I have a similar experience to yours. My bride and I are still using iPhone 15. Mine is standard. Hers is the Pro version. We both have MagSafe covers on our phones. But our use of the Qi charger differs from many of the postings I’ve read here.
I’ve never looked at Qi as a charger. I use it as a maintainer. We do a lot of road trips: Vegas, North Texas, and the beach. Today I drove our GX from East Tennessee to the Gulf Coast, about 750 miles over 8 1/2 hours. I placed my fully charged iPhone on the Qi charger as I left my driveway. All day I utilized Google Maps, Waze, and Apple CarPlay (but not Apple Music because we use SeriusXM). I took several phone calls and texts along the way as well.
The phone is still above 90% charged as I type this post. Qi didn’t charge my phone. But it allowed a lot of use while keeping my battery fully charged over many hours. And in the past I have forgotten to take my phone out of my pocket on some road trips. If you use CarPlay, it will eat your battery over several hours of use without some form of charging. If you remember late in the day and find your phone at 50%, then place it on the Qi charger, you will probably finish your trip with close to that same percentage.
Do I wish its location be somewhere else in the cabin? Yes (so the center console could be larger). And I understand those who point out that new phone designs may not work on a system that probably won’t be capable of adapting to the newer configurations. I also note that Lexus seems more partnered up with Apple than they may be with other platforms. But for my current phones and usage habits, it works fine.
