Items tagged with wireless charging
Wireless charging has become commonplace in the smartphone world after first entering the public conscious around the middle of the last decade. The premise is relatively simple: you have a charging pad (or dock) that will recharge your smartphone without the need of plugging your device into a USB-C or Lightning port. You just sit it down to charge, and then walk away. Besides the ease of use, other added benefits are that you don't have to worry about connector breaking off your charging cable, wear and tear on your smartphone's charging port, or debris insider the port affecting charging performance. However, a new report alleges that wireless charging is doing much more harm in the...
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For the first time ever, OnePlus is getting ready to launch a smartphone with built-in wireless charging support. While now a fairly standard feature on many smartphones, the upcoming OnePlus 8 Pro will be the first to feature wireless charging, with OnePlus putting its stamp on the technology with a 30W charging stand. Yes, the OnePlus 8 Pro will also work with Qi wireless chargers, but the 30W stand OnePlus is readying will make quicker work of reviving an exhausted battery. How so? It will be capable of taking the capacious 4,500 mAh battery from 1 to 50 percent in only 30 minutes. That's much faster than the typical wireless chargers that are available for Apple's iPhone devices and Samsung's...
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We'd bet that many Android users who have been using wireless charging have, at some point, sat their device on the charging pad only to realize later it didn't charge. Often the issue with not charging comes down to having the smartphone misaligned on the pad. Most devices must be aligned just right for wireless charging, and the current version of Android doesn't tell you if the alignment is off. However, Android 11 is adding a message to warn of a wireless charging misalignment. A new Android 11 feature will put an error message on the screen that says, "realign phone to charge wirelessly." It's unclear if this warning will come to all Android devices running the software update. Reports indicate...
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There is little doubt that OnePlus has not heard the call for wireless charging support to finally be a feature of the company's smartphones—users have been clamoring for the feature for quite some time now. Don't bother finding a mountaintop to shout the request from, however, as it's probably going to find its way to the OnePlus 8 series. How do I know? Well, I don't know, not for sure, anyway. However, OnePlus has seemingly provided a gigantic hint by joining the Wireless Power Consortium. That is not something a company does unless it is interested in wireless charging, just as you don't purchase NFL Sunday Ticket if you have no intention of watching football games. Rumors have been...
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OnePlus has been able to build a reputation and a following by offering high-end features in Android handsets that undercut the competition on price. The OnePlus 7T, for example, is every bit a premium Android phone, but is significantly cheaper than some of the $1,000 top-shelf handsets on the market. That said, where is the wireless charging feature? Well, it might be coming to the OnePlus 8 Pro. For whatever reason, wireless charging is an increasingly popular feature that has, up to this point, eluded OnePlus owners. Instead, OnePlus has been hanging its hat on Warp Charge technology. Users who shell out for the $30 Warp Charge adapter can take their OnePlus 7T from a comatose state to a...
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Apple is no stranger to removing ports from its devices. On the MacBook side, the company killed off MagSafe, HDMI, and SD card readers (among other things) in an effort "simplify" things. Even the iPhone has not escaped the scalpel, as caught a lot of heat when it removed the 3.5mm headphone jack starting with the iPhone 7 in 2016. Now a new report coming from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo indicates that Apple is on the path to removing another well-used (and incredibly important) port from the iPhone. According to Kuo, Apple will remove the Lightning port from the iPhone starting in 2021. Now before you jump to the conclusion that Apple is dropping the Lightning port in favor of USB-C, we must stop...
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Leading up to the launch of the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, there were widespread reports that the phones would include two-way wireless charging. However, the feature was never mentioned during their public debut on September 10th. Today, Apple watcher Sonny Dickson confirmed suspicions that hardware to enable two-way or bilateral charging is indeed still embedded in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro smartphones. However, it has been disabled by software for some unknown reason. On the eve of the iPhone 11 launch, respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated that the feature had been canceled. Given that this revelation came so close to the official launch, it would be seemingly impossible...
