LG Innotek says its newest product solves one of the main problems with wireless charging, that it’s nowhere near as fast as plugging your device into a traditional charger. Its aptly named Quick Wireless Charging Pad is so powerful that it’ll zap 50 percent into a flat battery in just 30 minutes, or a full charge in 90 minutes, which matches that of the fastest wired chargers.
If this sounds like a nightmare fire waiting to happen — devices on charge get hot, after all, and the Galaxy Note 7 has taught us all to be cautious — LG has equipped the wireless charging pad with a special temperature sensor that cuts off the flow of power if things get toasty. However, we’re sure the intention is for this not to happen at all, and it’s only there as a safety precaution.
The wireless charger triples the usual 5 watt output of a regular wireless charger to 15 watts, which is what allows it to match the speed of a traditional charger, and it conforms to the Wireless Power Consortium’s standardisation. You may know this better as the Qi system, which is more widely used than its competitor offered by the Power Matters Alliance. What phones will be compatible? Any phone can be made to work with Qi wireless charging if you wrap it in a compatible case, but there are some, such as the LG G4, the Galaxy S6, the Galaxy S7, and many Nokia Lumia phones, which already have support built in.
The charging pad is circular, slim, and looks a bit like the discs thrown around by Tron. In other words, it looks great. LG Innotek wants to have it on sale really soon, targeting a mid-October launch in the U.S, Europe, and Australia. The price isn’t confirmed yet though. Its Quick Wireless Charging Pad is the first to use the 15 watt power upgrade to the Qi platform, which was announced by the WPC last year.
