One feature that Samsung packed into the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge that they have never offered as a built-in function is wireless charging. It was easy enough to pick up one of their wireless charging cases, or one of a handful of others out there though. There were even a few go getters that created a wireless charging adapter that went behind the rear cover of the device. While some worked better than others, it wasn’t until the most recent flagship that Samsung made it a standard built-in ability. This function now lets users use a variety of Qi wireless charging pads, pucks, stands as anything that is Qi enabled will charge your device. here I will show you a quick look at the Samsung Wireless Charging pad.
In the box:
- Qi compatible wireless charging pad
- USB cable
- 2.0A wall block
- Quick start guide and warranty
The charging pad is a round puck style pad that is constructed of a hard plastic. Sitting in the middle is a raised rubber pad that helps the device stay in place. It is also useful for not scratching the rear gorilla Glass 4 too.
Around the outer edge is a clear plastic halo. There is a LED light that illuminates to show you the charging state. Blue means it is charging and green means your phone is charged.
I distinctively remember the first iteration of wireless chargers being horribly slow at charging a device. This was many years ago and the technology has come a long way. I ran the same battery charge tests that I do for other chargers and battery banks to see how it performed. To best test its charge rates I ran a 10 minute charge with all the usual connections still active. I did the same charge using the stock wall plug.
The stock charger that is included with the wireless charger along with all cellular connections, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and location services connected offered up approximately 7% charge in 10 minutes. The device was naked without a case. Mind you, the charger that it comes with the unit does not enable fast charging.
Leaving the same connections on and placing the device on the Samsung wireless charger it pulled in approximately 5% battery charge in roughly 10 minutes. Again, the device was naked.
While it certainly will take your new flagship a little longer to reach full charge, having wireless charging certainly is a bit more convenient and should help keep extra strain off your USB port. Particularly at the office, in the living room, kitchen or wherever a quick set down is usual. However, there is a flaw in the whole process. Once your device hits 100% the charging pad shuts off and doesn’t resume. In a nutshell, you wouldn’t want to use this as an overnight bedside charging option as you will wake up to less than a full charge on your device. I can’t compare this to others out there as this is the only Qi charging pad I have ever used, but if there are other options that will keep it trickle charging overnight please leave a comment.
I gave it a  charge test with the two cases I have sitting here, one being the Samsung Flip View cover and the other being the Rokform Crystal V3. I expected the Samsung case to have no issue as it is fairly thin, I was pleasantly surprised that the phone still charged with the thicker Rokform case on as well. The thicker Rokform case did charge much slower than the slimmer Samsung Flip View though. With the Rokform it slowed to 4 – 5 % per 10 minutes. Not a huge deal if you aren’t looking to grab large amounts of power in a short period of time.
The Samsung Wireless Charger is landing in stores all over the globe right now. Here in the US you can find them for $49.99. If you registered your device you should have received a 30% coupon in your email which knocks the price down to $35 + shipping unless you order something else to get your total over $50, then you get free shipping. Alternatively you can pick them up through Amazon for a little less.
