As I’ve come to worth wi-fi charging on a smartphone increasingly more, I’ve been questioning why laptop computer docking stations usually don’t embrace the function. A only a few do, which I’ve listed right here.
Why must you care? Well, smartphones are costly! And for me, one ache level is the USB-C connection, now frequent throughout each iPhones and Android telephones. If you maintain on to a cellphone for a few years, you could discover that the USB-C port ultimately weakens to the purpose the place it could’t maintain a charging connection. Then it’s both time for a restore (which may price over $100) or a wholly new cellphone.
Wireless charging received’t remedy the inevitable battery put on that may afflict an older cellphone. But it actually can remedy the charging-port problem just by bypassing the wired connection and feeding energy wirelessly into the battery. Sure, there are many wi-fi chargers, which do nothing however cost a cellphone. But I actually don’t perceive why extra laptop docking stations or USB-C hubs don’t make this a typical function, as a dock’s lengthy rectangular floor makes a really perfect charging pad.
Fortunately, there are exceptions: These three docks can wirelessly cost your Android cellphone or iPhone whereas they’re sitting in your desk. I haven’t examined them personally (but) however I’m tempted, particularly the primary two within the listing — they simply look so sensible for the worth.
Budget: Performance Master 10-in-1 USB-C Docking Station
The $45.99 Performance Master 10-in-1 USB-C Multifunction Docking Station seems a bit like a gravestone that you simply’d put in your desk, besides with a tilted entrance that may steadiness a cellphone on the small protruding lip. This dock scrimps a little bit the place wi-fi charging is anxious: 7.5W to an iPhone and 10W to an Android cellphone. (By comparability, the most recent Samsung Galaxy 26+ can wirelessly cost at 20W and the bottom S26 at 15W, whereas the Apple iPhone 17 collection can cost up 25W wirelessly.)
Amazon
Still, this dock has three USB 3.0 (5Gbps) ports, a USB-C port, an SD/TF card, and an HDMI port able to 4K/60Hz video output, plus a headphone jack. It can ship a rated 100W to your laptop computer, although in actuality 90W or rather less sounds extra cheap.
There is a little bit of a catch, although: This dock doesn’t provide the charger brick itself. You’ll should have one helpful.
Buy the Performance Master wi-fi charging dock for $45.99 at Amazon
Midrange: J5Create USB-C Dual 4K HDMI Docking Station
The fantastic factor about PC peripherals is that there are a whole bunch of corporations, largely working out of Shenzhen, China. Some emerge from the fray and change into profitable, even when they’re new or in any other case considerably unknown. J5Create is an instance, and I spent a while alone at CES 2026 merely what they needed to supply.
The J5Create USB-C dock ($119.99) is designed extra like what I’d anticipate: It’s a squarish USB-C hub, with a round wi-fi charging platform on high.
Amazon
This makes use of the Power Delivery 3.1 specification, able to delivering 15W — not fairly the fast-charging energy that the most recent flagship telephones assist, however not too dangerous both. J5Create says that it’ll cross as much as 140W to your laptop computer, which if true is moderately spectacular. However, this dock doesn’t embrace the ability charger itself, an annoying development right here. Wireless charging additionally received’t work if that charger provides lower than 60W.
This dock (mannequin JCD3199) is a 12-in-1 dock, with a pair of HDMI ports able to 4K output. (J5Create charges one at 60Hz, and the opposite at 30Hz.) There are two USB-A and USB-C ports, one every at 10Gbps and 5Gbps, respectively. A microSD/SD card slot can be included.
Buy the J5Create USB-C Dual 4K dock at Best Buy for $119.99
Premium: Anker 675 USB-C Docking Station
Anker’s tackle the wi-fi charging dock is much less a couple of docking station and extra a couple of monitor stand: The ports are literally clustered, hidden to at least one facet. Anker devotes the rest of the dock to a large slab of aluminum that appears extra like a workbench than a conventional laptop computer dock.
This dock isn’t low-cost; it retails for $249.99, although it was on sale at press time for 32 percent off at Amazon, or $169.99.
Unfortunately, this dock is just rated for 10W (7.5W for iPhones) through the charging pad, too. It tries to make up for it with 45W by a pair of 10Gbps wired USB-C ports as an alternative, together with 100W to the host. It does seem to incorporate a charger, nevertheless.
Anker / Youtube
Otherwise, this 12-in-1 dock consists of a number of acquainted ports: 1 HDMI 2.0 output for a 4K60 show, gigabit Ethernet, three 10Gbps USB-A ports; and a UHS-1 (104MB/s) SD and microSD slot.
Honestly, $250 for these specs seems a little bit overpriced, although you’re basically shopping for a monitor stand, too.
Obviously, you may buy your own wireless charger or search for specialty deals, too. But in case you’re trying to make use of your desk house in addition to your greenback, an built-in charging dock is perhaps a worthwhile funding. Shame that they’re so laborious to seek out.
Buy the Anker 675 docking station with wi-fi charging for $169.99 at Amazon
So why don’t different docks embrace wi-fi charging?
Yes, there are at the least three docks that embrace wi-fi charging. Why don’t the others?
I requested a couple of sources, and Manny Garcia, a product supervisor at Satechi, supplied this response: “Most docks prioritize core docking performance—stable displays, fast data, Ethernet, and reliable laptop charging,” Garcia wrote in an emailed assertion. “Adding wi-fi charging sounds easy, however it introduces tradeoffs that many producers keep away from.
“The biggest factors are cost and complexity (additional components, validation, and certification), thermals (wireless charging is less efficient and creates extra heat, which can lead to throttling or require more cooling), and real-world usability (coil alignment, thick cases, MagSafe accessories, and phone camera bumps can make charging inconsistent),” Garcia added.
“There’s also engineering risk: Docks contain high-speed electronics (USB/Thunderbolt, video, networking), and a wireless charger is a high-frequency transmitter that can make EMI/EMC compliance and internal layout harder,” Garcia concluded. “For many brands, it’s a better value proposition to keep the dock simpler and let users place a separate wireless pad wherever it works best.”