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Skylake: Wireless charging and WiGig. Reasons for only one port?

D

dubydoo

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 29, 2014
35
4
I've read about Skylakes wireless charging capabilities, and now with the new features of wifi 802.11ad (wigig) apparently we'll be able to wirelessly stream 4k content to TVs/displays.

It got me thinking, maybe the new macbook truly is going wireless and that the next gen (skylake) won't needs to use the usb-c port for charging at all. And the lack of display outputs is relegated by wireless streaming.

What do you think? Is this plausible for the next versjon of the macbook or is this several years in the future?
 
I'm in favor of anything that eliminates wires! I've been waiting for decades for wireless charging and other technologies to completely eliminate the need for wires or cables. Whether the MacBook represents a step in that direction or not, I believe the day of pure wireless is coming! I can't wait!
 
I believe they'd need to open a "window" in the metal body for charging. This is basically similar to what they do with the cellular iPads now, so it can be done. I can hear the howling now, though, can't you? :eek:
 
newellj said:
I believe they'd need to open a "window" in the metal body for charging. This is basically similar to what they do with the cellular iPads now, so it can be done. I can hear the howling now, though, can't you? :eek:
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Sapphire Apple logo in the base?
 
I think it will be a while before apple starts using wireless charging and it wouldn't surprise me if it showed up in the iPhone and then trickled into the rest of the product line.
 
What do you do when you travel? Bring a wireless charging base with you? I don't think wireless charging will eliminate USB-C charging for a while.
 
WiGig seems to be a key component of Intel's Skylake wireless architecture

dubydoo said:
I've read about Skylakes wireless charging capabilities, and now with the new features of wifi 802.11ad (wigig) apparently we'll be able to wirelessly stream 4k content to TVs/displays.

It got me thinking, maybe the new macbook truly is going wireless and that the next gen (skylake) won't needs to use the usb-c port for charging at all. And the lack of display outputs is relegated by wireless streaming.

What do you think? Is this plausible for the next versjon of the macbook or is this several years in the future?
Click to expand...


Perhaps Apple originally intended to equip the rMB with Skylake, but because of Intel's delays used Broadwell instead.

Intel's whole strategy with Skylake is to make laptops wireless - and WiGig is a key component of it. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Skylake rMB with WiGig, and with it the solution to the lack of ports. The rMB's connectivity shortcomings would be resolved.
 
TheBuffather said:
No, it charges very similar to the way MagSafe works. There's still a wire, and it still has to touch the device.
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No, it's wireless. There is zero metal contact between the Watch charging pad and the back of the watch.

It does physically touch, so they can align the charging coils, but it is inductive charging.

MagSafe is not inductive, it makes metal contact between pins that carry the charge (and signalling)

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enduser99 said:
What do you do when you travel? Bring a wireless charging base with you? I don't think wireless charging will eliminate USB-C charging for a while.
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Strongly agree - I think wireless charging for laptops is kinda crazy. I don't want to have a big pad on my desk to sit the thing on, and I certainly don't want to have to carry that around with me.

USB-C is a very neat solution to the problem. Over time the connector is going to become ubiquitous and we'll be able to just charge wherever.

I don't even think that wireless charging makes sense for a phone/tablet. The only reason it makes sense for the watch is to keep it more waterproof.

The only kind of wireless charging I am interested in, is the kind where there are no special pads or stands, you just have a coil around the whole room and things can charge wherever they are :)
 
QI charging has been a wireless standard for charging for a while now. We see how well that has been implemented.
 
TheBuffather said:
No, it charges very similar to the way MagSafe works. There's still a wire, and it still has to touch the device.
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It is still inductive/wireless charging.

It would not need to touch the device but Apple choose to use a magnet to hold the coil on the back of the watch. The wire is not directly charging the watch it is powering the inductive coil.
 
The only kind of wireless charging I am interested in, is the kind where there are no special pads or stands, you just have a coil around the whole room and things can charge wherever they are
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Man I want to live in this world.
 
iStruggle said:
Man I want to live in this world.
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The technology exists, it has done for quite some time. More recently, even Apple has patents on it (which seemed to suggest using a monitor to wirelessly power keyboards/mice).

As for why it hasn't taken off, that I can't help you with, but google around for "whole room wireless charging" and you should find lots of articles :)
 
Wireless charging is very slow and inefficient. It would take 12 hours to charge a larger battery.

Lots of wasted electricity in the process. I thought you young people cared about the environment?:p
 
cmsj said:
The only kind of wireless charging I am interested in, is the kind where there are no special pads or stands, you just have a coil around the whole room and things can charge wherever they are :)
Click to expand...

This would be great... no more childproofing electrical sockets. Though I might have to break out my foil hat.
 
Newtons Apple said:
Wireless charging is very slow and inefficient. It would take 12 hours to charge a larger battery.



Lots of wasted electricity in the process. I thought you young people cared about the environment?:p
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My convenience then the environment . . . Well my convenience, then the electricity bill
 
Wireless charging will require a hardware redesign to add the receiving induction coil, probably cutting battery size somewhat, and some sort of charging mat or base, which will actually be more unwieldy to move around than a simple power cord.

I don't think wireless charging is anywhere near ready for prime time yet, and is better suited for pocketable devices like a phone than a laptop.
 
Dayv said:
Wireless charging will require a hardware redesign to add the receiving induction coil, probably cutting battery size somewhat, and some sort of charging mat or base, which will actually be more unwieldy to move around than a simple power cord.

I don't think wireless charging is anywhere near ready for prime time yet, and is better suited for pocketable devices like a phone than a laptop.
Click to expand...

Not if 'power over wifi' takes off
 
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