We were first introduced, really, to Qi Wireless Charging back with the Nexus 4. Sure there were a few other smartphones that had the capability, but the Nexus 4 really started to slowly make it mainstream. Now that the Samsung Galaxy S6 has it out of the box, it’s getting even more mainstream. There are a number of Qi Wireless Chargers out there, including a Qi car dock, that’s pretty sick. But the biggest issue with these is the price. Many of these Qi Wireless charging pads are around $50 or more. That’s not going to make the adoption rate rise. Especially when you can just use the regular microUSB cable and charge it even faster. Anker’s Ultra Slim Qi Wireless Charger is actually going for $19.99, and that’s the normal price.
And today, we’re taking a look at that Ultra Slim Qi Wireless Charger from Anker. It’s a thin and light-weight charger, as you’d expect from its name. It’s a circular charging pad, with the coils right in the middle. So you can just set your phone down on the pad and have it charging away. There’s a microUSB port in the back, which is used to plug in the wireless charger into the wall. What’s interesting is that this Qi Wireless Charger does not come with a wall adapter. So you have the microUSB cable and the charger, but no wall adapter. Which isn’t a huge deal, as any wall adapter with an USB port would work.
When you place your smartphone on the charger, there is a light in the front, which will flash blue and green to show you that it is charging your device. When there’s nothing on there, it just stays blue. Of course, you can also just hit the power button on your phone to turn it on and see if it’s charging. You know, the old school way.
Like we stated earlier in this review, this Qi Wireless Charger is just $19.99 from Amazon, which is probably the cheapest charger you’ll find that does Qi. It’s simple, small and can be out of the way. It supports any device that uses Qi Wireless Charging as well, which is a plus. If it’s PMA, it won’t work. You can pick up Anker’s Ultra Slim Qi Wireless Charger here.
