As with the idea of packing a camera into a mobile device all those years ago, wireless charging facilities have been met with the usual dose of skepticism. But while they mightn't yet be viewed as a necessity, more and more consumers are on the lookout for this feature, and with technologies now advancing, it may well be that soon, we'll all be ditching those darned wires. Inductive, predominately Qi-based charging solutions have made real headway in the market, but given how inductive charging - by its very nature - requires the device to be in contact with the charging mat, it's not exactly ideal. It's for this reason that most are happy to stick with cables, but fairly soon, this could change, with new inroads being made that could allow a device to be powered up from up to two inches away.
Wireless charging is the kind of thing that has been around in various guises for a good while now, and with many Android phones featuring the technology as standard, Apple's iPhone has lagged behind the times somewhat, with the company refusing to add wireless charging technology to any of its devices. From what we've heard about the iPhone 6, that's not likely to change any time soon, either.
Wireless charging is commonplace among many higher-end Android and Windows Phone handsets, but in typical Apple fashion, the Cupertino company has yet to bite. Just like the lack of NFC and the late showing of 4G LTE, Tim Cook's firm doesn't tend to jump aboard newer technologies until later on in the day, but WiTricity's wireless charging solution, which improves upon the widely-used induction model for a more versatile wireless power-up experience, could theoretically provide something for those who love iPhone and long to be able to charge without connecting to a Lightning connector.
Although Apple has caved on a few products we never thought would see the light of day from Cupertino - the iPad mini, for instance - the Californian company has never been one to jump aboard the bandwagon. Features such as the larger display and LTE took a while to manifest, while other widely-implemented smartphone attributes such as NFC still have yet to hit the Apple smartphone. Wireless charging, popular with premium Windows Phone and Android devices, is just another feature that some iPhone users have sought for while now, and tired of waiting for Apple to get its backside into gear, one start-up IndieGoGo project has taken matters into its own hands with a neat, low-cost solution.
Wireless charging has constantly been spoken of in the past as a technology the consumer market will eventually adopt with natural progression, and according to a report over at DigiTimes, Intel could be launching a new system that'll allow wireless charging of smartphones powered by its processors. The technology has been approved by the Wireless Power Consortium as the Qi standard, and is another leap in the quest of hardware manufacturers to minimize the cables and wires - something we definitely agree with.
If you've been longing for the immensely cool and "futuristic" ability to charge your iPhone wirelessly, you may be waiting a while for an official solution from Apple. However, a tinkerer who goes by the name of Tanveer took apart a wireless charging case for the iPhone and installed its components into the iPhone 4S chassis itself. If you have a bit of patience, a lot of soldering skills, sufficient knowledge of the iPhone's internals to disassemble, modify, and reassemble, and you don't fear breaking your iPhone by mistake, then this would be a fun project of you. The entire process is briefly touched on in a three minute video released by Tanveer.
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