Motorola is the latest mobile maker to signal its intentions to bring remote wireless charging to future smartphone releases.
The company has announced a partnership with a company called GuRu Wireless in a bid bring over-the-air wireless charging to its handsets, minus the need to place its best phones on a charging mat.
In a press release, GuRu explains its proprietary technology can power ‘watts-over-meters’ energy transfers between a central wireless unit and a compatible device. This will bring about a “new generation of wirelessly powered devices,” Moto says.
“GuRu RF Lensing powers devices at watts-over-meters, bringing a new wave of energy to consumer devices,” the media release says.
It continues: “This proprietary technology revolutionises the consumer experience and helps to remove power as an everyday concern. GuRu’s patented, miniature modules will enable devices to be powered at long range by precision power transfer. Motorola and GuRu, will work together to match Motorola’s rigorous requirements of quality, power efficiency and safety.”
The release contains no mention on when the first phones packing the technology might be announced, but we can’t imagine it will be within the next couple of years. We’ve requested comment on the matter from Motorola and GuRu.
Moto isn’t the only company seeking to innovate in this regard. Earlier this year Oppo and Xiaomi both outlined their vision for the future of wireless charging.
Xiaomi’s planned tech would be able to deliver 5W of power around the room, using a base station, but has greater range. The new tech uses a base station containing 144 antennas, which can transfer energy to the phone using a “extremely narrow millimetre-wide beam” capable of transmitting continuous 5W charging (within a few metres) to a compatible smartphone.
Oppo’s concept involves hovering the phone above the wireless charging pad. The phone is still able to receive charge at 7.5W over a short distance of 10cm or less, which might be ideal if you want to use and charge the phone at the same time.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
