Regulatory Filings May Point to Apple Partnership With Wireless Charging Firm Energous

[Superhappytree]

While the charging mat isn't ideal, I can still see its usefulness. If you're going to put your phone down on a table while you do something it may as well be charging while its laying there doing nothing. Then you can grab and go over and over again without plugging the phone itself in.

Unless you literally NEVER put your phone down, in which case... Put it down once in a while?

Oh yeah, I can see why some might appreciate the usefulness of it, but to me I just see it as a "cool thing to have" more than anything. I don't want to speak for everyone but I think the average consumer doesn't want to have an accessory (which it kind of is) and place their phone there leaving it sat until it's charged. You might as well just use a wire. I like to use my phone and have it in my hands most times than not while it's charging, I'm guessing a lot of others do too. I can actually live without my phone in my hand 24/7 but I've seen others do this a lot also . So until you can charge it whilst having it in your hand and being sat across the other side of a room, completely free from wires and mats, I don't see it as being particularly useful. But Apple is waiting for this much more efficient solution which they know would be more convenient for said average consumer.

 

[okdale81]

This is never going to work at distances longer than 2 or 3 feet there's too much power loss.

Plug some numbers into the Friis transmission equation to see for yourself:

https://www.pasternack.com/t-calculator-friis.aspx

 

[kdarling]

Apple is said to be planning to introduce wireless charging in the 2017 iPhone and may be working to overcome obstacles like the loss of power transfer efficiency that occurs when the distance between the transmitter and the receiver increases.

If they can change the Laws of Physics about power vs. distance, that would indeed be magical.

---

Speaking of, one can imagine everyone in a room wanting to get as close as possible to the transmitter because of that scientific fact. From the Wattup website:

"The system delivers an average of 2W to 4 devices simultaneously within this 15-foot radius (30-foot span). Proximity to the transmitter impacts power delivery as follows:

• 4W delivered to 4 devices simultaneously within 0-5 feet
• 2W delivered to 4 devices simultaneously within 5-10 feet
• 1W delivered to 4 devices simultaneously within 10-15 feet

Charging times will vary since they are determined by the number of devices being charged as well as the allocation of available power to each device. WattUp software allows allocation of power to as many as 12 devices in ¼W increments."

 

[CarlJ]

That wouldn't make sense unless the anniversary edition were either extremely difficult to manufacture, or cost over $1000, or both.

Can you say, Anniversary Edition Ceramic iPhone?

 

[Mactendo]

There was once a proposal (never went anywhere), to "heat" homes with very low-level microwaves. The idea being that heating all that air volume was inefficient, when all you actually cared about, the goal of home heating, was the comfort of the "ugly bags of mostly water" that were walking around inside the home. Heating them (the aforementioned bags of water) directly via microwave radiation would be much more efficient. Yeah, people didn't like that idea very much for some reason.

An interesting story, thank you for sharing. I won't be surprised if one day something like that will be ressurected. Once upon a time people were ready to do something because of a naiveness, now they are ready to do same things because of the money and profit.

 

[Good User Name]

I guess witricity is totally out of the running now

 

[Cigsm]

Figuring that was from the consumers poor choices in using a cheap unapproved knock off charger, this will probably shut you up

is that an iPhone? burning?

https://www.cnet.com/news/iphone-6-plus-blew-up-while-charging-woman-claims/

Probably this will shut him up...

 

[jdelaune]

Wireless charging a 'feature' of new Skylake CPUs ...shouldn't this be an obvious step for long overdue Macbook Pros ('the biggest update yet')? Same power brick format but emitting WattUp signal. ...perhaps an optional USB-C cable/port for fast direct charging.

...somebody mock that up in photoshop and get a bunch of free internet points.

Intel back resonant wireless charging, not RF.
[doublepost=1474007761][/doublepost]

True wireless charging should give you a range and leave you untethered.

