Two days ago, we reported that Energous had received FCC certification for the company's first-generation WattUp Mid Field transmitter, which powers up devices at a distance of up to three feet away. As noted by VentureBeat, this week also saw two new Apple wireless power patent applications published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
While the patents don't confirm anything on their own, rumors have floated since 2015 that Energous has been working with Apple on a truly wireless charging solution for future mobile devices, so they may offer an idea of what users can expect, should the rumors prove accurate.
The first patent, covered by Patently Apple, describes a way of creating custom schedules for a charger capable of sending power to multiple devices such as phones, laptops, tablets, and watches over a "wireless power transfer link". The power profiler works so as to remember the order of priority for charging the devices – if the user wants their Apple Watch to be fully charged before their iPad, for instance.
In another example, the user can set more nuanced preferences for charging priority, by requesting, say, that their watch is charged first but only if their iPad has at least 25 percent battery power; or requesting that their iPhone takes charging priority over all else during the evening, but only if their calendar indicates that they will be out of the office the next morning.
The second patent is less detailed, but describes a wireless power transmitting device that can function as a standalone adaptor, or send power a wireless charging mat, and in some embodiments, can be hidden in furniture or incorporated into a vehicle interior, in order to charge a "wireless power receiving device". The receiving device is described as being capable of pausing wireless power transmission and sending information back to the power source if necessary.
Both patents were filed in June of this year, have not yet been granted, and as with all Apple patents, may never appear as consumer devices, but the power scheduling systems described above may yet prove to be the link to Energous' wire-free solutions. Whether Apple decides 2018 is the year to build upon the contact-based wireless charging capability it introduced with the iPhone 8 and iPhone X remains to be seen.
Top Rated Comments
Look to the past. Apple used to claim a 3.5" and 4" screen phone were each the "perfect" size and ridicule larger-screen phones. Go back and read threads at the time. This crowd ripped bigger screen phones in every way Apple did and then some: (developer) fragmentation (regarding coding for different screen resolutions), "one handed use", pants with bigger pockets, and on and on. And then Apple rolls out larger-screen phones and all that years-long accumulated sentiment seemed to evaporate.
This crowd would relentlessly bash NFC while paying with your phone was only available on competitor phones. And then Apple rolls out Apple pay and this crowd wanted to boycott stores that wouldn't allow them to pay that way.
When there were strong rumors and even tangible evidence that Apple was going to roll out a phone with a sapphire screen, this crowd was both advocating it and even proclaiming that they would not buy an iPhone without a sapphire screen (if only the better iPhone had one). And then that whole thing fell apart and apparently all those very, VERY passionate "sapphire screen or bust" people decided that they were not so committed to only buying iPhone if it had a sapphire screen: "Shut up and take my money!"
We will even talk out of both sides of our mouths (if Apple does). There was a year when Apple rolled out an iPad with retina screen at the same time they rolled out an iPad mini without retina. And this crowd passionately argued that a retina screen was THE reason to upgrade to that iPad AND that the (modestly) smaller-screen iPad mini didn't need retina, yet it was a must-upgrade too... until the next year when Apple rolled out the (same-sized screen) iPad mini WITH retina and then retina was THE main reason to upgrade to that one.
The defenders passionately defended the headphone jack decision... but you won't see any of them bashing Apple for keeping that very same jack in every other product. In other words, much like the iPad release with and without retina, Apple is perfectly right to jettison it where it is jettisoned but also perfectly right for keeping it where it is kept. Of paramount importance: Apple cannot be wrong.
Same with USB3C. Apple is right to adopt USB3C as the "one jack to rule them all" for new laptops but also right for NOT adopting it in new iPhones. Adapters & dongle requirements all make perfect sense for the probably many years until the things to which we need to connect our laptops eventually add USB3C too. Don't you dare complain about dongles & adapters, just spend the money and buy them... oh and pay more for laptops without current standard ports too- the Apple has spoken and they are always right.
More recently, even a few weeks before Apple rolled out a 4K :apple:TV, this crowd was very aggressive at ridiculing all things 4K (except of course everything else Apple had rolled out already embracing 4K): "gimmick", "stupid", "I can't see any difference (so you can't either)", "the chart", "until everything in the iTunes store is available in 4K...", "national bandwidth must be upgraded everywhere", "storage", etc. Then, Apple rolls out a 4K :apple:TV and that whole crowd seemed to have just evaporated.
It was pretty much a repeat of the anti-1080p sentiment when Apple was still clinging to 720p before they rolled out the :apple:TV3- right down to the very same excuses. Then Apple rolled out the "3" and crickets at that time too. I fully expect the very same sentiment to be recycled yet again when the world starts shifting to 8K in a few years... passionately persisting in every thread until Apple rolls out an 8K :apple:TV at which time, 8K will suddenly make perfect sense to all.
