A good number of current premium smartphones bar the iPhone, support wireless charging. Some support the popular Qi wireless charging standards backed by the WPC (Wireless Power Consortium), others support the PMA (short for Power Matters Alliance which is now known as AirFuel after a merger with A4WP which was pushing yet another wireless charging standard, Rezence) standard while others support both.
Samsung’s latest premium smartphones like the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7, for instance, support both standards. What this means in effect is that devices with wireless charging support can simply be dropped on top of a compatible mat or dock and start charging.
The technology in use in such cases is magnetic induction. As a result, devices have to be docked or placed on a wireless charging mat. So while they are not hooked to a cable to a wall adaptor, hence wireless, they are still hooked in some way since they won’t charge away from the mat or dock. What if the devices could actually be truly wireless? As in, not confined to a dock or mat?
That is possible using magnetic resonance-based wireless charging whose range can be as far as 7 centimetres. This is what LG is said to be including in a new smartphone that will go on sale next year.
LG is working on the device in tandem with other device makers like Huawei, Oppo and Meizu, all from China, who are reported to be keen on releasing devices that support the standard which is backed by AirFuel.
While details of the mysterious LG smartphone that will ship with such capabilities are scarce at this point, Business Korea reports that it is also what will be used to charge up LG’s long-rumoured LG Pay smart card.
