As technology advances, people are using fewer wires. We now have wireless headphones, speakers, subwoofers, keyboards, and so much more. It was back in 2012 when wireless charging became available to smartphones.
Since then, almost every tech company has been looking to make their phones with wireless charging options as well. That doesn’t mean if your device supports wireless charging, you can’t charge it using a cable.
It is known that the first devices that supported wireless charging were a bit more expensive than the others. However, thanks to the vast improvement in technology, that’s all changed. You can now get a phone that supports wireless charging at a reasonable price. In addition, it’s going to have great specifications as well.
That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best budget phones with wireless charging to help you choose. Please note that this list is not in order of which phone is the best. It’s simply a collection to narrow down your selection.
1. Apple iPhone 8
2. Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
3. Samsung Galaxy S9
4. Xiaomi Mi 9
5. Huawei P40 Pro
What is Wireless Charging?
Before we go on and look deeper into the phones, let’s see what wireless charging is. As a matter of fact, wireless charging has been with us since the 19th century, when Nikola Tesla – an electricity pioneer, demonstrated the ability to transmit electric energy via air using two electrical circuits; a receiver and a transmitter.
However, it took more than 100 years to implement that into smart devices.
How Does Wireless Charging Work?
Wireless charging is somewhat self-explanatory. You get to charge your phone without using any cables. Your phone has to support wireless charging in order to charge it that way. Of course, you can’t charge it using any other method.
There are charging pads that use electromagnetic induction, which provides electric power to portable devices.
Additionally, wireless charging is also being used in electric toothbrushes, power tools, vehicles, and much more. However, today, we will only talk about the best budget phones with wireless charging.
As we mentioned, the charging pad serves as a transmitter of electric power, and you can charge your phone just by placing it on top of it. Please note that the pad has to be plugged into the outlet. Otherwise, it won’t have any electric power to transmit to your power.
Best Budget Phones With Wireless Charging
We all know charging cords are annoying, but wireless charging is actually a lot more convenient than you may think. Since you never have to plug it in (and there’s no risk of your phone falling off a table if your cord stretches too far), you’ll be less likely to forget to charge it at night.
Plus, there’s no wire mess and no plugging/unplugging when you want to use it during the day—you just plop it down on its charging pad and pick up right where you left off. Here are some of our favorite budget phones with wireless charging capabilities.
1. Apple iPhone 8
First, on our list of the best budget phones with wireless charging, we have the iPhone 8. Apple introduced wireless charging on Apple devices back in the fall of 2017 when they released both iPhone 8 and iPhone X. The iPhone 8 took a place in this list because it’s a cheaper option with great specifications.
It has the standard home button that features a Touch-ID fingerprint sensor. The price has significantly dropped because iPhone 13 is now available to us. It weighs only 148g and has a 4.7” display. Moreover, it has a ratio of 16:9 and has a resolution of 750 x 1334 px.
The default iOS on this version is 11, but it’s upgradable to iOS 15.3. The main camera is 12MP while the front is 7MP. As for the battery, it comes with a non-removable Li-Ion 1821, which supports wireless charging. According to Apple, the 15W fast charging option charges the battery up to 50% just in 30 minutes.
2. Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
The galaxy S20 FE was released on the 2nd of October 2020. It is three years newer than the iPhone 8 and a great budget option as well.
It’s no wonder why we had to include it on the list of the best budget phones with wireless charging considering the specifications and price. The S20 FE has a 6.5” display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400px and a ratio of 20:9.
The default Android version on the phone is 10, while it’s upgradable to 12. It uses Octa-core CPU and the Adreno 650 as its GPU. Moreover, the S20 FE has three main cameras on the back. Two of them are 12MP and the third one 8MP. The triple camera system brings a video quality up to 4K @30/60FPS. The same video quality goes for the front camera, which is 32MP.
It has a Li-Ion 4500 mAh, non-removable battery that supports fast wireless charging at 15W. In addition, it features an option to use your S20 FE as a charging station to charge another wireless charging-capable device.
