One of the new features included in the Razer Phone 2 is wireless charging, which was incorporated below the glowing Razer logo on the back. Wireless charging isn't quite ubiquitous, so you might not have a wireless charging pad kicking around your home or office, but even if you do, you might not find that all wireless charging pads work so well with the Razer Phone 2.
The Razer Phone 2 was designed with a 6-inch display and beefy front-facing speakers, making it fall in the same category of taller phones such as Samsung's Galaxy Note. An increasing number of phones these days are including wireless charging capabilities, but the location of the wireless charging coils aren't standardized across the industry. For the Razer Phone 2, the wireless charging coil seems to be located much closer to the bottom of the phone than other phones I've tested — likely because of the camera placement and that Chroma logo —rather than the middle which makes laying your phone down on most wireless charging pads a bit of a hassle.
Enter Razer's own solution for charging your Razer Phone 2. Not only is this a convertible charging stand that is specifically designed to line up with the Razer Phone 2's charging coil, but it also syncs with the phone over Bluetooth to let you customize the RGB light show built into this charging stand — fun and functional.
Pros:
- Perfectly designed for Razer Phone 2
- Folds down to work as a standard charging pad
- Built-in Chroma lights are customizable and cool
- Looks absolutely gorgeous
- Comes with charging brick and USB-C cable
Cons:
- Charges slower than a wired connection
- $100 is pretty expensive
Razer Phone 2 Wireless Charger What I like
I'll admit that before I got my hands on the Razer Phone 2 I was not interested in RGB at all. It was a superfluous feature that added very little practical value and was basically just eye candy — and that's essentially the case with the phone itself.
But the Razer Phone 2 Wireless Charger is a different story. It features a bright ring of LEDs around the base that is both cool and functional, with full customization available when paired to Razer Phone 2 via Bluetooth.
You use the Chroma app to control the colors of the wireless charger the same way you control the Chroma logo on the back of the phone, with the charger getting its own page in the Chroma app. You're able to set custom colors and pattern as your charging indicator, and also when the charger is unoccupied, and both can also be put on a timer so that it only glows to confirm charging has begun.
The charging stand itself is convertible from flat to angled, and I've found the stand orientation to be the best way to charge the Razer Phone 2. Like I mentioned in the intro, the charging coils are on the bottom half of the phone. Razer's wireless charger is perfectly designed to pair up with the phone's wireless charging tech every time you put it down which just isn't the case with other chargers.
Razer has really created a compelling accessory here that genuinely enhances the experience of owning a Razer Phone 2.
The charger works just as well when the phone is laid flat, and in that orientation, it'll function better as a universal wireless charger for any other phone that supports Qi wireless charging. I found I couldn't charge a Galaxy S8 in the stand orientation, but it worked just great as a flat pad.
Razer ships the wireless charger with its own USB-C cable and a wall charger which is the same stuff you get with the Razer Phone 2, and that's always a nice bonus.
Razer Phone 2 Wireless Charger What I don't like
First and foremost is the price, which is going to be too high for some people. Then again, if you bought a brand new Razer Phone 2, maybe spending an extra $100 for a really good wireless charger with glowing RGB is a no-brainer.
Even though this charger uses Qi Wireless Fast Charging, I still found it to be significantly slower than a wired connection which was confirmed by measuring the charging current using Ampere. Charging the Razer Phone 2 on the Razer Wireless Charger delivered current in the range of between 790 mA and 1390 mA. Compare that to the measurements from a wired connection that consistently delivered 1870 mA of current and only dipped down to the wireless levels if the phone was in use while charging.
That means that even at its best speeds, the Razer Wireless Charger is only ever going to reach charging speeds comparable to using your phone as it charges while plugged into the wall. This data was confirmed when I measured the total time it takes to fully charge the Razer Phone 2 wirelessly and wired — it took the wireless charging pad three hours to take the Razer Phone 2's 4000mAh battery from 1% to 100% and just two hours to fully charge the device plugged in.
Now you should never expect Qi wireless charging to be as fast as a wired connection, it's just not realistic, but this speed discrepency can be an issue in certain situations. There's been more than a few times where I forget to charge my phone and see a low battery warning when I'm about ready to leave the house. In those moments, I'm always going to be plugging my phone in for a half hour rather than dropping it onto the charging pad.
Some other minor gripes: I wish the included USB-C cable was longer. It's the same style and length as the one that comes with your phone which is nice for obvious reasons, but I can imagine it somtimes being tricky to find a convenient place to set it up that's close enough to an outlet. And I wish there was a bit more customization included with the Chroma effects, like breathing between two different colors or using the Bluetooth connection to sync the charger's Chroma to app notifications. Having said all that, it's still the best wireless charger specifically for the Razer Phone 2, but not one that I would universally recommend.
Razer Phone 2 Wireless Charger Should you buy it?
Absolutely.
If you bought the Razer Phone 2 in part because it had that super cool Chroma logo on the back, it's safe to assume that this wireless charger is right up your alley.
It's perfectly designed for the Razer Phone 2 and will looks fantastic on your bedside table, your office desk at work, or blend right in next to your RGB PC setup.