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We've seen wireless charging pads that plug directly into the wall to top off your device, and we've seen portable batteries that have Qi wireless charging pads built-in to them. Now OtterBox is looking to put a new spin on the idea with what it calls the OtterSpot. The standard OtterSpot system includes a round charging base that looks like any number of "puck" Qi wireless chargers that you might see out in the wild. It plugs directly into a wall outlet and will charge your wireless device as you might expect. However, it also comes with a wireless charging battery puck, which recharges while sitting on the base. Once fully topped off, you can take that portable battery puck and place...
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Apple’s next generation iPhones likely won’t be unveiled until sometime in September, but details on the smartphones are already starting to slowly leak out. The latest report from Macotakara has a few insights into what is on the schedule for the new iPhones. The first is with regards to wireless charging. The iPhone family has supported standard wireless charging since the Apple iPhone 8/iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X debuted in 2017. However, the latest trend with flagship smartphones is reverse or bi-directional wireless charging, which allows them to charge another phone (or accessories). The Samsung Galaxy S10 family calls this Wireless PowerShare, and Apple's next generation...
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Had things gone they way there were supposed to, Apple would have launched its own wireless charging mat called AirPower in 2018. However, here we are getting ready to close out the first quarter of 2019, and Apple still has not released the AirPower mat. It is at least in sight, though, and could be launching soon if the iOS 12.2 beta is any indication. The promise of the AirPower mat is that its wide stance allows it to wirelessly charge numerous compatible Apple gadgets at the same time. "The new Apple-designed AirPower mat, coming in 2018, can charge iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods simultaneously," Apple stated in a news release announcing the iPhone X. That would be a huge convenience to...
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OnePlus is working on a new smartphone, the OnePlus 7, and the leaks to this point suggest it will feature a full-front display without a notch (including the lack of a teardrop notch) and a slider design. Interestingly though, it might not support wireless charging, even though that is quickly becoming a standard feature on flagship phones. So, what gives? Publicly, the company's stance is that wireless charging is not where it should be, and since OnePlus phones are apparently known for their charging capabilities, OnePlus has decided not to implement it into the OnePlus 7. "OnePlus charging is one of the best, Wireless charging is far inferior," OnePlus CEO Pete Lau said in an interview with...
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Apple enters 2019 with a market capitalization of nearly $750 billion, and while that's not as high as a few months ago, few companies would opt not to trade places with the Cupertino outfit. One of the keys to Apple's ongoing success is its consistency. Unfortunately for Apple. it also enters 2019 with a blemish on its track record, which is having missed its launch time frame for the AirPower, a wireless charging pad for multiple mobile gadgets. Had things gone to plan, Apple would have launched its AirPower accessory sometime in 2018. Apple SVP Phil Schiller said as much during an iPhone X event in September 2017. "We hope people love it, that it encourages others to create more advanced solutions...
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Details on the upcoming Google Pixel 3 family of smartphones have been leaking left and right in recent months, and yesterday we gave you a run-down on what we know so far about Google’s incoming Android 9 Pie flagships. Today, however, we're getting [alleged] confirmation that Google's new Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will finally add support for wireless charging. Google previously supported wireless charging with its first-party Nexus smartphones, but decided to ditch the feature starting with the original Pixel. However, a short video that was posted by Twitter user @khoroshev shows the Pixel 3 XL being placed atop a standard wireless charger. After a brief moment, a charging...
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When Apple announced the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X back in fall 2017, it also revealed its so-called “AirPower” wireless charging mat. Apple originally said that the device would ship in 2018, but what we didn’t know at the time is that it would be a late 2018 release. According to a new report, AirPower won’t be released until September which is one year from its original announcement. AirPower allows you to recharge three completely different types of Apple mobile devices simultaneously. The charging mat can accommodate and “wirelessly” charge an iPhone 8/iPhone 8 Plus/iPhone X, Apple Watch and AirPods charging case all at once. Apple...
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Apple finally joined the wireless charging revolution with the introduction of its iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X handsets, bringing a feature to iPhone users that the Android camp has been enjoying for a long time. Hot on the heels of announcing those headsets, Apple has gone out and acquired PowerbyProxi, a wireless power technology outfit in New Zealand that was spun out of the University of Auckland's wireless power center in 2007. "Our designs and IP is used in many consumer and non-consumer applications around the world by some of the world’s largest companies. We work in close partnership with our customers to turn leading edge resonant wireless power technology into real world solutions...
