3 companies race to charge smartphones without wires
SAN FRANCISCO — If this past weekend's iPhone 6S success — to the tune of 13 million units sold — says anything, it speaks to the inevitable need for wireless charging for a technological appendage that become as invaluable as our thumbs.
The consumer tech marketplace offers a range of pad-based charging systems that require contact between smartphone and charging mechanism. The dream, however, is to create a wireless in-room network, much like Wi-Fi, that instantly charges devices when you're in range.
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A San Jose-based company called Energous is busy creating WattUp, a wire-free charging system that can power gadgets up to 15 feet away using a combination of RF (radio frequency), Bluetooth and other imperceptible tech. The company is aiming to have WattUp embedded in devices ranging from smartphones to toys as early as next year.
Arriving even sooner is the XE from TechNovator, a company out of Poland and Ukraine. The XE is a tower that communicates via electromagnetic resonance with a smartphone case that then safely translates those energy waves into electricity. TechNovator plans to launch with a Kickstarter campaign in November focusing on iPhone 6 and 6 Plus cases.
But while the XE tower is impossible to ignore, uBeam is aiming for a base station that is all but invisible and takes the form of a wafer-thin ceiling tile. And while initially uBeam may use smartphone covers to transfer power, eventually one option could be to embed small chips directly into handsets, according to uBeam founder Meredith Perry, 26.
The Santa Monica-based start-up has raised $23.2 million from the likes of Mark Cuban, Marissa Mayer and super-agent Ari Emanuel. While still very secretive about her tech, Perry is doggedly focused on a vision for wireless charging that aims to do away with power cords.
Perry is one of four guests at USA TODAY's Change Agents Live event Sept. 29 in San Francisco. For more on uBeam, see our original story below: