According to a new report out of Bloomberg, Apple is working to develop wireless charging technology that could make its way into an iPhone by 2017. The report claims that Apple is working in conjunction with partners in the United States and Asia to develop the technology. The technology is said to allow iPhones and iPads to be powered from further away than current charging mat and inductive solutions allow.
Apple, of course, has to face several technological barriers when it comes to wireless charging. One of the primary issues with its solution is the loss of power over distance. This means that the further a device is away from the receiver, the longer the batteries would take to charge.
Exact details on Apple’s solution to problems like the loss of power over distance are unclear at this point. The report says that even Apple is still analyzing its options and how exactly it wants the technology to be implemented. Wireless charging has been a rumored feature for the iPhone 7, which will launch later this year. This report, however, makes it seem as if we won’t see the feature implemented until whatever iPhone Apple launches in 2017.
Apple has filed for a handful of patents relating to wireless charging technology. In 2010, it filed a patent application that suggested a device like the iMac be used as a hub for wirelessly charging iOS devices that were as far as 1 meter away using something called near-field magnetic resonance.
The Apple Watch is capable of wireless charging, but in a much different manner. It uses inductive charging, meaning the Watch must be touching the charging pad in order to gain power. This is similar to many Android manufacturers have implemented wireless charring into their devices over the years. We’ve also seen a variety of third-party cases that enable the inductive method to be used by the iPhone.
It’ll be interesting to see how Apple is able to implement wireless charging that is capable of charging a device that’s further away from its power source.
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This is great, but like the article said, distance would be an issue, but I’m sure that Apple can fix this. Because that’s what Apple does. They take something and make it better! This is something that I would be really looking forward to. I wouldn’t have to be tethered to an outlet anymore.
Apple may be good, but they can’t change the laws of physics I’m afraid. Still, it will be pretty amazing, no matter what they come up with!
Laws of Physics? Maybe, you need education & research before heading a public comment aunty
Avieshek:
Why? Are you basically saying that the following phrase: “One of the primary issues with its solution is the loss of power over distance. This means that the further a device is away from the receiver, the longer the batteries would take to charge” has absolutely nothing to do with the laws of physics?
If you are saying that then perhaps you would like to enlighten me as to why there is a loss of power over distance. The two idiots who also like your comment might also want to educate me as well.
Much obliged.
Avieshek:
Incidentally, the phrase “still, it will be pretty amazing, no matter what they come up with” is a little indication that it is possible. My laws of physics comment is in response to what Tyler Jon Warnecke said about “distance would be an issue” – which IS related to the laws of physics.
I’ll get an education and do some research, when you go to English class and learn about reading comprehension. Deal?
The laws of Physics doesn’t change until you move to another universe. An equation like e=mc^2 (energy, mass, speed of light) would be okay but if reciever, battery is determined to state the laws of physics than it’s the use of error which shl’dn’t be covered with anger
And as for u calling people idiots, it is said, how u address people is actually how u describe yourself.
Point one finger, three fingers point at you. So, decency and knowledge is also required to pose something public.
As for u’r comprehension, the intext and context of the meaning has a lot to do with how you tailor u’r words. The argument is not ab’t Apple, a $200 billion company can take care of itself and it’s history includes fingerprint scanners but ofcourse u r trying to save u’rself and I’ll let it go.
Avieshek:
With all respect Avieshek, what are you going on about? I replied to Tyler’s comment about distance being an issue in a completely non-offensive way by stating that Apple can’t change the Laws of Physics (they can’t) but whatever the come up with will still be amazing. You then told me to get an education, and implied that I didn’t know what I was on about and that it has nothing to do with the laws of physics. I then asked you to explain that if it is nothing to do with physics then to educate me as to what it was. You then quoted me E=MC2 – the most famous equations from the LAWS OF PHYSICS.
Now what is it? Is the loss of power over distance to do with the laws of physics or not? If it’s NOT then I want you to tell me what it IS to do with. If it IS then your original comment was uncalled for.
Well, u want to be educated, it’s nice, but as for asking our time, if u had been the Steve Jobs or the CEO of Apple or apple like company mixed with the eagerness to find new possibilities like him than it would ‘ve been fruitful, with the resources and power to turn that into a viable reality even if the investors revolted. But for now, I can only advice, if u ask u’r niece how to use Google search
A common example is a way to invite an understanding a complex one would try to show the boasting of knowledge. That’s the thing, ‘m not interested in extending this on personal level and make arguments, so I bid adieu
Avieshek:
You implied that i’m an idiot, and that the loss of power over distance had NOTHING to do with the Laws of Physics. I’m still waiting for you to tell me EXACTLY what it has to do with. When you do, I will vote for you for the next Nobel Prize for Physics.
Incidentally, one of the people who liked your original comment is notorious on here for calling anyone an idiot who has a different opinion to himself. You might want to check some of your older posts – he’s probably called you one in the past too. Just saying.