The underlying rule here is whatever Apple has for sale now is the one and only right thing for all consumers. Second to that, rumors that imply where Apple is going to go- like this one- get a fair amount of the same passionate support. As an individual consumer, don't you dare "think different" unless those differences align with what Apple has for sale now or appears to be going toward very soon. Anything outside those boundaries will be met with quick counterpoint attempting to undermine your own opinion as effectively as possible- using logic or illogic, truth or spin, etc... whatever it takes. I've been here long enough to see this over and over and over again. It is remarkably consistent.
I think if you look back on the forum posts, the voices for larger screens had grown increasingly louder from the iPhone 5 days. App and service usage has been evolving over the past 5 years. Besides, even now there are still many vocal members here urging Apple to keep updating their smaller sized phone.
I think you are confusing the bashing of NFC with the bashing of Apple Pay. Back when NFC first started appearing in Androids, it was mainly used for tap to file transfer and paring with bluetooth devices. Apple devices had airdrop, which negated much of those benefit (and arguable worked better since distance was much less of a factor) and device pairing wasn't frequent enough to be too much of a bother. Google wallet had NFC payment, but I don't think NFC terminals started appearing in larger numbers (at least in the US) until 2014 and Google didn't market the feature very heavily. Anecdotally, I don't think any of the Android users I knew even turned it on.
Again, if you looked at past forum discussions, it was much less a "sapphire screen or bust" than a mixed bag of enthusiasts and a people who worried it might shatter break too easily.
I seem to remember the iPad mini being praised all over the forum for its aspect ratio, thinness, and lightness. The screen was more of a muted "it's the same screen resolution as the iPad 2 so it's not too bad" reaction.
The people who were basing Apple over the headphone jack removal was way more than those who defended Apple's decision, and when the new MacBooks came out with the jack, the forum was more relieved than anything
Umm... really? Sure there were people who liked the USB C future but I don't think anyone had much positive things to say about the dongle situation. Even those who voiced support when Apple lowered the price of the dongles added the caveat that they would rather not have to use the dongle.
I seem to remember much of the forum in an uproar about the lack of 4k. There were less people who owned 4k TVs at the time, but even still I remember most people being angry about the exclusion.
The people you describe who defends Apple no matter what obviously exist, but I think you are mostly seeing what you want to see. People who like a old product are not necessarily those who starts voicing support when Apple releases a new one, and vice versa for people who hate a product. Technology will improve and the number of people who start needing that particular improvement will increase overtime. Consumer needs will change over time as new competitors appear and new services are launched and Apple (and other tech companies) will try to make products that will appeal to consumers at that point in time.
only wifi is no issue with what? health? You think all the other electromagnetic radiation - radio waves, cellular signals, light - in the air is harmful?
Or perhaps it could not.
Perhaps we should ask a physicist, rather than speculate on an unknown?
Well the traditional inverse square law does indeed suggest power reduces over distance, but given we have no idea how this technology will work, who knows?
More efficient than current wireless charging technology, yes.
More efficient than future undeveloped unknown technologies..? Who knows?!
Eh?
So this technology that is in development, so may not even exist yet... you have determined that it can't be good for our health? No matter what the developers and experts may or may not say in the future. No matter what evidence of safety is provided. No matter what testing and evaluation it undergoes. No matter any of that... you say it is bad. This thing that hasn't even been finished or released yet. Well, that's quite something...
This crowd also contained people who wanted bigger phones, NFC payments, a Retina display iPad Mini, a headphone jack, USB C on everything and a 4K Apple TV, the image you painted isn't particularly representative of typical Apple/MR users.
And good for you. If that's really true- if you really can "think different" even if that conflicts with what Apple has for sale now or is going toward very soon- yours would be the kind of posts that I like to read. Why, because objectivity- in my opinion- offers real value in discussion boards like this. The "Apple is always right" and "Apple is always wrong" crowd's posts mislead readers because they (very likely) lack objectivity, instead only towing the company line or only faulting any and everything Apple rolls out.
Personally, I find great value in reading "think different" posts where people are chipping in with what they really think, which obviously should not always perfectly align with whatever any corporation has for sale right now or is rolling out soon.
[doublepost=1514555903][/doublepost]Cause you to make babies that can double as light sources in a power outage. ;)
In that first post photo, the apparent light in the ceiling is actually just a skylight- the baby's room is right above this room. No lightbulbs in that skylight.
Similarly, another baby is playing out in the front yard just outside that window.
The photo was actually shot at night.:eek: