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 Supporters of wireless charging see a future where people no longer
worry about topping up their gadgets; are free from tangled power
cords and low-battery warnings and where terms like "outlet" and
"plugged in" will be as anachronistic as "dialing" a phone.
Users seem to like the idea too: in a recent survey by technology
consultancy IHS, 83 percent were interested in wireless charging; in
China, the figure was 91 percent.
But, while the technology is largely there to do this, competition
to set a global standard is getting in the way of delivery. It's
reminiscent of the Betamax vs VHS videotape wars of three or four
decades ago, or the more recent battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD
for supremacy in high definition optical disc format.
For now, there are three alliances, but not much to show. Last year,
fewer than 20 million phones were shipped with wireless charging
built in, according to IHS - less than 2 percent of the billion
smartphones shipped around the world.
"There are a lot of bees around the hive," said Omri Lachman, CEO of
Humavox, an Israeli start-up with its own wireless charging
technology. "Up to now we've not seen a mass aggregation of wireless
charging in devices. There's a good reason for that: three standards
for the same form of technology."
While users clearly see wireless charging - where mobiles, tablets
and other devices are charged by laying them on a mat or other
surface - as a natural next step, some industry leaders have
cautioned that having to still plug in the charging device may prove
fiddly for some. "Having to create another device you have to plug
into the wall is actually, for most situations, more complicated,"
Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller said just two years ago.
BEAM ME UP …
Maybe, but others say the wireless vision remains compelling. "Look
at Star Trek," says Geoff Gordon of the Alliance for Wireless Power
(A4WP), one of the three competing alliances. "They never talk about
their batteries dying on any of their devices. If you look far
enough into the future we're looking at a world where you don't even
think about power."
But to catch on, wireless charging has to work seamlessly. That
means a user can easily find a wireless charging zone and not have
to worry whether their device is compatible, or properly connected
or even secure from theft.
Intel Corp, a member of A4WP along with the likes of Samsung
Electronics and Qualcomm Inc, says wireless charging is a lot like
wireless computing. Just as the world has largely ditched network
cables for wireless hotspots, so we will leave chargers and cables
at home as we'll never be far from a charging pad.
But getting there, the chipmaker argues, will require someone with
its clout to set the global standard for wireless technology.
"History will tell you it's what it takes to get mainstream
lift-off," said Intel's Leighton Phillips.
Among the competing standards, A4WP uses something called magnetic
resonance, while the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) - which
includes tech names such as Nokia and Philips - champions its Qi
standard using inductive charging, a method which is also used by
the Power Matters Alliance (PMA).
They are all variations of the same technology: a coil inside the
device picks up an electrical charge from a transmitter coil in the
charging surface. Apple, which sits outside the alliances, appears
to have used a version of induction charging in its Watch, further
muddying the waters.
$8.5 BILLION MARKET
Sparring in a battle for leadership in a market that IHS reckons
will be worth $8.5 billion by 2018 - as the technology is
incorporated into devices, furniture, cars, restaurants - the
alliances fling accusations at one another.
The WPC accuses its rivals of trying "to benefit from intellectual
property they think they own," in the words of WPC vice president
for market development John Perzow, instead of "what benefits the
consumer."
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The WPC's Qi brand is the only one to have made any real headway on
the market, doubling its annual shipments to 20 million devices last
year. The PMA has a couple of products out, while the first devices
carrying the A4WP's Rezence brand are expected to be shipped this
year.
A4WP supporters say the WPC has had its chance and blown it. "Very
quickly the momentum behind A4WP will dwarf anything that Qi has
accomplished," says Alex Gruzen, CEO of U.S.-based WiTricity.
The PMA, meanwhile, has focused less on the hardware and more on the
application programing interface that would allow others to connect
to it. Its main backers are companies like Procter & Gamble and
Starbucks Corp, which promises to roll out charging surfaces in its
U.S. outlets by the end of next year.
The groups all agree on one thing: squabbling over standards has
kept smartphone manufacturers, furniture designers and car makers
from building wireless charging technology into their products as
much as they might if the technology's future were clearer.
The Jeep Cherokee, for example, includes a wireless charging pad,
and Cadillac has announced plans to add wireless charging in 2015
models - but drivers will only be able to use the feature if they
have compatible phones.
There are signs of progress: the A4WP and the PMA in February agreed
to ensure their two standards work well together.
But for wireless charging to take off, Intel says, it not only needs
compatible devices and charging mats in homes and offices, but also
a broader public infrastructure - coffee shops, hotels, malls.
"The vision we have and that Starbucks has is that it becomes part
of the slipstream of your life," says Powermat president Daniel
Schreiber. "How do we make power come to you rather than have you
think about power?"
"NOTHING'S HAPPENING"
There are other issues. One is that the technology still needs to be
easier to use. In some cases, a device can't just be dropped anyhow
onto a charging pad - it needs to be aligned or it either won't
charge, or will charge more slowly.
Also, fitting charging coils into devices isn't as simple as it may
sound. "Coils have a physical limitation that won't change with
size," said Humavox's Lachman. "A lot of people have been trying to
fit that into the device."
"All the companies are working around the clock to figure out how to
pull in that technology and make sure it works," says Pavan
Pudipeddi, CEO of PowerSquare, which in July launched a charging pad
using Qi which allows users to recharge multiple devices. Pudipeddi
welcomed the launch of Apple's Watch with wireless charging. "Others
will feed off that and it's good for the technology in general," he
said.
Meanwhile, the dithering over an industry standard is opening up
opportunities for others.
Some companies like uBeam, for example, use ultrasound, converting
electricity to sound and sending that over the air as ultrasound.
Others, like Humavox, use radio frequencies, where the coils are
replaced by antennae.
"Our decision to build this technology from the ground up is proving
the right choice," said Lachman. "Wireless charging has been out
there for five years and nothing's happening."
(Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
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