3. Samsung Galaxy S9
Another Samsung production, the Galaxy S9, is a great option if you are looking for a wireless charging-capable phone. It was released two years before the S20 FE on March 16, 2018. Since then, Samsung has manufactured many other devices, which means the price is significantly lower than when it was initially brought on the market.
It weighs 163g and has a 5.8” display. The display features a resolution of 1440 x 2960px along with 18.5:9 ratio. For display protection, Samsung here used the Corning Gorilla Glass 5. It comes with a stock Android version of 8.0 – Oreo, and it’s upgradable to 10.
Furthermore, the S9 has a single main camera that features 12MP. As for the front, it comes in a dual-system camera where the 2MP serves as an Iris scanner camera. The other 8MP allows video qualities up to 1440p.
The battery is non-removable, and it’s a Li-Ion 3000mAh that features wireless charging. Even though it’s a 2018 product, it’s still one of the best budget phones with wireless charging.
4. Xiaomi Mi 9
In August 2012, Xiaomi entered the smartphone market by releasing their first phone, the Xiaomi Mi 1. Since then, they’ve managed to get their name known on the market. The Xiaomi Mi 9 is another phone that supports wireless charging.
Aside from the wireless charging, the Mi 9 made it on the list of the best budget phones with wireless charging considering the other specifications it offers for a reasonable price.
It features a whopping 48MP camera along with two others – a 12MP and 16MP. All of these combined manage to give us a 4K video quality @30/60 FPS. As for the front, it has a 20MP camera that produces 1080p video quality.
Moreover, it comes with a 6.39” display featuring a 1080 x 2340px resolution along with a ratio of 19.5:9. The stock Android version is the 9.0 – Pie, and it’s upgradable to 10. For GPU, Xiaomi used the Adreno 640. It comes with an Octa-core CPU, which gives excellent speed to the phone. The Li-Po 3300 mAh battery supports wireless charging, and it’s non-removable.
5. Huawei P40 Pro
Last, but not least, on our list of the best budget phones with wireless charging, we have the Huawei P40 Pro. It was released in March 2020; however, it’s still a decent option in 2022. The P40 Pro has a display of 6.58,” and it’s an OLED one. It features a resolution of 1200 x 2640px, and it weighs 209g.
The stock Android version is 10, and there is no room for an upgrade. The downside is that it does not feature any of the Google Play Services due to restricted use of the google services by the United States Government, known as the “Huawei Ban.” As an alternative, you can use the Huawei App Store to download the apps you want.
Aside from that, everything about this phone is uphill. The P40 Pro has a quad-camera system that features a 50MP camera with amazing quality. The front one is 32MP, and it offers really excellent quality.
Moreover, it has an Octa-Core CPU, and it uses the Mail-G76 MP16 as its GPU. The battery is Li-Po 4200 mAh and has fast wireless charging. In addition to the wireless charging option, it has a reverse wireless charging system that can be used to charge other wireless charging-capable phones.
Advantages of Wireless Charging
Since we are talking about benefits, we must be comparing wireless charging to the same old wired charging. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits you get with wireless charging:
- More convenient to use – you don’t have to worry about any tangled cords.
- Overheating – when fully charged, the charger automatically shuts off, which proves as a safer charge, less energy usage, and no overheated battery.
- Universal Compatibility – The Qi charging method is a universal standard, so if you have different wireless charging-capable devices, you can charge them with the same pad.
Conclusion
There you go. We’ve shared 5 of the best-budged phones with wireless charging systems. All of them have their pros and cons. Even though they are a bit older, they are definitely worth buying in 2022.
Aside from the fact that you are looking for a wireless charging phone, the specifications of the phones are excellent. Our choice from this list would be the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE. It was a close call between the S20 FE and the Huawei P40 Pro.
However, the lack of Google Play Services at the P40 helped me make that decision. Whichever phone you choose to go with from this list, it won’t be a mistake.
