Skyline not friendly with regular Qi wireless chargers
Wireless charging is a feature not often seen in HMD phones. In fact, wireless charging isn’t widely used because those chargers are more expensive than the standard ones typically included with phones. Additionally, wireless chargers are not as fast as regular wired chargers.
However, wireless charging offers a more convenient way to recharge your device when you’re too tired to plug in the USB-C charger or if you simply prefer to avoid cables.
The HMD Skyline introduced the Qi2 wireless charging standard and is actually the first Android device to feature a magnetic lock on the back of the phone. This technology, popularized by iPhones, is, in my opinion, one of the best innovations they brought to the smartphone world.
When I unboxed the Skyline, the first thing I did was dust off several wireless chargers I had stored in drawers. Unfortunately, none of them worked with the Skyline. I then visited several smartphone stores to test other chargers, and the result was the same—none of them worked. So, if you own a Skyline and plan to buy a wireless charger, those compatible with the Qi standard likely won’t charge it. This is odd because HMD stated on their website that a Qi-standard charger should work with the device.
Strangely enough, the only charger that could charge HMD Skyline was my old and trusty Huawei P30 Pro over the reverse charging option. Skyline’s reverse charging also worked on P30 pro which tells me that the coil in Skyline is working perfectly.
I still need to find a MagSafe-type charger to test since those aren’t usually displayed in stores and are a bit pricey to buy just for testing Skyline’s wireless charging (and I don’t have an iPhone person at home). What I don’t understand is why HMD hasn’t announced a wireless charger for the Skyline. I remember when the Nokia 9 was announced in 2019, HMD also revealed an accompanying wireless charger (which, if I recall correctly, never made it to retail stores).
Update: So, I went to the store and picked up the ANKER MagGo Select+ (7.5W) for €20, along with an Anker Mini 3 (30W) wall charger for another €20, since the MagGo uses USB-C. While the charger does attach to the Skyline’s charging coils magnetically, I’m not too thrilled with how the wireless charging is performing. I understand this charger isn’t the fastest, but I frequently get a notification that the phone is charging, only to see another message saying the charger is connected but not charging. Overall, I’ve only managed to charge about 2% of the battery in the past hour. On the bright side, I now have a 30W charger with a USB-C port that works well with the cable provided by HMD with its phones.
Check the gallery to see the chargers I got and how it looks on HMD Skyline.
