First, this only takes two devices, not three, and isn't integrated with a system to allow different charging rates, prioritizing, integration with app, etc., and we don't know anything yet about interference with other devices, overheating, etc.
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ZENS Unveils AirPower-Like Wireless Charger With 16 Coils to Charge Two Devices Anywhere on Mat
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First, this only takes two devices, not three, and isn't integrated with a system to allow different charging rates, prioritizing, integration with app, etc., and we don't know anything yet about interference with other devices, overheating, etc.
Most likely because Apple couldn’t achieve the outcome they wanted for the price folks would pay
This has been my theory as well. 22 rumored coils, trying to balance signal interference and heat with an additional proprietary signal thrown in the mix... bzzzt... bzzzzt... bzzzzzzzttt. {blows main fuse at Apple Park}
I think even apple has a point where they realize pricing a charging mat at $180 is a little insane.
Apple was trying to do beamforming with charging whereby you could direct where the charging energy went regardless of where the device was placed.
People say Apple used 32 coils, but that's a rumor (and not a very good one). The whole point of beamforming is you don't need a large number of overlapping coils to be able to charge a device since you're "directing" where the energy is going. Multiple coils are used when you can't do beamforming and just want to have the entire mat "covered" in coils so wherever you place a device it's bound to be over one of the coils. It's a brute force method and not very elegant.
This device is nothing like what Apple wanted to do with their charger. Charging the Apple watch (which also isn't Qi certified) proved to be impossible.
The price of this suggests that those who were guessing/joking that AirPower would cost $149 or even $199 were either correct or too low.
Too bad it's basically not shipping. I'm not upset over losing $160, no not at all.
Who says these guys can do it? It’s not even on the market yet. Whatever made Apple decide not to bring their charger to market I’m sure was related to safety, performance, and reliability. Apple doesn’t make junk and never has no matter what the haters say.
The only part that ever fails on my iPhone is the lightening charging port. My iPhone 7 is going to be replaced soon with a more modern iPhone that i can use with a Qi charger.
But did ZENS unveil a credit card with below average benefits?
Checkmate ZENS.
Checkmate ZENS.
Apple's was supposed to be much thinner, charge 3 devices (not just 2) and the accessories (AirPods and Watch) were supposed to communicate their battery status back to iPhone and view it on the lock screen.
I have this charging mat and it works pretty good. I've only experienced a few instances where the phone wouldn't register the battery being charged which a restart of the phone fixed the issue. It covers 85% of the iPhone's charging area.
Having a tiltable apple watch charge is great because I can place my watch on a slight angle so it comes into contact every time without having the watch bands get in the way.
And then see it fly all over the place when you have to take a sudden turn..
No for car use I'd definitely prefer a secure holder and in that scenario wired charging is zero extra hassle.
This overlapping coil stuff always seemed slightly crazy. Why not just make a mat with a slight depression/niche for the phone to sit in? Or make it flat, but have the devices magnetically lock into place to align them with the coils when placed on the pad. (The more I think about this, the cooler it sounds actually! Any smart people know of reasons why this would be problematic?)
I don't think that most users really care about being able to haphazardly arrange their devices all over a charging pad.
I don't think that most users really care about being able to haphazardly arrange their devices all over a charging pad.
It must be a generational thing, that plugging and unplugging a cable into your iPhone to charge it has become tedious or time-consuming. Are people that lazy that they'd rather spend $150-$180 on a wireless charger than plug their phone into a cable that already exists at a desk and takes all of about 3 seconds? And, we're talking once or twice a day. Is it really important (or healthy) to keep your iPhone topped off at 100% all day long?
It is so unnecessary to pay this much for wireless chargers. Ikea offers a 3 device Qi charger for under $60. Sure it's thick and doesn't support fast charging but it's up to you if you need that. I have the triple one in my living room and a single one at my desk at work and on my night stand. The one on my desk is specially convenient because every time I put my phone down throughout the day I just put it on the Ikea "puck" so there's always a charge flowing in, no need for fast charging. All of these chargers together cost less than this one.
Good point. I really doubt it will work well with these overlapping coils. There's a reason phones with wireless charging capabilities don't have metal backs. Having another coil on top will seriously impact efficiency when the bottom coils are used. Even for the top ones it won't be great but it won't affect them too much if the bottom ones are "open circuit".
Wouldn't you rather have just one wire as opposed to 2 or 3? I just bought the Nomad Base Station Apple Watch Edition (£150); as buying a second 2m Apple Watch Cable (£39), a 30W USB-C Power Adapter (£49) and a USB-C to lightning Cable (£35) was almost the same price! Plus I can also charge my Airpods...all using just one plug.
These guys are willing to risk your house burning down?
(I'm being sarcastic, but Apple didn't say they couldn't make one, just that they couldn't make one to their high standards and without overheating issues, perhaps this group has lower standards or is willing to let it get hotter)
It's just how things evolve. I'm sure someone argued at some point if it was necessary to have a phone on you at all times! If it's not your thing you don't have to do it, but the convenience factor is huge. It's not about being lazy, it's just convenient.
That being said, this price is outrageous! You can buy very cheap ones from Ikea.
But wireless charging doesn't use beams. It's not radiowaves, it's a pulsing magnetic field, like in a transformer. It basically is a transformer, just with the two sides in different devices.
I could imagine you could create a grid of power transistors, that dynamically create virtual coils by shorting in a certain loop depending on the device above. But it would be very costly. But I don't think you can focus magnetic fields like beams as you can with radiowaves, especially in something that's supposed to be flat.
Also, with beamforming the transmitter origin position doesn't change, only the direction of the beam changes. But because the "receiver" would be right on top of the transmitter, it wouldn't really allow the receiver to change positions anyway, the signal doesn't travel far enough to really end up in a different place.
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Fast wireless charging would be ideal, but I suspect that fast wireless charging and heat are tightly linked. For example, microwaves transfer a lot of power wireless and quickly but obviously we're not trying to cook phones or people here...