[Njtechdiv] wireless charging is coming

[Mario Brusco]

A World Free of Charging Cables?  It's All Up To Apple
https://www.cnet.com/news/wireless-charging-apple-iphone-8-samsung-wpc-qi-po

By Roger Cheng, CNET

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge features wireless charging, and successor the 
S8 will likely have the same capability.

The pitch has always been a simple one: Place your phone down and watch 
it charge automatically, without the fuss of finding an outlet or 
connecting a power cord.

The reality of wireless charging, however, has been anything but.

Differing technologies and incompatible standards have hindered broader 
adoption of wireless charging. It was good enough to work in Oral-B 
electric toothbrushes in the early '90s, yet most phones still lack the 
ability to charge without a power cord.

But 2017 appears to be the year wireless charging gets its act together.
You're starting to see an accelerating trickle of products 
incorporating the feature, from a Dell laptop unveiled at CES to 
automakers looking for a way to more easily power their electric 
vehicles. The most obvious spark could come from Apple, which appears 
ready to get off the sidelines and commit to the feature in a big way by 
joining the Wireless Power Consortium. The rumors of the iPhone 8 
getting wireless charging alone are enough to get people thinking about 
the feature.

"Whoever Apple picks wins," said Avi Greengart, an analyst at research 
firm Global Data. "That's the catalyst that would drive enough volume."

Apple declined to comment on how the WPC will impact the next iPhone.

"Apple is an active member of many standards development organizations, 
as both a leader and contributor," the company said. "Apple is joining 
the Wireless Power Consortium to be able to participate and contribute 
ideas to the open, collaborative development of future wireless charging 
standards."

An embrace of wireless charging by the iPhone maker could mean a 
resurgence of interest in the feature. Last year, "things lost steam a 
bit," according to IHS analyst David Green. Yes, the number of wireless 
charging devices grew 40 percent year over year in 2016, but that was 
largely because Samsung incorporated the feature into its Galaxy S7 and 
Note 7 phones.

And just because wireless charging is in a phone doesn't mean consumers 
are taking advantage of it -- or even aware of the capability.

The market is expected to nearly double to 375 million devices in 2017, 
and Green said he expects at least one more player to publicly embrace 
wireless charging at the Mobile World Congress trade show next week.

Obvious benefits

Phone makers for years have touted wireless charging as a key feature. 
Nokia famously championed it with its flagship Lumia phones, and Google 
and LG incorporated it into the Nexus 4 phone.

Those companies used a technology called inductive charging -- the same 
as that electric toothbrush -- which requires you to place the device on 
a charging pad in a specific position.

Newer forms of wireless charging open the door to different 
applications. Magnetic resonance gives you a bit more freedom, so you 
don't have to lay your phone down at an exact spot. It can charge 
multiple devices with different power needs. It can also charge across a 
few inches and through objects, so you can mount a charging pad under a 
table rather than have a specific built-in inductive charger in your 
furniture (which Ikea actually offers).

That ability to charge over a short distance is an opportunity for
automakers and their electric cars. Alex Gruzen, CEO of WiTricity, which 
builds chips to power magnetic resonance technology, said he's planning 
for car launches in 2020 that will take advantage of the technology. He 
sees phones capable of using magnetic resonance coming next year.

"Wireless charging is part of everyone's future roadmap," Gruzen said.

Meanwhile, companies like Energous are exploring sending power over 
radio frequency airwaves, similar to how online connectivity gets 
broadcast over Wi-Fi. In fact, Energous plans to integrate its power 
broadcasting capabilities into Wi-Fi routers next year.

Beyond phones, that kind of capability would be ideal for low-power 
sensors like smoke detectors or even smaller devices like hearing aids.

While the idea of charging something 15 feet away sounds great, there 
are questions about how quickly you can charge over the air. Energous 
also needs to get approval from the Federal Communications Commission to 
ensure its system is safe.

"We are quite comfortable that we have developed tech that conforms to 
their guidelines," said Energous CEO Steve Rizzone.

For more info, check out the entire article.