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OnePlus 8 Pro: Wireless Charging May 21, 2020

AbhishekS287 , May 21, 2020 :

Hello everyone, this is Abhishek and Wissam (@wissou) from the US Brand ambassador program! Today we wanted to talk to you about wireless charging.

Wireless charging, for example, the Qi charging tech numerous Android telephones use, isn't new. Razors utilized it numerous years back, and the majority of us have seen toothbrushes that charge wirelessly in a support. Since size, cost, and proficiency requirements have all backed off a bit of, putting wireless charging in something like your Android telephone or watch makes more sense.

What is wireless charging?
Wireless charging isn't some kind of black-magic. The thing that matters is that the wire is associated with a charging base rather than your telephone, so you can simply drop your Android onto the charger and things get charged without attaching anything to your telephone. The charging base can be practically any shape or size, and can even be in something like your car or the base of a lamp from IKEA.

A good example would be having a wireless charging base on your desk at work. When you're not using your phone, you set it on the charger. When you need to use your phone, pick it up and it has a charge. Wireless charging isn't as fast as wired charging (for now...). But it's easy and something you're more likely to use to keep your phone topped off throughout the day. That's where wireless charging shines — the convenience.

How does wireless charging work?
Wireless charging uses two resonant inductive couplings to transmit low-power signals between two devices. These are specially designed to transmit electricity without touching each other like a normal wired connection does. The base station, which is plugged into the wall through its own power supply, has a transmitter coil and your phone has a receiver coil. The base station regularly sends a signal out, and when a receiver coil gets close enough, a resonance change (the base station changes the amplitude of its oscillation — it vibrates faster) happens in the signal. The waveform of the signal is then modulated (changed to let the coil in the phone know power is being sent) and inductive charging begins!

Inductive charging uses those two specially designed electromagnetic coils to create a magnetic field between two devices. There is an intricate process involved that allows a magnetic field to produce electricity through the difference of potential and oscillation. Oscillation is a timed repetitive variation, and in the case of an electromagnetic coil, you can think of it as vibration.

The coil in your Android device is also connected to the battery charging circuit, and your battery is charged using the energy induced by the magnetic field.

Electromagnetic induction is really cool, and the basics are that if you move an electrically conductive material, like a coil or winding, in the presence of a magnetic field you make electrons flow. Things like a gas-powered generator also "create" electricity by using mechanical energy to create EMF (electromotive force). Electromagnetic induction is also used in transformers and current measuring devices.

Excess heat is created as well, and that's part of why wireless charging isn't the most efficient way to transfer power from the wall to your battery. This is also why it takes longer to charge your phone on a Dash wireless charger than it does to plug it into the dash charger (but I’m sure OnePlus will continue to improve their wireless charging technology).

To simplify:

• Your Android and the charger each have special electrical coils in them.
• When the two coils get close enough, they use magnetism to create small oscillations (vibrations) in the coil and an EMF is created by the coil inside your phone.
• This EMF sends a small amount of power through the charging circuit in your phone and charges the battery.
• It costs more and takes longer to charge than it would if you plugged your phone in, and creates more heat because this is less efficient than connecting wires the traditional way.

Time to Never Settle
Now that we discussed the concept of wireless charging, let us discuss a bit more about how OnePlus has approached wireless charging. The way OnePlus has imagined, designed, and implemented the tech is truly incredible, and we would like to take the opportunity of sharing some of our favorite features of it.



To be honest, I was never a huge fan of wireless chargers as they usually are much slower than wired (cable) charging. Using the wired Warp Charge tech for such a long time, I was not ready to compromise on charging speeds anymore. The OnePlus Warp Charge 30 Wireless Charger completely eliminated this bottleneck with its charging speeds of up to 30W. Having the phone docked at my desk with no cables attached and still being charged at almost the same speed is such a delightful sight to behold. 😍 However, with great power, comes great responsibility. And OnePlus has accepted the responsibility by not only focusing on the raw speed but also the performance of the phone as it charges wirelessly. The charger is equipped with a fan that provides air cooling technology, ensuring that the phone and the battery remain cool and the phone continues running normally. 🙌🏼

Additionally, the 8 Pro and the wireless charger work in sync so that the charger knows when to go quiet (ssshhh 🤫) to help you get a good sleep 😴. This is called Bedtime Mode 🛌. Although the charger is pretty quiet normally as well, but during bedtime mode it's even quieter. That's a pretty meticulous feature to ensure a sound sleep with lack of sound (aah, the irony 😉). Also, note that during this mode, the charging speeds reduce to 10W and the default time range for it is 11 pm to 7 am. OxygenOS provides the option to manually change this range or even completely disable Bedtime Mode. To do this, simply go to Settings -> Battery -> Bedtime Mode (under Wireless Charging).

Another thing that I like about the wireless charger is the ability to charge at high speeds even with the case on. I use it with the default case that comes with the phone and have had no troubles whatsoever in wirelessly charging my phone. OnePlus says that the charger can charge through even the heavy-protection phone cases of up to 8mm.

Also, we hope you know that the Google Assistant-powered Ambient Mode started rolling out to OnePlus devices in February 2020. The ambient mode looks gorgeous on the 8 Pro while it charges wirelessly. It not only shows the time, upcoming calendar appointments, weather, notifications, and quick shortcuts, but is also able to present a slideshow from Google Photos so that you can also have the sight of your wonderful memories right in front of your eyes. The great thing about it is that the Assistant provides the ability of filtering the photos by albums, people, location, etc. so that you can always have your favorite memories being played for you. I love this feature - it's like having a gorgeous digital photo-frame on my desk while my phone continues to be charged. Also, it’s smart enough to switch to a dim clock with black background at night when the light is turned off, so that you can also use your phone as a night clock while it’s docked on the charger.

Additional Pro Tip: I also use the charger as a dock during video calls. It provides a really good camera angle and the phone never runs out of juice even after hours of conversation with friends and family. ❤️

Lastly, you might be wondering if you could charge your wireless charging compatible devices using the OnePlus Warp Charge 30 Wireless. The answer is yes!! The charger is Qi/EPP compatible and can charge your non-OnePlus devices at up to 10W charging speeds. Not just that, you can also use your OnePlus 8 Pro to charge your other devices. The 8 Pro supports reverse charging so that you can charge your Qi-enabled devices (for instance - another phone, or some accessories like a smartwatch or earphones) right from your OnePlus 8 Pro. To do this, simply head to Settings -> Battery -> Reverse Charge (under Wireless Charging). This is super cool, isn't it? 😁





Share your thoughts
So that is it for now folks! Let us know in the comments below what you think about the wireless charging tech, and about the implementation of OnePlus on their wireless charger and the 8 Pro. Feel free to share your favorite features with the community, we would love to hear from you.

#NeverSettle