GoKawiilis a deputy editor and Verge co-founder with a passion for human-centric cities, e-bikes, and life as a digital nomad. He’s been a tech journalist for 20 years.
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Despite my initial skepticism, I’m now sold on wireless Qi chargers that add integrated fans to keep your phone cool while charging. I figured they’d be too loud, or too weak, or too gimmicky, but I’m a convert after spending a week with the new $59.99 Kuxiu D5 Qi2.2 charging dock. Its active cooling system has kept my phone from heating up, unlike every other Qi charger I’ve tried. Good thing, given my own history with an overheating phone.
Last year I fried the logic board on my titanium iPhone 15 Pro. I was on a sweltering train and trying to edit a 4K video on my phone, which was charging from a magnetically attached Qi power bank. Oof, my iPhone is getting really hot, I thought, just as the screen went forever blank. The repair bill was €660.33 (over $750), for which I paid nothing because it was just inside the two-year warranty. Apple’s “genius” wouldn’t say if the phone overheated, but I’m not keen to tempt fate twice.
Heat is the enemy of batteries
Heat is the enemy of batteries. High temperatures accelerate the chemical degradation of lithium-ion cells, permanently reducing how much charge they can hold over time. The electromagnetic induction employed by Qi chargers is inherently inefficient, producing far more heat than transferring electricity through a cable plugged into your phone. That heat can cause phones to throttle the wireless charging speed in order to protect the battery.
Despite knowing this, I keep coming back to Qi charging docks and power banks because they’re so damn convenient. I’m also addicted to Apple’s StandBy feature that turns my phone into a desk or bedside clock and widget machine when docked and charging in landscape orientation.
Fortunately, companies like Anker, Aukey, ESR, and Kuxiu have started building active cooling systems directly into their Qi chargers. They feature tiny heat sinks and ultra-quiet internal fans that actively blow the heat away from the back of your phone while it charges. This keeps the battery significantly cooler and allows for faster charging speeds. Powerful magnets ensure perfect alignment between the phone’s receiver coil and the charger’s transmitter coil to maximize efficiency and minimize heat waste.
The display on the D5 shows the charging status of up to three devices, and whether the active cooling is enabled. A look from behind at the cooling fan beneath the Qi2.2 phone charger. This button lets you switch off the display, switch off active cooling, and retract the watch charger. The 45W GAN charger is a great in-the-box addition for such an inexpensive Qi2.2 charging dock. Here the watch charger is shown recessed.
The fan inside the Kuxiu D5 operates silently, but it can still be turned off if you want. The display is useful, but the little winky-faced screensaver is not. I do like knowing the time and how much charge each device is pulling, in addition to the total power draw, but the animated movement is distracting when caught out of the corner of my eye. It’s also a bit too bright for my taste when perched on my nightstand. Fortunately, I can turn the display off with a tap of a button.
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