Apple’s most recent “innovation” hiccups with the removal of the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 models and the introduction of the wireless earbuds dubbed AirPods, may be a blip on the radar if their next release includes wireless charging capabilities. Apple’s latest invention will allow you to charge your phone mid-air from cell tower transmissions completely “disconnected” from a charger, according to Factspress.com.
This innovation won’t require you to place your device on a charger, like the Samsung or LG models. Rather, this patent-pending design titled “Wireless Charging and Communications Systems With Dual-Frequency Patch Antennas,” uses wireless signals.
WiFi technology like what mobile phone towers and WiFi routers use now will be employed to make wireless charging work; cellular (700 MHz-2700 MHz) and WiFi signals (2.4 GHz-60 GHz) will transfer electric power to charge your device. A patch antenna will be located on the back of the device, allowing it to receive the wireless signal and transfer it to the battery, charging it.
Achieving true wireless charging is improbable at best, and this technology is not yet functional. However, since Apple did bring us iTunes and the iPod in a relatively short amount of time, we might see wireless charging capabilities sooner than we think possible.
Apple devices currently have some of the foundation laid to achieve this wireless charging feat. Apple’s AirPort routers already use “beam steering,” which points all signal strength in one direction. Additionally, the patent lists updated technologies like dual mode circuitry, dual-polarization and dual-frequency patch antennas, reported Factspress.com. The technology will also include power transfer circuitry for the wireless charging to occur in mid-air. The transmitter will communicate with the patch antenna to effectively locate the device in its range and direct all the power to it, maximizing the power transferred.
This technology will likely be available for the iPhone 8, since sketches of the phone’s back indicate space for a patch that is underneath the rear of the phone, like the wireless charging equipment on the Galaxy S8. Don’t expect wireless charging with the release of the 2017 anniversary edition of the iPhone, but keep your fingers crossed for innovation on the horizon.
May 2, 2017
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