What phones have wireless charging?

If you’re after a wireless-charging phone, then grabbing one with it built in is much better than relying on a bulky, often unattractive external case. When the tech is fully integrated, you get to decide whether or not to even have a case at all, while still benefiting from a cord-free lifestyle.

Some phones don’t come with it as standard, but let you purchase and alternate rear plate that you switch out for the default one. It’s an added cost, but once you’re done you have a proper wireless device.

Before you jump in

It’s important to remember that there are different wireless charging standards. These different options don’t play nice, so you can’t use your PMA standard mat won’t power your Qi standard phone.

For the most part, Qi tends to be the more common one in phones these days, but definitely make sure you know what standard your phone is, as well as double-checking that versions of it in your region actually have wireless charging at all.

Some phones, like the LG G3, come with wireless charging as standard in in Australia, but not in others. Be careful if you are buying from overseas.

Sometimes a phone using one standard will be switched to another by a carrier, such as the Lumia 1520 which was a Qi phone in many countries, but from AT&T in the US was switched to using the PMA system. In short, always double check before you buy.

LG G3

The LG G3 is a Qi standard smartphone. It was the first to launch Down Under with a beautiful 2K (2560 x 1440) resolution that gives around 75% more pixels than 1080p HD. It’s a clear, beautiful phone with a great camera and fun UI. The only downside is that in terms of speed it’s not the quickest flagship device on the market, but it’ll still handle just about anything you can throw at it.

Samsung Galaxy S5 and family

None of Samsung’s flagship phones come with wireless charging built-in, but you can purchase one of the switch-out rear plates mentioned above, running on Qi. This works for the Galaxy S3, S4, S5, Note 3 and Note 4. The covers tend to be limited to either white or black and come as either an identical replacement for what you already have (so long as what you have is black or white), or in the form of a Qi-powered S-View flip cover.

These are not available for purchase in every region. In Australia only the S-View version can be picked up through official channels, although you can always order a non-flippy one from the US.

Of course, the Qi-capable S-View cover is more expensive than the regular, otherwise identical version.

Nokia Lumia 930

The Lumia 930 comes with Qi charging fully integrated. It’s the flagship phone for the now Microsoft-owned mobility division of Nokia and is arguably the best Windows Phone on the market. It has a great camera, 1080p 5 inch screen and beautiful build quality. All Lumia 930 models come with a solid stainless steel rim with the choice of black, white, orange or bright green backplate.

Make any phone charge wirelessly

Qi has a product that can turn any device in to one with wireless charging, but it’s far from perfect. It’s fairly ugly, requires you to cover it up with an external case and monopolises your micro USB port. You might get away with squeezing it inside your phone’s rear cover, although most phones don’t have too much unused space around their innards.

If you’re still interested you can read more about it on Qi’s website, or simply pick one up from Amazon for anywhere between $9 and $20, depending on if it’s sale season or not.

Alex Angove-Plumb

Digital Content Editor

Alex Angove-Plumb is a Digital Content Editor at WhistleOut and an award-winning journalist. He's been in the tech publishing industry since 2010, putting him a few short years away from the title of Grizzled Ancient in his chosen profession. He was an original WhistleOut-er before running NBN Co's corporate blog for two years, then moving on to a lengthy stint at CHOICE. Now he's come home.

Read full bio