Does a laptop support wireless charging? Is there any wireless charger for laptops?
The answer is yes, but only a limited number of laptops support wireless charging now.
In this post, we’ll cover all the latest information about laptop wireless charging. And if there is any new insider info, we will update it in this post.
Table of Contents:
- What Is Laptop Wireless Charging
- How Does Wireless Charging Work for a Laptop
- Is Wireless Charging Bad for the Laptop Battery
- Which Laptops Can Be Charged Wirelessly
- What Are the Best Wireless Chargers for Laptops
What Is Wireless Charging for a Laptop
The wireless charging for a laptop, similar to the smartphone wireless charging, such as your iPhone X wireless charging, is the technology that enables the laptop battery to get juice without connecting to power supply via a cable. Attach the laptop onto a mat or a charging pad which has the wireless charging ability, and the charging begins.
Unbeknownst to most people, the wireless charging for laptops and notebooks has been far more graduated than the wireless charging for smartphones and tables.
Sure, the wireless charging for smartphones has been much “maturer” and in extensive use, thought it’s still in its infancy, thanks to the Qi tech. The laptop wireless charging, on the other end, seems a bit slow for diffusion.
How Does Wireless Charging Work for a Laptop
Laptop wireless charging also requires a charging mat or a charging pad to offer power supply, by using magnetic resonance charging technology.
The difference is that nowadays laptops do not have the wireless charging enabled component built-in. So to achieve the feature, you need additional accessories.
To better explain how wireless charging works for laptops, we take Dell, the first one who announced its two laptops (Latitude 7285 and Latitude Z) with wireless charging feature, as the example.
Dell Latitude 7285 is a 2-in-1 detachable laptop with wireless charging feature, with the display as the upper lid and the bottom chassis embedding the keyboard, touchpad and port. To make the wireless charging works, you need to buy the wireless charging mat, and the Latitude 7285 wireless charging keyboard, which is developed by WiTricity, to replace the laptop original keyboard.
When attached with the keyboard and placed onto the charging mat, the keyboard utilizes magnetic resonance charging to power the laptop battery, without using a wire.
The charging mat, on the other hand, needs to connected to power supply via its cable.
The wireless charging mat is not designed to be used on any metal surface, as the wireless charging involves magnetism. Dell advises you to place the mat on a non-metal stand at least 50mm (about 2 inches) above the desk if you really need to use with a metal surface.
Of course you can charge the laptop with the traditional wired way. And remember, the wireless charging will be slower than the wired charging.
Is Wireless Charging Bad for the Laptop Battery
Is it bad for the laptop battery?
The answer to the question is kind of “murky”. There is a hot dispute in this industry. Some think it is, while some believe the damage is negligible.
Actually, charging, any way of charging (including the wired one), is already kind of “bad” to the battery. And the more charged the battery is, the faster it degrades.
So the answer could be:
- Yes. Any kind of charging is bad for the battery, and wireless charging does no worse.
Or:
- No. Wireless charging is not bad for the laptop battery as long as the battery needs to be recharged.
Which Laptops Can Be Charged Wirelessly
Laptop wireless charging is a great milestone for us. If you’ve planed to get a laptop with wireless charging ability, or if you want to buy additional accessories to add the wireless charging feature into your laptop, then below is the key information for you.
Dell is the first one who announced its first two laptops with wireless charging feature, supported by WiTricity.
The laptops that can be charged wirelessly are:
- Dell Latitude 7285
- Dell Latitude Z
If you want to purchase a wireless charging laptop, Dell Latitude 7285 would be a better choice.
Another good news is that you may make your already-bought laptop to be charged wirelessly because the French company EnergySquare has recently released it’s universal wireless charger for laptops.
And here is how it works: adhere a small strip to the back of your laptop, which will give the keyboard a bit of a slope when you’re typing on a flat surface, and plug the end into the charging port on your laptop. Then you can place the computer on EnergySquare’s proprietary charging surface to recharge the battery wirelessly.
This makes it possible for your Lenovo, the Mac, Asus, Dell and any other laptops to be charged wirelessly with this wireless charger.
But we haven’t got the chance to test this universal wireless charger for the laptops, and yet got little information about it till now. We can’t make any comment about its feasibility, pros and cons.
What Are the Best Wireless Chargers for Laptops
There are just a few wireless chargers for laptops out there till now, and you can count:
- Dell Wireless Charging Mat – PM30W17, for the Latitude 7285 with Wireless Charging Keyboard only;
- EnergySquare universal wireless charger for all laptops (in theory)
It’s hard to say which one is the best because the universal type just came out and is only in its very infancy.
But the confirmed thing is that in the near future there are more and more high quality wireless chargers for laptops and that makes it extremely convenient to charge your laptop wirelessly.
And at that time, we will definitely figure out the best ones for your laptops.
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