CHOETECH Wireless Charging Pad REVIEW 5W Wireless Charger
It is difficult to predict which form of smartphone charging technology will reign supreme, USB-C corded charging or wireless charging. If you are looking for the fastest possible charge on an iPhone 8/8plus/X, the 87W Apple charger combined with a USB-C to Lightning cable will charge the phone up to 50% in about 30 minutes. This system is ideal for a busy on-the-move lifestyle, for daytime charging, quick charging or some of our larger gadgets. I know I am not alone in my need to charge an iPhone nightly. With 6–8 hours available, we need not worry about a fast charge, when you can have the convenience of simply setting your phone onto a charger. My phone is ready and fully charged every morning. I like that I do not have to plug a cable into my phone nor do I have to unplug it in the am. I like that I do not have to worry about cables nor compatibilities and that I can casually set-it and forget-it.
The Choetech Wireless Charging Pad (Model: T511) arrived in a 6 inches tall by 4 1/2 inches wide by 7/8 inches thick retail package. Roughly fifty percent of the front panel was discovered with an attractive image of the black square charging pad/charging cable. Just above the image, I appreciated the “Wireless Charging Pad” title in charcoal font and a charcoal circle with “New Version” written in the negative space. To add a splash of color, you can see “CHOETECH” written into, the negative space of a 1 1/8 inches wide by 7/16 inches tall, blue-green, rectangle. Along the bottom, you can see the Model: T511 written into the negative space of a blue-green 1 3/8 inches wide by 1/4 inches thick trapezoid and the company webpage. If you flip the package onto the cover, you will notice that both of the blue-green side panels displayed the same “wireless charging Pad” title in white. I enjoyed the color scheme and felt that the company did a great job at catching my attention. The white reverse panel used a mixture of blue-green and charcoal font to detail the 30-day return for any reason policy, 18-month warranty, and lifetime technical support. Along the bottom, you can access the website by scanning the QR code; you can call the USA call center from 9am-5pm (ET) or email the team.
Within the packaging, the 3 5/8 inches square charger was found resting inside of the upper portion of a clear plastic tray. Resting beneath the charger, I found the six-panel instruction manual. The manual detailed the two-step charging process, appropriate/inappropriate charging positions, instructions/compatibility/troubleshooting and warranty information/contact information. The device did not come with a wall charger, so I used my iclever dual USB 5V 2.4A wall charger with the wireless charger. If needed, you can use a QC2.0 or QC3.0 wall adaptor with the charger as well. Remove the 4-foot USB-A to USB-micro cable from the lower section of the plastic tray, insert the micro-USB end into the back of the wireless charging pad and then insert the USB-A end into a compatible 5V/2–2.4A wall adapter. After reviewing the image on the cover, I expected the wireless charger to be black. You can imagine my surprise, when I removed a rose-pink colored 3 5/8 inches square wireless charger from the thin, plastic, protective packing. I returned to the outer packaging and re-evaluated the display, looking for any missed information about the color of the charger. Alas, I did not find any information that would alert a customer to the non-black color scheme. Ultimately, this was not that big of a deal because I do not typically care about the color of the chargers. Additionally, my iPhone X covered all but a small rim of rose.
The raised silicone ridges provided a convenient anti-slip surface for my iPhone X, atop the charger. While the phone was securely held to the charger, the four 7/16 inches diameter rubberized feet provided increased grip with my table. To test the output of the charger, I plugged a DROK USB-A Multimeter into my iclever dual port wall charger and then placed my iPhone X upon the charger. I was pleased to see that the device read 5.15V/1.23A at peak output and fluctuated from 0.8–1.23A. At 8:23PM, I placed my iPhone X onto the charger with 29% power. By 8:47PM, my phone had gained 11%, increasing from 29% to 40%. By 9:01PM the power increased to 44%, by 9:10 to 49%, by 9:20 to 50%, by 10:05PM to 70%, by 10:20PM to 77%, by 10:49PM to 89%, by 10:56PM to 92%, by 11:14PM to 96% and by 11:30 I was fully charged at 100%. Repeating the testing on subsequent days, I found 1% recovery for every 2–3 minutes upon the charger to be standard. When the phone was resting atop the charger, a blue LED illuminated across the front of the charger. This light remained illuminated even after the phone reached 100% charge. I was pleased with the charger and with the rate but realized that this was not as fast as some of the 7.5W and even 10+W systems (Ventev).
If the color strikes you as odd, you can navigate to the website and purchase the device in rose gold, blue, red, black, and white. Furthermore, the site details the Qi certification, over-current, over-voltage and over-heating protections of the charger. If you are looking for an introductory wireless charger, you will not likely find a cheaper option. For about $5 more, you can purchase the fast charging 7.5W panda version. The faster charger may win over some, but this device may be all you need to start wireless charging.
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Originally published at macsources.com on August 9, 2018.
