Connected-car experiences, geofencing, voice commands, Android Auto and other smart features are no longer a luxury. Cars starting from under Rs 10 lakh have now started to offer these features. More than engine, transmission, fuel type or other mechanical aspects, the huge price difference between mid and top-end variants of the same car are also these smart features.
The goal for every car maker is simple: integrate the driver’s smartphone inside the cabin seamlessly, safely and of course, without any cables. And talking about cable-free experience, wireless charging pads are now gaining prominence in marketing brochures of most cars.
Buyers get fascinated to hear about a wireless charging pad inside their future car. The brands advertise it: Just place your phone inside the charging area and it gets charged while you are wirelessly listening to music and navigating using Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. If you are already buying the top-end model of car then wireless charging for phones may seem like a nice to have feature but if you are stretching your budget and increasing the EMI burden, does wireless charging offer much value? Here are a few things you must know.
The size of your smartphone matters a lot
You may drive your new car for at least five years but there’s a high probability that you may change your phone thrice within this five year period. Now, the problem is the wireless charging dock is of a fixed size inside your car but smartphones are getting bigger. So, make sure that the car you are buying supports bigger phones. Also, in case, you decide to buy a smaller flagship smartphone like the iPhone 12 mini or Galaxy S20e ensure that the wireless charging dock supports smaller sizes as well and doesn’t wobble much.
It can be difficult to get your phone charged wirelessly if you are driving around bad roads
The best way for effective wireless charging is to ensure that there is no movement at all. However, when you drive around bad roads, and there are plenty of bad roads here, if the smartphone moves around then wireless charging will simply stop. This can be really bad if your phone is running out of battery. So, carrying a spare charging cable makes more sense. Irrespective of the road condition, the good old charging cable and car charger won’t fail you.
Wireless charging is slow compared to wired charging
Wireless charging is not the quickest and with phones coming with bigger batteries, it would take more time to get your phone sufficiently charged. While wireless charging may be a good feature to flaunt but you may quickly realise that nothing beats your cable when it comes to charging speed.
Your phone will get heated fast
Wireless charging tends to heat your smartphone quickly which may affect the lifespan of the phone’s battery and even the performance. A ‘super heated’ smartphone battery could be a safety issue too. Car makers have realised this problem and offer a native cooling function but it’s still a long road.