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Wireless charging has been around for quite some time now, even if Apple is fashionably late to the party. However, as the technology exists in the consumer sector today, there is definitely room for improvement. Well, a company called Pi is looking to advance the concept with a new device it is working on called the Pi Charger. As wireless charging exists right now, a smartphone or other battery-depleted device sits on a pad (of varying sizes) that is plugged into the wall and begins to charge. If that device is lifted off the pad, the charging stops. It works and is still more convenient than having to connect a USB cable to a phone or some other gadget, but it's not ideal. The Pi Charger changes...
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Dell made an impression at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year with its Latitude 7285, a system it billed as the world's first wireless charging 2-in-1 business convertible. It is arguably the most interesting Latitude laptop to date, and now a little more than six months later, you can order one direct from Dell starting a $1,199, or just under $2,000 if opting for the highest end configuration. We will get to the hardware specs in a moment, but first let us talk about the wireless charging technology that is at play here. The Latitude 7285 uses wireless charging technology from WiTricity and comes by way of an optional Wireless Charging Keyboard. When combined with...
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At times it feels as though Apple can be stubbornly slow in adopting features that other smartphone makers have already implemented, one of which is wireless charging. Many hoped it would be included with the iPhone 7. It was not, though don't lose hope if you're an iPhone fan, there is chatter that wireless charging will be one of the feature upgrades on the iPhone 8.That tidbit comes from an industry source who is supposedly familiar with the matter. According to the unnamed source, Hon Hai Precision (parent firm of Foxconn) is producing wireless modules for what will be the 10th anniversary line of iPhone devices.Whether wireless charging actually comes to fruition on the iPhone 8 will ultimately...
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Of all the companies out there that are committed to autonomous vehicle, Google by far has the most experience and has racked up the most amount of “driver free” miles. The company started its autonomous efforts with modified Toyota Prius hybrids and then later expanded the fleet to include Lexus RX 450h hybrids. More recently, Google has devoted attention to its homegrown fully electric vehicle (EV), which looks like a supersized Cozy Coupe. With its homegrown autonomous EV, Google has already eliminated the driver from the equation — now it wants to simplify things even further by recharging the vehicle wirelessly instead of plugging it directly into an outlet. Federal Communications Commission...
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If you look back at Apple's product launches, you'll notice that each new generation of a particular device boasts a standout feature or two that gets touted above all the rest—3D Touch, bigger displays, and Siri are a few examples. Looking ahead to 2017, and presumably the iPhone 8, wireless charging could be one of Apple's big feature upgrades.People who are supposedly familiar with Apple's future plans told Bloomberg that the Cupertino outfit is currently working with partners in the U.S. and Asia to develop a new wireless technology of its own, one that could be rolled out with its mobile devices next year.Wireless charging technologies already exist, but the one Apple is said to be developing...
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The wireless charging wars just saw a peace treaty signed by two of three major participants, the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) and Power Matters Alliance (PMA). They've joined forces to create a single entity, which will now operate as a new combined organization and brand identity called AirFuel Alliance. This doesn't come as a shock -- the companies announced plans earlier this year to merge. Now that it's been finalized, the AirFuel name and logo will take over for future products, while brands associated with the former A4WP and PMA identities go into retirement following a "suitable grace period.""AirFuel technology is the next step in fast-tracking the commercialization of wirelessly...
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The obvious advantage of wireless charging is that it's super convenient not having to plug a cable into your phone or mobile device. Cables have a way of sneaking under the couch and other hard to reach places, plus they can go bad. On the flip side, wireless charging is pretty slow, or at least it used to be. The Wireless Power Consortium just announced the latest version of the Qi specification that now supports 15 watts of power for fast charging. This is a great benefit to owners of devices that are able to charge up quickly. Several mobile device makers already offer wired fast charging, which can juice up a device by as much as 60 percent in just 30 minutes. By advancing the Qi specification...
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