Update 27.04. — On the other hand, while Belkin confirmed to The Verge that the manufacturer is working with Wi-Charge, it denies the existence of a product in development and even states that the two companies have not yet reached the product design stage. In other words, it’s going to be hot to release this year…
This rejection does not mean that Belkin is losing interest in this technology, quite the opposite. “The future of charging shifted from wired to wireless a few years ago, and we expect remote charging to accelerate that evolution,” said Brian Van Harlingen, the manufacturer’s CTO.
Original article, 26.04 — By the end of the year, Belkin is expected to release an accessory to charge the battery of a wireless smartphone “over the air”. This means that the device does not have to be placed on a base for induction charging, as was previously the case. The manufacturer, which is owned by Foxconn and usually works very closely with Apple, has partnered with Wi-Charge, TechCrunch revealed.
This Israel-based company has been working on wireless charging technology for years. In 2018, the company distinguished itself during CES with a prototype that allows charging an iPhone a few meters from the transmitter. Since then, Wi-Charge has spent a lot of time miniaturizing the necessary components and researching potential customers.
For example, there are restaurants and cafes: it is easier to install a Qi charging block in a table that is controlled remotely via a Wi-Charge transmitter than to connect the same block with cables at each table (picture below).
The technology developed by Wi-Charge does not consist in flooding a room with waves, but in aiming an infrared beam at the receiver(s). In the above case, there is a receiver in the charging mat. For the iPhone, one can envision a receiver built into a case (unless Apple decides to embed the component directly into the iPhone).
The Wi-Charge terminal charges remotely up to 10 meters away.
The Wi-Charge system does not exceed the watt, in other words, completely replacing an iPhone’s battery will take a long, long time! But that might not be the primary purpose for Belkin’s future accessories. One can imagine a Qi-mat with an integrated external battery: this battery would be charged via the transmitter plugged into a remote socket. The iPhone placed on the base would draw from the external battery.