Right now one could argue that wireless charging isn’t really wireless, because while you might not need to plug your phone in, the fact that it needs to be placed physically on top of a wireless charging mat kind of negates the whole wireless point. However the good news is that we are getting closer to “true” wireless charging.
The FCC has recently approved the first power-at-a-distance wireless charging system by Energous. For those unfamiliar, basically this is a wireless charging system that uses radio frequencies to charge your devices at a distance of up to 3 feet. However this would require devices to be outfitted with a corresponding receiver to receive the converted radio frequencies, which means that those existing wireless chargers can’t just hop on board the bandwagon.
The best part is that Energous’ technology is manufacturer-agnostic. This means that a phone made by one manufacturer should have no issues using the tech if it was made by a different company, kind of like how Qualcomm’s chipsets can be used by different Android handset makers.
Unfortunately Energous does not appear to have any retail-ready devices at the moment, but the company does plan on showing off new technology at CES 2018 which takes place in the next couple of weeks, so perhaps we’ll learn more then.
Filed in . Read more about CES, CES 2018, FCC and Wireless Charging.