Ondrej Holzman While Samsung, as Apple's biggest competitor in the smartphone market, has been offering wireless charging for its phones for a long time, the iPhone manufacturer is still delaying the implementation of this function. In his laboratories, however, he is apparently working on his own solutions with many experts.
Magazine The Verge si noticed, that Apple has in recent months hired Jonathan Bolus and Andrew Joyce, who previously worked at the wireless startup uBeam. Specifically, at uBeam, they tried to convert ultrasonic waves into electricity so that they could charge electronics remotely.
However, whether uBeam can actually do something like this and make it a reality is still in doubt, and the startup in general is facing many problems, often caused by its own mistakes, as he describes on his blog former VP of Engineering Paul Reynolds.
Many engineers have already left uBeam because they stopped believing in the implementation of the whole idea, and many of them have evidently found their way to Apple. In addition to the two reinforcements mentioned above, the Californian company has hired more than ten experts in the field of wireless charging and ultrasound technology in the last two years.
It must be added that it is not surprising if Apple is really developing wireless charging. In January, it was reported that Tim Cook et al. are not happy with the current state of wireless charging and they would like to charge iPhones remotely, not just by direct contact with the charging station. In this context, there is therefore talk that wireless charging will not yet be prepared for this year's iPhone 7.
Apple wants the technology to be advanced enough that you can keep your iPhone in your pocket all the time, and no matter how you move around the room, the device would be charging all the time. After all, Apple already indicated a similar method in some of its older patents, where a computer served as a charging station. Everything should work on the basis of so-called near-field magnetic resonance, which is a difference to the uBeam solution, which wanted to use ultrasound waves.
There are theoretically several options for achieving wireless charging from a distance, but so far no one has managed to bring them to market in real products. In addition, hired experts in this field at Apple do not necessarily work on long-distance wireless charging, as their focus also offers work on inductive charging for the Apple Watch or on haptics and watch sensors.
However, there is no reason not to assume that Apple is also researching remote wireless charging, as users have been calling for this feature (not necessarily remote) for some time. And also considering the competition, enriching one of the next iPhones with this function seems to be a logical step.
I understand their efforts. What the competition has brings basically nothing. I still have to put it on something within reach of the socket. I'll clip the cable in as well. When it's contactless and not just "wireless" it will make sense.
unfortunately, wireless charging is not reliable and besides it is incredibly slow, would Apple want to create a self-charging iPhone? I would prefer induction as the main charge.