I've always thought current wireless charging to be largely pointless as the device still has to make contact with the charger unit itself, so you just may as well just have a wire instead. The way it's labelled as wireless reminds me of those hoverboards that don't hover.

There are different kinds of wireless charging. Inductive as you describe needs to be very close. Resonant has a lot more freedom. I've had a resonant charger charge my phone while I had it in my hand. So through a table and through my hand. Resonant is also powerful enough for laptops and EVs. RF does have great freedom. But it's just going to trickle charge.
[doublepost=1474007810][/doublepost]

I guess witricity is totally out of the running now

I wouldn't be so sure.
[doublepost=1474008031][/doublepost]

While the charging mat isn't ideal, I can still see its usefulness. If you're going to put your phone down on a table while you do something it may as well be charging while its laying there doing nothing. Then you can grab and go over and over again without plugging the phone itself in.

Unless you literally NEVER put your phone down, in which case... Put it down once in a while?

The benefits increase the more devices you have. At the moment I have to plug in my phone and watch each night. Soon it will be headphones as well. Would be great to just place them all on my bedside table instead of having a bunch of charging cables. It's the next step in Apples wireless world.

 

[macs4nw]

And there were people here just the other day all bent out of shape about putting just enough 2.4GHz signal into the air to transmit data a few feet. They're gonna blow a gasket over radiating out enough signal to charge electronics.

At this rate, sometime in the not too distant future, my Neanderthal brain is going to fry.....

Seriously, notwithstanding the obvious convenience wireless charging will give us, considering the fact we are talking about billions of devices globally speaking, this convenience is environmentally speaking quite wasteful. Despite claims to the contrary, inductive charging, if that is what Apple is going for, is already less efficient than wired charging, and unless those charging points are no longer fed once the device's battery is fully charged, the charging coils continue to use (read: waste) the same amount of energy they do while actually charging a device. Which is just as wasteful as leaving those power bricks many of us currently use, plugged into the wall 24/7.

RF-based wireless charging systems which are the option Apple is more likely to go with, because of being even more convenient, as the device to be charged does not need to be in close proximity to the charging source, are even less efficient than inductive charging surfaces.

In addition to the worrisome aspect of 'pumping' ever increasing amounts of RF energy into our living environment (and the unknown long-term effects of that on living organisms), the significantly increased amounts of electricity used to charge our portable electronics the wireless way, will no doubt 'concern' environmentalists everywhere.

In the end, convenience will no doubt trump the environment or potential health concerns, no political pun intended.

 

[daviddth]

Thats pretty impressive, I agree. I can say I'd likely get one in the low-distance version initially so I could see how things went for phones etc, but eventually I could see this powering a lot more things such as remotes, watches, tablets and phones, and yes even your laptop. It might not be able to run your laptop, but could you imagine bringing your laptop home after work/school, leaving it in the bag and when you left in the morning it was back at 100% charge ready for another days work.

 

[AsherN]

2018 and they drop the Lightning port from the iPhone.

And require you to connect to iTunes to complete an update...
[doublepost=1474031441][/doublepost]

True wireless charging should give you a range and leave you untethered.

I've always thought current wireless charging to be largely pointless as the device still has to make contact with the charger unit itself, so you just may as well just have a wire instead. The way it's labelled as wireless reminds me of those hoverboards that don't hover.

Current wireless charging is a lot more convinient than wired charging. Just drop the phone on the charger and pick it up. Those of us who get up fro our desks regularly, it makes a huge difference.

While RF charging sounds really cool, Unless the tech can use the already existing, low power WiFi signals, then you are talking about yet more radiation all around.

 

[catch Liar]

This looks amazing - the kind of thing, you would think Apple would like to own as a core technology

This is a lie!
[doublepost=1474037723][/doublepost]This is a Lie!

Apple may be working with Energous on a wireless charging project according to regulatory filings discovered by VentureBeat. Energous certification documents dating back to 2014 features a mysterious "Apple compliance testing" listing, which could hint at a partnership.

