Portable wireless charger with kickstand

Rating: 8/10

  • Dimensions: H6cm x W6 x D0.7cm

  • Weight: 86.46g

  • Wattage: 7.5W

  • Type: Puck/stand

  • Compatible with: iPhone

This wireless charger is the cleverest little puck we’ve tested. While some manufacturers have made full wireless charging stands, ESR has opted for a portable little puck, featuring a metal kickstand which means you can prop up your iPhone while it’s charging. Think of it as a copy of the official MagSafe charger, just with a better design.

You will need an ESR halolock-compatible case or a naked iPhone to use this one, or it will just keep sliding off the back, but It’s great for chucking into your bag. It’s extremely well-built, featuring a nice hardy metal kickstand that clicks securely into a hole in the rear, helping it stay flush with the puck when not in use. It’s meant to be used horizontally, so don’t be surprised if it falls over when attached vertically.

With just 7.5W charging power, it’s not the fastest wireless charger in the world, so if you want your phone to charge super quickly, opt for the official charger.

Buy now £22.99, Amazon.co.uk

Twelve South powerpic mod wireless charger

Best: Wireless charger for design

Rating: 8/10

  • Dimensions: H18.1 x W4.6 x D12.4cm

  • Weight: 610g

  • Wattage: 10W

  • Type: Photo frame stand

  • Compatible with: iPhone and Android

Let’s be frank, wireless chargers aren’t the best-looking things in the world. While they’re a nice convenience, they take up a lot of surface room on tabletops, and can get in the way when you actually want to use it for something other than charging. Twelve South’s powerpic mod is clever because it hides a wireless charger inside a photo frame.

You can use the powerpic mod as if it were an actual picture frame, placing it in either portrait or landscape orientations. It fits photos that are 4x6 in size, while also allowing you to charge your phone on top of it. It’s really neat and has a nice clear frame. However, it is a little fiddly putting photos inside the magnetic cover – you need to really align it properly or the edges will stick out, and you might struggle with photos that are printed on thicker paper, but when it works, it works well.

It doesn’t charge very fast, only providing 10W for Android devices and 7.5W for iPhones. You also need to use a 20W adapter (not included in the box) or your speeds will be even slower.

Buy now £54.99, Amazon.co.uk

Belkin soundform elite

Best: Wireless charger smart speaker

Rating: 7/10

  • Dimensions: H16.8 x W16.2 x D16.2cm

  • Weight: 1.25kg

  • Wattage: 10W

  • Type: Speaker

  • Compatible with: iPhone and Android

Some wireless chargers can take up a lot of room, especially with limited space on your bedside table, which is why this product from Belkin is such a neat idea. The Belkin soundform elite is a smart speaker with an integrated wireless charger on the top. It’s a fat cylindrical thing that looks like its upper body has been sliced in half, but it’s actually not as hideous as that description sounds.

With a speaker engineered by French audio company Devialet and two far-field microphones for Alexa integration, the soundform elite lets you play music with just your voice and charges your phone at the same time, keeping your nightstand clutter-free. It features a 35mm full range driver and a dual 70mm woofer setup, so this speaker gets loud. That said, we did find it to be a little too shrill when it came to the high frequencies and a little too boisterous in the bass – though the single-purpose Alexa speakers perform much better.

Sadly, it only charges iPhones at 7.5W, Samsung phones at 9W, and Google devices at 10W, so we didn’t get the fastest charging speeds when testing this machine, but it’s not too big of a deal, considering we placed it on the top of the speaker to charge overnight. And considering the acoustics – let’s be real, it’s a speaker first and foremost – are a little lacklustre, it’s pretty expensive when purchased from Belkin directly. Although it is frequently on sale at third-party retailers. Ultimately though, you’ll be hard-pressed to find an Alexa-enabled speaker with a built-in Qi charger better than this one.

Buy now £249.99, Belkin.com

The verdict: Best wireless chargers

If you’re searching for a wireless charger that can charge multiple devices at once and do it fast, then we highly recommend getting the Belkin 3-in-1 boostup wireless charging pad. It’s aimed at Apple users and uses MagSafe to secure your devices to the pad. It charges up to 15W, so you’ll be getting relatively fast speeds for your AirPods, Apple Watch and iPhone.

If you’ve got a Google Pixel phone, then the 2nd gen Pixel stand is a great option. It charged Pixel devices the fastest out of all the wireless chargers we tested, and it also has some pretty swish smart features that you don’t often find on a wireless charger.

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