You’re dragging up totally irrelevant things to try and win an argument. What has Apple and how much money it is worth got to do with anything? I’m sat here with a 5k iMac, Apple Watch and iPhone 6. I don’t need YOU to tell me how much Apple is worth because believe me, I know. What has fingerprint scanners got to do with anything? It hasn’t. Incidentally you are aware that Apple didn’t actually invent fingerprints scanners aren’t you?
As for me trying to save myself? Save myself from what exactly? Someone who blatantly doesn’t know what they are on about? Someone who is unable to back up what they say? Your problem, like a lot of people on sites like this, is that they cannot STAND anyone who might have something even remotely negative to say about Apple because to them it’s as if even the smallest sleight is like a stab to the heart. It’s pathetic. I’ve dropped THOUSANDS over the years on Apple stuff and do every year.. I owe that company NOTHING. I have earned to right to have an opinion about them, whether you disagree with them or not.
You’re ONLY saving grace is that English is obviously not your first language because believe me, I will happily sit here ALL DAY and argue with you.
So basically, your response to my response is absolutely nothing.
Good way to lose an argument fella.
: ) Satisfy yourself
The use of “You’re” already shows who’s advising me
Sit all day, save u’r ego. I’ve useful things to do
English is not my first language, moreover I speak five languages but when it’s u’r only language and u can’t differentiate “You’re” and “your”, it’s saddening
Yeah but I’m not pretending to be something I’m not. You are.
Nice Dogue de Bordeaux by the way.
You both sound like a couple of jackasses…
Expert physicist AND can speak 5 languages fluently. Looks like I picked the wrong person to argue with. I take it all back.
Cheers Eddie. Has your fringe grown back yet?
It’s only a meter away from the charger. According to this story it will be installed in an iMac. If you don’t have an iMac then you will not have it. If you do hve an iMac then this can only be used at home. Away from home you would still need carry a charging cable. Still cool stuff, but it would be only slightly better than a charging pad.
For everyone that is about to say this is unhealthy or dangerous, everything I have read about magnetic resonance leads me to believe its safe.
Only when you crank the power high enough to reach from one side of the house to the other could there be an issue. At this level, if you put your skin next to the emitter for a few hours, you could get a minor sun burn. Minor in the sense of being in the sun for a couple minutes. There is now way Apple would use this kind of amplitude.
Read up before you decide its harmful.
Inverse square law applies here, it becomes exponentially less efficient, the greater the distance.
Only if the wireless energy isn’t concentrated/directed towards the device being charged?
“Only if the wireless energy isn’t concentrated/directed towards the device being charged?”
That inverse square law works the same regardless of what the divergence angle is.
Now THIS is wireless charging, no inductive charging should ever come to an iPhone. This is actually the useful kind.
Well, the article is misleading. It implies that, for inductive charging, objects must touch. That is not true. If you have an induction hob, it also works when the iron pan is hovering above the surface, it just has to be in the range of the magnetic field. Without knowing the patent from 2010 the article mentions in detail, “magnetic resonance” does not really hint at the difference of this new technology. A coil in the iOS devices “resonates” with a magnetic field the Mac generates. That is exactly how inductive chargers work. New to the approach is that the two coils are coupled by magnetic resonance, they “swing” with a synchronized frequency. And this allows a more efficient energy transfer than traditional induction.
With inductive or conductive charging objects almost are at no difference with a maximum 1″ off making little difference in convenience or practicality. Keeping that in view, the article is kept on simple terms rather than broadening the subject for general users. Anyway, you’ve to keep the device on a surface and not hanging it over air, so it becomes the same thing in terms of the real world and to general use.
@avieshek, well, I don’t agree. An article on a blog like this doesn’t have to go into scientific details, but a sentence like “it uses inductive charging, meaning the Watch must be touching the charging pad in order to gain power” is simply not true. In fact, magnetic resonance IS a variety of good old magnetic induction. But it is not a completely different technology: http://bit.ly/1zJ1BhZ
Well, @avieshek, I don’t agree. Blogs like this don’t have to go into scientific details. But a sentence like “it uses inductive charging, meaning the Watch must be touching the charging pad in order to gain power” is simply not true. In fact, “magnetic resonance” IS indeed good old magnetic induction. It is a variety of the same technology, that is more efficient. http://bit.ly/1zJ1BhZ
Fascinating stuff. Just FYI, ‘farther’ means distance; ‘further’ means additional.
At home, office or maybe inside car, iPhone battery could last longer. Only when the device is out of the charging range then the battery start depleting. Maybe the future Macs will have this feature for magic mouse, magic trackpad and wireless keyboard too. Maybe the next iOS power adapters will have no wires at all so, the future iOS devices would be slimmer and the world’s 1st portless/all-true-wireless device. Apple airport base station with wireless charging? Protoss Pylon? Apple Pylon? that would be interesting.
My question is about the amount of energy emitted vs the amount of energy used by the devices being charged. I currently use a Logitech unifying mouse and keyboard. The mouse battery seems to last forever. The keyboard is solar. I’ve never had a problem staying charged with overhead lighting. It just seems like there will have to be a large amount of energy emitted to be useful to charge a phone let alone full size computers.
