More than half of the world*s smartphones will be equipped with wireless charging

Release date：2017-02-13   Views：2455

The wireless charging industry has finally been waiting for the good news for a long time. The WPC alliance has officially confirmed that Apple has joined. The iPhone 8 will undoubtedly test the wireless charging function. In fact, wireless charging is not a new technology. The standard organization has also reached a unified agreement, but the market has not been opened as expected, even though wireless charging has been a major selling point of Samsung's flagship phones for many years. The status quo is about to break. It is expected that more than half of the world's smartphones will be equipped with wireless charging from the end of 2017. At present, both high-end and low-end smart phones are under planning.

According to the official website of WPC (Wireless Power Consortium), apple information has been included in the WPC wireless charging alliance certification directory, which involves two main parts: mobile phones and mobile phone accessories. 20170213-qi-1 if Apple cancels the 3.5mm headphone hole in iPhone 7 to pave the way for a new interface, Qi wireless charging will gradually penetrate into various apple products in the future. Of course, according to Apple's stingy nature, you have to pay extra for a dedicated wireless charger.

It has been reported that Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) is developing the latest wireless charging module (composite parts) for the iPhone, which apple is scheduled to sell in 2017. However, the final adoption of the product by Apple depends on whether Hon Hai can raise the yield to a satisfactory level.

It is reported that a special chip module has been added to the iPhone 8 to enable it to remotely connect to and charge a wireless transmitter plugged into the wall. The design will allow the iPhone 8 to have a maximum wireless charging distance of 15 feet (about 4.5 meters), and current wireless charging technology requires the phone to be placed on the wireless charging board.

The wireless charging technology was developed by apple in collaboration with energy. In November last year, energy and dialog, Apple's long-term chip supplier, announced a partnership to develop and market a new wireless charging module, DA4100 RF transmit, for dialog.

There are three technical standards and two alliances for wireless charging. However, PMA and a4wp have long been merged into airfuel to narrow the gap with WPC. Both camps have both magnetic induction (MI) and magnetic resonance (MR) technologies, and each has its own advantages and supporters. Apple joins WPC alliance to release traction, and Qi standard MRI technology may be commercialized faster.

More than half of the world's smartphones will be equipped with wireless charging

In fact, wireless charging technology is not a new technology, but it is in recent years that people pay more attention to it. As consumers need to change their usage habits and dispel their safety concerns, although wireless charging technology is hot, progress is slow. Relatively speaking, there are still very few smart phones or electronic products supporting wireless charging. IPhone water test wireless charging, coupled with Samsung's perennial operation, the market space will open.

No matter how the smoke of the battle between airfuel and WPC is diffused in the manufacturers and markets, wireless charging is in a stage of rapid development after the development of these years. According to IHS statistics, in 2015, the global shipment of wireless charging receiver market reached 144 million units, an increase of more than 160% over the same period of the previous year, mainly led by Samsung flagship phones and apple watch.

The main advantage of wireless charging is that it can eliminate the connector in the product and get rid of the bondage of cable. The equipment can be completely sealed, and can prevent the contact corrosion, water and dust, and release the space. These features will undoubtedly bring better user experience to consumers. However, the current wireless charging industry is mainly driven by smart phones.

It is expected that more than half of the world's smartphones will be equipped with wireless charging from the end of 2017. At present, both high-end and low-end smart phones are under planning.

The convenience of wireless charging, as well as its obvious user experience advantages, also has broad application prospects in wearable, medical, automobile, toys, Bluetooth headset, small household appliances and other fields.

For example, patients who use hearing aids can use their equipment anywhere, even in the shower and while swimming, without having to open a small mechanical door to replace the battery, which is why most hearing aids fail or have to be repaired. Another example is battery powered medical patches and implants, in which the batteries need to be replaced at a certain point in time, which may require surgery, while wireless charging may be exempted from surgery.

As we all know, in order to realize the wireless charging function, there must be two parts: the transmitter, which is connected with the power supply, is responsible for transmitting electric energy to the vast space; the receiver is generally installed on the electronic products to receive the electric energy. This means that in order to truly popularize wireless charging, in addition to integrating wireless charging RX chips into portable devices, wireless charging bases need to be built on some infrastructure such as coffee shops, shopping malls, hotels and clubs.

Wireless charging scheme based on single mode, the industry see many models

At present, MI and MR single mode solutions still occupy the dominant position in the wireless charging market, but there are a few integrated multi standard dual-mode and three mode wireless charging chips. Since 2016, there are more products on the market to support multimode solutions in terms of transmitter (TX) and receiver (Rx). HP monitor base, integrated with transmitter, can support MI and Mr Qi, airfuel and airfuel MRI.

Ansem is a member of the air fuel alliance and the wireless charging Alliance (WPC). Its products are the building blocks of wireless charging system, which are used in the field of power management and charging. Ansem said it could provide "dynamic power tuning" so that wearable devices can adjust the power they receive from the transmitter without damaging the circuit. In this way, wearable devices can be charged on the same pad as other devices with higher power requirements. If the hearing aid can be charged wirelessly on the same MR TX pad as the smart phone, the scheme has been verified.

Shenzhen Jinxin microelectronics, a local manufacturer, is following the Qi standard. At present, 5W and 10W products have passed the certification of Qi v1.2. The R & D direction of Jinxin micro multi-mode products is to support Qi and PMA standards. At present, there are dual-mode chips in the products launched, such as cv8013d. We will also launch a 15W RX chip, which will be used by many mobile phones exported overseas.

As a leading manufacturer in the field of wireless charging, IDT has been working on two standard product development of Qi/PMA/A4WP three modules. IDT's wireless charging chip adopts 32-bit ARM M0 MCU architecture. IDT's three mode receiver chip has already provided samples, which is compatible with Qi standard while supporting PMA standard. As the most leading manufacturer, IDT's third generation wireless fast charging chip has achieved success, and mobile phone wireless fast charging is just around the corner.

The challenge in the wireless charging market is that there is no seamless connection between devices. Up to now, there is no PTU IC with integrated solution in the industry. In addition, there are many technical problems to be solved. The rapid implementation needs to face the cost and efficiency problems. (comprehensive report on international e-commerce)

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