Three “days ago, Energous announced that its ‘wireless 2.0’ non-contact charger had been approved by the FCC,” Jeremy Horwitz reports for VentureBeat. “[Yesterday], two new Apple wireless power patent applications were published by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Coincidence? Perhaps. But it looks like we might finally get truly wireless charging devices in 2018.”
“VentureBeat exclusively reported last year that regulatory documents indicated Energous and Apple have been working together since 2014,” Horwitz reports. “Separately, Bloomberg reported that Apple hoped to release a zero-contact wirelessly charged iPhone “as soon as 2017,” but was working to increase the distance between the charger and charging devices.”
“Energous says its FCC-approved first-generation WattUp Mid Field transmitter can send power through the air to devices up to three feet away, and is intended for desktop charging. An upcoming Near Field version is meant to replace USB charging cables for some computers within a 10cm range, while a Far Field version will charge devices from across a room,” Horwitz reports. “As for Apple’s patents, the first describes creating ideal schedules for a truly wireless charger capable of sending power to phones, laptops, tablets, and watches, such that the charger knows the order of priority for refueling the devices; the second explores hiding wireless charging equipment inside furniture, vehicles, and other enclosures. The first was filed on June 9, 2017, and the second was filed on June 1, 2017.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we’ve written before, Apple Watch’s and iPhone 8/8 Plus/X’s wireless charging is nice because it’s less fiddly, and especially useful in the dark, but it’s still essentially a corded charging system in practice.
Energous’ solutions are true wireless charging and would be a huge game-changer if it came to iPhone, iPad and other Apple products!
SEE ALSO:
Energous receives industry-first FCC certification for over-the-air, power-at-a-distance wireless charging – December 27, 2017
More evidence suggests Apple tie-up with true wireless charging firm Energous – December 21, 2016
Apple supplier Dialog partners with wireless charging company Energous – December 15, 2016
Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple’s next-gen iPhone to feature all-glass case for wireless charging – November 23, 2016
Two major ‘iPhone 8’ leaks reveal groundbreaking new features – November 23, 2016
Evidence suggests Apple is working on the biggest mobile game-changer since the original iPhone – November 8, 2016
Apple possibly working with Energous on extended range wireless charging for future iPhones – February 5, 2016
Apple developing cutting-edge long-range wirelessly-charged iPhones and iPads – January 29, 2016
iPhone 7 and the potential for wireless charging – January 19, 2016
Apple will drop headphone jack to make the iPhone 7 super slim, source confirms; wireless charging and waterproof, too – January 7, 2016
Apple looks to patent inductive charging system that could power an Apple Pencil or even a future kitchen appliance – January 7, 2016
Apple files 5th wireless inductive charging patent application since Late September – November 5, 2015\
Apple patent application reveals iPhone inductive charging sans extra hardware – October 8, 2015
Patent application reveals Apple working on wireless charging systems focused on rapid power delivery – August 27, 2015
Apple invents inductive charging interfaces for mobile devices – April 2, 2015
When this technology is perfected, telephone poles could be replaced with wireless rechargers to allow limitless electric vehicle range…charging vehicles as they tool down the road.
O brave new world!
Coal and nukes are where we get our electricity. Just a few decades ago the sprngsteen tribes were protesting nukes. Now they drive musk mobiles
… And natural gas, wind farms, solar collectors, geological steam vents, water turbines, heat exchange…
This was covered in a patent report yesterday from a site called patentlyapple: http://bit.ly/2CiyQ0d
Medium range wireless charging could be a game changer in cars. Obviously we think of smartphones and tablets, but the same charger could also be used for devices like sat-navs, dash-cams and reversing cameras.
Presently devices such as those need awkward cables in order to function, but if a wireless charger were within the car, they could all be powered without needing cables or adaptors.
Hmm. Nikolai Tesla attempted to let this tech go public 100 years ago. It’s got some concerns.
– The inverse square law, which exponentially decreases signal strength with distance.
– The apparent difficulty determining the affects of the exposure of living tissue to high amplitude electromagnetic waves of various wavelengths used for power transmission.
– EM noise effects
– The limitations of directional power transmission.
– UFOs crashing in your back yard due to attenuation and interference with their anti-gravity drives.
📡🛸🛸🛸🦑🐙👾
Maybe Apple will release this after Home Pod.
maybe there trying to put this into the home pod