Yahoo Autos The Best Wireless Car Chargers to Keep Your Smartphone Alive on Long Drives
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The Best Wireless Car Chargers to Keep Your Smartphone Alive on Long Drives
Everyone fears that dreaded low-battery warning on their smartphone-especially if you're halfway to your destination and relying on your smartphone for navigational purposes.
If you're a ride-share driver for Lyft or Uber or just someone who can't get from A to Z without a little smartphone prompting and rely heavily on battery-depleting apps like Google Maps or Waze, your phone won't last long between charges. Or maybe you're just someone who consistently forgets to up the battery on your phone before heading out the door. Either way, you really should consider getting one of these wireless car chargers so you never hover around 10 percent again.
Two things worth noting: First, wireless chargers trade speed for convenience. None of these picks match the speed of a car's 12-volt accessory outlet (cigarette lighter) or your wall charger at home, so you'll only get a quick boost of power during a short drive. Second, some states including California have strict windshield-obstruction laws, which prohibit "any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied upon the windshield." This means that depending on where you're driving, you shouldn't use wireless chargers that stick to your windshield with a suction mount 0r adhesive pad.
Be sure to check your state's laws before purchasing a wireless car charger, or consider getting one that affixes to your vehicle's air conditioning vent or CD player instead.
In the meantime, here are the best wireless car chargers worth your attention.
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Lynktec Bolt Smart Car Mount & Qi Wireless Charger
Lynktec
amazon.com
$49.99
The Lynktec Bolt is one of the most adjustable car-charging mounts you can buy.
Its claw grip widens significantly and automatically to accommodate wide phone/tablet combinations such as the Galaxy Note8, and it has two "feet" at the bottom that you can lower to ensure that your smartphone's charging coils line up with the charger's coil to begin the charging process.
This Qi charger affixes to your vehicle's AC vent, or you can stick it to your dashboard or windshield. We love that the mount rotates, meaning you can use your phone in landscape or portrait mode. Plus, it's powerful enough to charge your phone even through a thick leather case.
- 3/7
Scoshe Stuckup Qi Wireless Car Charger
scosche.com
$49.99
The Scosche Stuckup Qi wireless car charger allows you to mount your smartphone one of two ways: either on the dash of your vehicle or to your windshield.
The mount sticks and stays steady, thanks to a suction cup that features a sticky adhesive. It's a semipermanent mounting solution that you can reuse and reapply.
During our tests, we found this charger to be the fastest wireless car charger. Granted, it's not that fast, but most wireless chargers aren't. This one will fully charge your smartphone in less than three hours, though.
The Stuckup Qi has a simple and straightforward setup. It comes with everything you need to get charging wirelessly, including a charging base, a 58-inch USB cable, suction mount, and a 12V power adapter. The phone cradle is entirely adjustable to accommodate a phone of any size, and to ensure its charging coils will line up perfectly with your smartphone's to initiate charging.
We were even able to charge an iPhone X and an LG V30 with their cases on. The mount features a gooseneck design that bends and rotates, too, so you can get the perfect viewing angle.
This mount is dependable, adjustable, and one of the most powerful. It's also backed by a three-year warranty.
- 4/7
iOttie iTap Wireless Qi Car Mount Charger
$39.99
Most wireless car chargers feature clunky, claw-shaped designs that grip your device and may even scuff their leather cases. iOttie created a mount that resolves this issue entirely with the use of magnets.
Like other wireless car chargers, this one affixes to your car's dashboard with a sticky adhesive, but what makes it different is how you attach your phone to it. Instead of using an adjustable claw to grip your phone or a cradle for it to rest in, you stick a small magnet to your phone's backside or place the magnet in your phone's case. Then, you just stick it to the magnetic charging pad, and voilà-your phone starts charging. The magnets keep your phone stable and secure, even on bumpy roads.
iOttie's charger offers a much sleeker design than the competition, albeit at a higher price. Our only complaint is that anytime your phone is charging, a cooling fan kicks on-and it's loud. Not loud enough that your car's speakers can't drown it out, but if you're talking to the kids after picking them up from school, its hum is definitely noticeable. This tradeoff ensures that your smartphone won't ever overheat, though!
- 5/7
Scosche VentMount Qi Wireless Car Charger
$49.99
If you live in a state that prohibits the use of windshield mounts, this option from Scosche is the way to go.
It's essentially the equivalent to the Stuckup Qi wireless car charger we mentioned earlier, but rather than affixing to your windshield, it has clips on its backside that attach to your vehicle's air conditioning vents. It's also a great choice for those who swap and share vehicles or drive rental cars.
Practically every other mount affixes to your car's dashboard with a sticky adhesive that's tricky to remove. We were happy to see that this mount is easily removable, adjustable, and features a 360-degree rotating design.
It's compatible with practically any size smartphone (even the iPhone 8 Plus), and it comes with a 58-inch USB cable and charging adapter.
Our only minor complaint is that its indicator light is covered and difficult to see when your phone is resting on the mount.
- 6/7
iOttie Easy One Touch Qi Wireless Fast Charge Car Mount
$49.94
The iOttie Easy One Touch Qi wireless charger is one of the most adjustable mounts you can buy.
We love that its arm extends and lets you move your phone not only higher or lower, but also closer to you while you're driving. During our tests, we measured that its arm extends from five to eight inches.
We also found that the iOttie Easy Touch was powerful enough to charge our iPhone X through a thick leather case, and also juice up an LG V30 with a slim plastic case on it. But the iOttie's charging times were slower than the similar Scosche Stuckup Qi wireless car charger. You'll only add about 10 percent battery life in an hour of charging with this model.
If you can put up with slightly slower speeds, it's a great choice if you want the extendable arm. iOttie also manufactures a variant that mounts to your CD player, or affixes to your vehicle's air-conditioning vent.
- 7/7
Scosche MagicMount Charge Wireless Car Charger
$29.99
The MagicMount Charge is similar to iOttie's iTap Wireless Qi Wireless we mentioned earlier. Rather than having a cradle for your smartphone to rest in, this one uses magnets to hold your smartphone.
The charger comes with thin but powerful magnets that you put behind your smartphone's case or stick to the back of your phone with a removable adhesive. Its mount has a suction cup that you place either on your dashboard or the windshield. Its arm adjusts and rotates 360 degrees, making this a good choice if you like to use a maps app in landscape mode.
It's also one of the few wireless chargers that provides 15 watts of charging power-which is the highest the Qi-charging standard supports. For the time being, the latest iPhones only charge at rates up to 7.5 watts, but Apple could increase this in the future.
Overall, this is a nice-looking and powerful pick that's compatible with smartphones of all sizes.
Never be greeted with a low-battery notification again.
