Why is wireless charging not more popular?

Our smartphones are like our own personal assistants. They help remind us of the things we usually forget. They help us record beautiful memories we experience every single day. And of course, they help us get in touch and stay connected with our loved ones.

Your smartphone helps you do all of this and more. But just like any personal assistant, the more tasks we give them, the more they need to take a moment and recharge. And because we can’t function properly or do our day to day activities without our beloved pocket assistants, we always need to recharge ASAP.

Thankfully, wireless charging has arrived to change the way we juice up our gadgets. Imagine—no more messy cords and cables to clutter up your desk or drawer. No more hunting around for an available socket. All you have to do is place your phone on top of a wireless charging plate, and you’re good to go.

Recently, I made the big switch from the LG G3 to the G5. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have built-in wireless charging capability, which really made me miss my LG G3. I have a wireless charging plate in my car that used to hold and charge my phone at the same time, which was perfect for hands-free charging and navigation. Now that I have my new phone, it’s just sitting there, unused. Luckily, I still have my iPhone 6, which I can easily purchase a wireless charging case for. I’m really more of an Android user, but because wireless charging is such a convenience for me, I think I’ll go back to using Apple (for now).

The question is, why is wireless charging not available in more phone models? And more importantly, why is it not getting the attention it deserves? I wasn’t exactly a die-hard advocate before, but after experiencing the convenience of being able to charge wirelessly, I can’t even imagine why anyone would want to go back to the annoying cables and sockets that come with traditional charging. Built-in wireless charging capability should have been one of my requirements when I was scouting for a new phone, but I honestly assumed the LG G5 would have wireless charging as well.

In today’s market, we already have quite a few smartphones with wireless capabilities, like some from the Samsung Galaxy family (S7, S7 Edge, S6, S6 Edge), a few Nokia Lumia devices (1520, 1020, 930, 929, 928, 920), and even some Google Nexus phones, too. The Apple iPhone doesn’t have wireless charging capability for now, but users can simply get a detachable case to make their phone compatible with both of the most popular wireless charging standards, Qi and PMA.

I’m not sure why a wire-free and hassle-free charging system isn’t as successful as it should be. It’s such a convenient way to charge your gadgets, especially now that wireless charging pads are available and free to use in many major establishments all over the world, such as airports and coffee shops. Many car manufactures and even some furniture makers are now making products that come with built-in wireless charging plates, which makes it even easier to charge wherever you go.

Wireless charging is clearly the future of charging. It should have become mainstream a lot sooner, but for some reason, it’s taken a long time to gain popularity with the mass market. And it’s probably because most phone manufacturers are taking too long to integrate the technology into their phones. Perhaps people don’t want to try this charging method because they believe it’s too advanced, or perhaps they just don’t understand exactly how convenient it can be. Either way, it’s a shame that we haven’t fully embraced it yet.

As for me, I honestly never want to go back to the old days of untangling my chargers, looking for sockets, and buying a new charging cable every time it breaks on me (which is pretty often).

What about you? Does your phone have wireless charging? If not, do you intend on making the switch anytime soon?