Last year, before the OnePlus 6 arrived, there were rumors that 2018 would be the year OnePlus would adopt wireless charging. However, by the time the OnePlus 6T was set to debut, OnePlus's CEO, Pete Lau, was more than willing to go to bat for the company's wired charging option. Basically, OnePlus doesn't think wireless charging is good enough to replace what it has with its fast charging capabilities.
That doesn't mean OnePlus isn't investigating the feature, though.
Most recently, when asked about wireless charging in the inevitable OnePlus 7, Lau said it won't happen. According to the chief executive, wireless charging "is far inferior" compared to the wired charging offered by OnePlus, and he's obviously not wrong. Wired charging is better than wireless charging, and OnePlus's Quick Charge is remarkably fast, and it's definitely one of the bullet points on a list of OnePlus smartphone features.
But does functionality beat out convenience? Yes, you have to make sure you're wireless charging mat/puck/whatever is plugged in, but being able to quickly and easily simply set your phone down to charge it is pretty great. It might charge more slowly, yes, but you don't have to worry about trying to plug it in or anything.
A friend of mine has multiple wireless charging mats in his house. One in the living room, one in the office, and one in the bedroom. Two of them serve as stands for his phone. Meanwhile, I'm over here still plugging my phone in. I've thought about picking up a wireless charging mat multiple times, I've just never actually followed through with it. Plugging in my phone at night to charge is fine -- and I don't care about the speed of it at all.
Wireless charging does feel like it's a standard feature by now. Or, should be anyway. Even Apple has it! And remember how big of a deal it was when that finally happened? That being said, it's not like Lau is wrong. Wired charging, and especially OnePlus's wired charging, is the faster way to charge a phone. And with OnePlus looking into the feature, one can imagine that once it does launch it, it may be even better than what the other companies offer.
But, what say you? Do you think OnePlus needs to offer wireless charging already? Does the OnePlus 7 need to offer wireless charging for you to consider it? Or are you a OnePlus smartphone owner who doesn't care at all about wireless charging support? Let me know!
