Wireless charging, the ability to pass electricity from a mains socket into your handset without the use of a cable, has been the Next Big Thing for as long as we can remember. But we bet that even if your phone can be charged wirelessly, you’re not using it yet. Counter-intuitively, despite the fact wireless charging should be as simple as throwing the phone onto a mat and letting it charge, it’s just too damn confusing to use at the moment.
The problem lies with the fact that there there are just too many different technologies and players in the wireless charging game to make the technology simple enough for consumers and device manufacturers.
At the moment there are two different technologies (direct induction charging and resonant magnetic induction charging) with three related technology standards for wireless charging, each backed by a different industry group, the Power Matters Alliance (PMA), the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) and the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP). It means that you cannot use a phone with Qi wireless charging from the WPC with a Rezence charger from the A4WP.
Thankfully Broadcom, the guys who make many of the chips in your electronic gadgets, have created the BCM59350, which apart from having the sexiest name in technology, is also one of the first wireless charging chips that supports all three of the wireless charging standards. Better still the new chip from Broadcom also allows for 7.5W of power instead of the usual 5W which means that it should do away with one of the other major complaints that people have with wireless charging, the fact that it’s slower than just plugging it into a wall.
While wireless charging may be a novelty for smartphones and tablets, the big market will be with smartwatches and other wearables with limited battery sizes that aren’t usually worn while you sleep. It would, for instance, allow you have a wireless charging bowl next to your bed which you could put your smartwatch, Google Glass and fitness tracker into and have them all juiced up and ready to go in the morning with just one power cable and no fiddling with obscure chargers and charging cradles.
Look out for all-standards-compatible wireless charging before the end of the year.
[Image – Shutterstock]
