More like useless, amirite?
But do we even want these magnetic, “wireless” chargers?
They add just a single point of convenience, and are worse in almost every other way.
Realme
The first improvement is that the MagDart can supply up to 50 watts, whereas MagSafe manages only 15W.
That sounds great, until you consider the heat.
Magnetic induction creates heat, and heat is the enemy of lithium-ion batteries.
Realme
One of the fastest ways to degrade a phone battery is to charge it while hot.
Happily, the MagDart has a solution: an air-cooling system built into the charger.
But this, combined with the high-wattage output, means the charger is big.
Realme
Its more like a laptop charging brick than a svelte MagSafe (or Qi) puck.
But do we really want “wireless” chargers anyway?
Unlike Wi-Fi, which really is wireless, “wireless” charging is no such thing.
For instance, say you want to pick up your phone to check Instagram.
With a cable, no problem.
just pick it up and use it.
With Qi, MagSafe, or MagDart, if you pick it up, it stops charging.
Wireless charging is very dependent on the position of the gadget.
Its not all bad news though.
Induction charging has some real advantages.
Inefficient
In terms of convenience, its something of a wash.
But in terms of efficiency, wires win.
Both problems spring directly from the induction-charging tech, itself.
Then, that electricity charges the battery.
Using a battery is already less efficient than running straight from the wall.
Induction wastes even more energyup to 20% in typical phone chargers.
And that wasted energy turns into heat.
It is possible to mitigate some of this.
And Realme has added cooling features to the charger, itself.
Individually, its not so bad.
We still use a wire.
Its just that now, we have an extra complicated connector between the wire and the phone.
