The Qi wireless charging standard recently got a huge boost as Apple embraced the technology and built it into the new iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X smartphones. Apple plans to bring their Apple-branded AirPower QI charger to market in 2018, but consumers considering the purchase of a wireless charger for their Apple, Samsung, or other Qi-compatible products already have plenty of solid options available. And among the alternatives are several Qi chargers from international retail giant IKEA, where they offer tabletop chargers as well as furniture and lighting with the chargers built in.
IKEA has been selling various flavors of Qi-compatible charging stations in their stores since 2015. One of our favorites is the Nordmärke charging pad, which is available in a single-pad configuration (item 803.083.07 in birch) at $19.99 in U.S. stores. For charging multiple devices at once, its larger brother—the triple-pad Nordmärke (item 103.083.15 in white or item 402.898.29 in birch)—is available for $59.99.
These Nordmärke charging pads include a charging cable and wall plug adapter, so there is no need to supply a power adapter of your own. The pads also double as a conventional plug-in USB charger, and have a USB port on the front to accept a USB cable you provide. Typical of many Qi chargers, there are no on-off switches, as the charger automatically activates as the compatible device is placed over the plus sign. A small LED light up once the device begins charging.
More info about this topic:
IKEA wireless charging website
How to wirelessly charge your iPhone X, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus
A smarter charging station for your smart home
Extreme organization for the smart home desktop
Digitized House Magazine
