Following the news that Apple will integrate wireless charging into the new iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X, Dan Bladen, CEO at Chargifi, an Intel and Techstars-funded company that provides a wireless charging solution.
“Apple announcement is a catalyst for driving the mass deployment of wireless charging,” he says. “What WiFi did for connectivity, wireless charging is about to do for power. Although there are already a number of devices integrating wireless charging in the market, when Apple does something the rest of the world sits up and takes notice, and their competitors generally follow.
Bladen adds that today’s consumers crave convenience as well as an effortless experience, and wireless charging is now set to become the new standard for charging our devices. Power remains the basis for everything we do with our devices, but it’s cumbersome, highly inconvenient power cable doesn’t. Carrying around a mobile charger will soon seem as outdated as having to connect an ethernet cable to get onto the Internet, Bladen says.
“With this news the opportunity for the wireless charging industry goes far beyond the devices sector – the industry is set to be worth $12.6 billionby 2020,” he adds. “We are already seeing early signs of this in other industries, such as the automotive sector. Mercedes is set to start selling a version of its hybrid S-class that can be charged by parking it on top of a charging surface. Ford and BMW are expected to do the same. Wireless charging will also prove crucial for self-driving vehicles which won’t have a human driver to get out of the car and plug a charging wire in.”
