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Samsung Galaxy S 4 has Qi wireless charging, but it's up to the carrier to offer it

posted by Michael H. / Mar 14, 2013, 9:24 PM

Samsung Galaxy S 4 has Qi wireless charging, but it's up to the carrier to offer it

It wasn't mentioned in the official announcement by Samsung, and it also wasn't in the teardown of the hardware that leaked just before the official launch event, but it turns out that the Samsung Galaxy S 4 will offer Qi standard wireless charging. The bad news is that it will be up to the carrier to offer it in the model that is sold.

The wireless charging pad wasn't shown in the announcement, but was part of the demonstration unit setups afterwards. The charging pad itself apparently is made with a glossy plastic base that matches the phone, but it has a rubbery gray top that keeps the handset from sliding around while charging.

No word on the price of the charging pad or if it will be available at launch. Also, no word on which carriers will be offering the model that supports wireless charging.

source: Engadget

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14 Comments

1. monomilkman

Posts: 25; Member since: Feb 11, 2013

why wouldn't a carrier offer it?

posted on Mar 14, 2013, 9:26 PM 3

9. Whateverman

Posts: 3295; Member since: May 17, 2009

Clearly you are NOT a Verizon customer... I really envy you right now! By the time the Big Red Dummies are done striping all the good stuff out of this phone, it will be running Donut!

posted on Mar 15, 2013, 12:47 AM 2

13. monomilkman

haha I am a Verizon customer actually...I just haven't bought a phone in two years so I'm a bit behind. I can't wait for them to sock it to me when I upgrade...if only I could figure out which device I'm going to want

posted on Mar 15, 2013, 5:56 PM 1

2. DarkShadow

Posts: 51; Member since: Feb 01, 2013

that why l hate carrier their suck

posted on Mar 14, 2013, 9:29 PM 0

3. chemhaz

Posts: 161; Member since: May 04, 2012

You can buy the charging pads on eBay already and also stick on wireless receivers for other Galaxy models.

posted on Mar 14, 2013, 9:29 PM 2

4. Stayfly2407

Posts: 78; Member since: Dec 15, 2011

Yea seems like you should be able to do the same with the S4..... Would that work?

posted on Mar 14, 2013, 9:56 PM 0

5. Timmehor

Posts: 599; Member since: Mar 09, 2013

Got a feeling not too many carriers will support it :/

posted on Mar 14, 2013, 10:40 PM 0

6. Allenrulz

Posts: 4; Member since: Feb 07, 2013

Sprint BETTER offer this. I want this feature if I get this phone on my next upgrade.

posted on Mar 14, 2013, 11:38 PM 1

7. Suraj3337

Posts: 45; Member since: Apr 20, 2012

What about International models?

posted on Mar 15, 2013, 12:26 AM 1

8. dickwyn

Posts: 621; Member since: May 07, 2012

yeah an exact question i would like to ask

posted on Mar 15, 2013, 12:35 AM 0

10. UrbanPhantom

Posts: 949; Member since: Oct 30, 2012

Is this built-in wireless charging, or with an add-on sleeve like for the SG III? This feature was never clarified...

posted on Mar 15, 2013, 2:38 AM 0

11. Stayfly2407

looks like an add on that works with them all. Their are ebay auctions up right now for the GS 4 and the add on wireless peice to make it work

posted on Mar 15, 2013, 2:30 PM 0

12. mholeydroid

Posts: 13; Member since: May 02, 2012

Im sure there will be a hack in the future if some carriers dont include it

posted on Mar 15, 2013, 3:07 PM 0

14. hypergreatthing

Posts: 44; Member since: Jun 13, 2012

Ha. I added wireless charging to my S3. Basically you buy the QI card from amazon, it goes under the original cover on top of the battery. Then you can choose from a variety of no named QI pads (i got mine from anker). ~50$ later i was in business with a wireless charging S3. For the life of me i have no idea why carriers in the US don't offer this.