According to VentureBeat, this is proof Apple is considering using Energous' WattUp wireless charging technology in one of its devices, but it should be noted that this listing isn't concrete proof of a relationship - it could also be a reference to MFi testing for an iPhone case or other WattUp iPhone accessory.

While there continues to be no undeniable proof that Energous is working with Apple, there have been other hints. Energous has claimed it is working with "one of the top five consumer electronics companies," it has relationships with Apple manufacturers TSMC and Foxconn, and both are members of ANSI.

Energous also happens to be the only company that has a long-distance RF-based wireless charging system (WattUp) that's nearly ready to launch in consumer products. According to rumors, Apple is working on an extended range wireless charging solution, which would allow the iPhone to be charged at a distance without the need to be placed on a mat or other charging base. WattUp transmitters can charge devices located up to 15 feet away.

Apple is said to be planning to introduce wireless charging in the 2017 iPhone and may be working to overcome obstacles like the loss of power transfer efficiency that occurs when the distance between the transmitter and the receiver increases.

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, "Wireless is the future." Given the recent removal of the headphone jack and the need for the Lightning port to serve multiple functions, wireless charging is a logical next step.

Over the course of the last several months, Apple has been hiring engineers with expertise in wireless charging and it's rumored to be seeking a supplier for wireless charging chips, suggesting there are plans in motion for the next-generation iPhone.

Read more on a possible partnership between Energous and WattUp.

Article Link: Regulatory Filings May Point to Apple Partnership With Wireless Charging Firm Energous

 

[JackANSI]

Which is why you swap to ceramic.

Well, they are obviously playing around with ceramic at the moment. That may go some way to helping that issue?

Isn't the new iphone rumoured to be made of all glass? Or would that cause the same problem?

If "bendgate" is anything to go off of, valid or not, Apple might have a repeat of that if they went with ceramic (except called "shattergate").

They make flexible enough ceramics to probably pull it off (that also are insulators/non-conductive), but shock load will still shatter them easier than some of the glass that is out there now. I don't know if the flexible ceramics would take well to being bent while in a form resembling the current iPhone model chassis (with the narrow high edges and flat back). Just like glass once you get a crack, it tends to propagate through the material without stopping, following the stress lines. It's a tough call.


If I had to put money on it right now, today:

There will be a 7S that is just like the 7 today, except maybe a larger diameter, ceramic or glass, logo around back (or other similar method) that will let Apple get some more experience with wireless charging in the wild and a new screen tech (maybe just the integrated home button, possibly with OLED or MicroLED) as the major new features.

Then they'll hopefully do an iPhone 8 in 2018 with a mix of ceramic and glass. (ceramic/metalic frame, glass/ceramic front/back).

Apple could possibly integrate the coil(s) into the ceramic and make it quite thin in either the 7S or 8. Heck I wouldn't be surprised if they were able to directly populate the ceramic parts with some of the simpler circuit elements that don't require layers of board and eek out some space and efficiency savings that way.

But I'm also assuming Apple is still capable of putting forth a herculean amount of engineering, which as of late, I'm very skeptical they still can. Another iPhone re-run (a 7S) would give them enough breathing room to just maybe pull it off though.

 

[Gorms]

But I'm also assuming Apple is still capable of putting forth a herculean amount of engineering, which in as of late, I'm very skeptical they still can. Another iPhone re-run (a 7S) would give them enough breathing room to just maybe pull it off though.

With the 7s, it'd be effectively 4 years on the same phone design which may be too much. I'm not against it myself, as I think there is only so much you can do with a slab of aluminium. But I think they'd get murdered in the press.

Really nice write up on the ceramics there though. Gave me a much better understanding of the pros and cons

 

[thekeyring]

It seems to be less "It's a special edition 10th" and more "the major non-S upgrade is coming next year".