Apple ‘Developing’ Long Distance Wireless Charging

Future generations of iPhone and iPads could be charged wirelessly without the need to be on, or even near, an adapter.

Bloomberg reports Apple is working with companies in the US and Asia to develop a long-distance wireless charging system that could be ready as soon as next year.

Apple juice

Wireless charging is possible on a number of mobile devices as increasingly power hungry phones demand more frequent charges.

Samsung and Google are among those to include the feature in their handsets, but no iPhone to date has supported wireless charging.

However all commercial systems require the smartphone to be placed on a charging pad due to technical barriers such as the loss of power over distance.

Some firms claim to have overcome this impediment, but it is unclear who Apple is reportedly working with.

A number of leading technology players have committed to wireless charging, including Qualcomm, whose WiPower technology is now able to charge smartphones and tablets made with a metal body.

Another barrier to widespread adoption is the existence of several rival standards. The Wireless Power Consortium’s Qi standard competes with the joint forces of the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) and Power Matters Alliance (PMA).

The two organisations support different methods of charging and it is unclear which, if any, Apple will support.

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