I’m not sure I want even more radiation floating about my head…
Are the people who are building this doing any in-depth research about what radio waves do to our bodies? Even Tesla, back in his days, had made some discoveries that don’t paint our current electrical system in the rosiest of colours.
http://www.androidauthority.com/wireless-charging-qi-pad-technology-580015/
Read more about Wireless charging here
I am sure they don’t. They probably don’t carr at all about how harmful all these devices are to us.
That is why I mever carry my phone with me around. Whenever I need to call someone I have this DIY aluminium foil bandana that I put on before I put the phone next to my head. It probably doesn’t protect me 100% from the harmful radiation, but I am sure it helps.
I also threw out my mother’s microwave machine. After I explained to her that I read on someone’s website on the internet that you can get cancer for looking at the microwave for too long she stopped being mad at me.
Stay safe out there!
thank you for the irony but there’s also some solid research behind what I’m saying. I’m an engineer myself. If you only read the mainstream news (or the tin foil-variety news) you don’t get to see the full picture. At least I do my research before I speak.
I actually posted a link and that goes awaiting review but it’s actually about different types of technology including ultrasound to charge devices. If that gets comment gets approved, I would like to discuss, if other solutions can be a viable and acceptable in terms of health
Radiation is and always will be flying about your head. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t exist. Radiation is good. It gives us the ability to be alive. There is no gradient difference in atomic and cellular damage due to increased or decreased levels of radiation, only the intensity of the radiation (when it reaches ionization intensity), therefore if the radiation is below ionizing levels then it’s irrelevant and safe.
Only a child who doesn’t have to pay their powerbill would want such technology…..I’d rather not piss away half the energy into thin air but whatever. The same liberals on here who claim Republicans are destroying the planet are going to drool over this energy wasting idea.
don’t generalize too much. I consider myself a liberal (at least, I will not get anywhere near today’s batshit crazy GOP). I personally think that wireless charging is stupid and it is a gimmick that offers NO advantage over existing wire-based method…in fact, it has only disadvantages so far.
But so do trucks with 4.6-6L engines that people drive to walmart to buy 2 gallons of milk and 2 frozen pizzas. It is about the same level of inefficiency as using wireless charging.
If you spent any significant amount of time in the 9to5 comment sections you’d know why I made that statement
The only wireless charging technology that wouldn’t be wasteful is the ones that use radio waves the wifi and cellphone signals to charge the device. We are years away until wireless charging is the soul way a device charges. Charging is to slow wirelessly and not to a point were can ditch a power port or con ductile charging inside. Conductive charging is still slow right now too.
“Destroying the planet”
The arrogance of humanity. You couldn’t destroy the planet on purpose, let alone on accident.
You are right but I think we both know that what he meant that we are destroying the planet as we know it. Regardless of wether or not we could actually destroy the planet which we absolutely could not does not mean we should treat it like a trash can.
I’m not sure if you are aware, no, I’m sure, but the iPhone takes insanely little energy to charge per year. Any wasted here would be negligible.
It is true that the iphone takes very little energy to recharge. This is going to constantly emit energy 360 degrees. If you’re only using a small amount of that energy how is the rest not considered waste?
They have beam forming wifi, and Apple may be using the wifi solution for wireless charging, and if so, it stands to reason that the loss of energy would be negligible.
You are being naive smoothies, this tech wont live exclusively on the iPhone…just wait til this sparks the wireless charging revolution and every device in your house implements the similar. Yes, one iPhone no big deal. Everything you know, MASSIVE waste.
The imac charging station thing sounds like it could be used to keep the keyboard and mouse charged. Then people could stop complaining about the mouse port on the bottom.
Still a bit skeptical but it would be nice it it worked as imagined.
“people”
Don’t confuse typical nauseating blog trolls with people.
I was intentionally being vague to avoid being considered troll by the other trolls. Personally I don’t think it’s an issue. That said, never having to charge any wireless device that is always within range of your computer anyway would be pretty damn cool.
Guy please atleast let Samsung copy it before arguing over it. It will help answer all questions about laws of physics and if makes it better.
NuCurrent.com already has technology that works
The so called Wireless charging out now is NOT Wireless charging. it’s Mat Charging. It would be like Wifi only working if you’re phone was sitting on top of the router and calling that wireless. It’s as dumb as calling a Board type device with Wheels a hover Board. there’s ZERO hovering involved. Just like this B.S. Wireless charging, which is really just marketing garbage. If I can’t walk around a room and have the phone still charging, then it’s NOT wireless!!!! It’s just a different type of wired connection point!!! When I see a so called charging mat and there’s a wire plugged into it, it’s WIRED!!! Wired mat charging.
Now I’ve heard of a couple different ways to get TRUE wireless charging in the past being worked on. If Apple goes wireless charging for real, I hope it’s done this way and why it’s taken longer for Apple to release a phone with real wireless charging and not the fake garbage released so far from others.
Look at Integrated device Technology, they have solved the problem and are selling the prodct