[Nexus 5 Accessories] mmmmBACON:
So, if you’ve read some of my other accessory review threads you probably already know something about me. I generally don’t care about brand names (except if a proper NEXUS branded hardcase existed), have no brand loyalty, and I generally like to look for deals! I fit in the category of “best bang for the buck!” I guess that’s why I own a Nexus 5, and love those $0.99 Quicksand cases! I wanted to see if the mentality of high quality for low price could be applied to other accessories as well.

So here I have 5 different Qi chargers (well 10 actually, slight wireless charging addiction, I have 2 of each type). All of these share one common aspect, LOW price. Each of these Qi chargers ranged in price from just over $11 to just under $15 shipped. They all share the same DC 5V 1A output current, and only differ in input current. Two chargers require input of DC 5V 1.5A, and the other three require input of DC 5V 2A. None of these are brand name Qi chargers, but again, that doesn’t concern me. If the charger is of high quality, has good performance, and a low price; I don’t care what brand name is stamped on it. I’m going for best bang for the buck, not brand recognition.

These chargers also do not come in retail packaging as they are generally sold directly from factory. To keep costs down, they are simply mailed in bubble wrap packaging, and sold without any extras. As they are also coming from overseas, expect shipping time of about 3 weeks.

Setup:

So this isn’t going to be overly scientific, but it will give a nice ballpark figure of roughly how each Qi charger performs.

The first thing I did was replaced the USB cables. The included cables that come with Qi chargers are generally crap and won’t support a high current. Usually they are limited to 500mA and below when wired charging, so wireless would probably be even worse.

For each test the phone was brought down to 14% battery remaining (when the “connect charger” popup warning appeared). I didn’t choose 0% – 100% as I never let my phone battery drain completely (I usually don’t even let it get down to 14%). The phone was then turned off for 5 minutes to let it cool down. Once the phone was rebooted, no applications were launched, and the phone was placed in airplane mode. During charging, the screen was turned on momentarily every 15 minutes to check progress, but otherwise remained off.

To minimize any possible interference between the charger and the phone, no cases were used on the phone during any of the charging cycles. This was to make sure the phone made direct contact with the chargers and the receiver in the phone was as close to the coils as possible.

To make sure that it was only the Qi chargers being tested; the same 2A micro USB AC adapter was used with each of the 5 Qi chargers. Yes, the picture above has them each plugged into their own individual power adapters, but I just did that for the picture! :) To eliminate the possibility of slight variations between AC adapters; I used the same one for all of the chargers. This would also ensure that regardless of if the Qi charger required 1.5A input, or 2A input, the AC adapter would fully power all of the Qi chargers.

Summary:

- 2A micro USB AC Adapter (same one used for all chargers)

- Qi chargers (from left to right): Rectangle w/o LEDs, Tilted, Q8, Q5, Rectangle w/LEDs (all in the $11 - $15 shipped range)

- Replaced included USB cables with better USB cables

- 14% Battery at start

- Airplane Mode

Conclusions:

So what do we actually get from all of this? Well to put it simply, in terms of performance, any Qi charger that is rated at 1A output is going to perform almost identically to one another! If the Qi charger is properly powered and utilizes a good USB cable, it will charge (from 14% - 100%) in roughly two and a half hours.

I mentioned 1st place through 5th place, but really the time difference between all of these Qi chargers was around 2 minutes. The top 3 chargers all finished within 32 seconds of one another. That is extremely consistent and shows that it makes no difference what charger you have, or the price of the charger; if it’s rated at 1A output your performance will generally be the same.

So in my opinion, save yourself a ton of money, and don’t fall for the marketing of expensive Qi chargers. The large markup you see on some chargers, costing $40 - $70 is ridiculous as there is NO performance advantage. Just make sure you look for a charger that provides 1A output, and go from there as that is the only real important criteria.

Of course if you’re going for a charger that’s flashy and you want it to be noticed, then this doesn’t really apply to you. Also, you wouldn’t be in the market for best “bang for the buck” anyway. :p

As for the 5 types I listed here, do they satisfy my bang for the buck mentality? In terms of price, all of them are pretty good, with regards to performance per dollar. The “Tilted” charger being the most “expensive” at the time provided the least bang for the buck, but as it sells for $12.94 now, it’s up there with the rest of them.

Why quit charging at 90?

I said this as a consideration, mostly for if you are busy during the day. If you noticed, with all of the Qi chargers, as soon as the phone reached 90% charge, to complete the remaining 10% generally took an additional 30+ minutes. The current is greatly reduced and the phone tops up slowly. When you are sleeping, and charging your phone overnight, it’s no problem to let it sit there. During the day though, that extra 30+ minutes just to complete the last 10% charge doesn’t really seem worth it.

So, during the day, if you’re busy and charging your phone, quit when it hits 90% and be on your way!

Qi Chargers and Sellers used by other XDA Members:

[MENTION=4523581]keepermike[/MENTION] - http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-2014-Qi-Wireless-Charger-Charging-Plate-Portable-Power-Charging-Pad-Mini-Charger-Mat-Mobile-Power/1868057244.html ($6.39US)