What is Over Air Charging? Android or iPhone Wireless Charger Update | RAVPower

Recently, the charging world has been ablaze with a futuristic notion: an over air charger. It sounds pretty impressive compared to Qi chargers, and creates quite an image in your mind. But what is over air charging? When will it be available, and what Android or iPhone wireless charger alternatives are out there right now? RAVPower investigates!

What is Over Air Charging?

It’s essentially what it sounds like. Currently, Qi chargers need to have a direct connection with your device to be able to function. With over air charging, you won’t have to be connected to your Android or iPhone wireless charger, as you are presently. Theoretically, you could enter a room with a base station and your Qi-enabled technology such as smartphones, smart watches and earbuds will instantly begin charging. The first iterations will charge your phone via a charging case. At least, that’s what preliminary designs suggest.

Over air charging is linked to the concepts of the Internet of Things and True Wireless. These concepts are based on the idea that with the advent of 5G and leaps forward in technologies, people will be able to make their entire lives ‘smart’. In a smart house, for example, you would be able to control the temperature of each room individually through an App on your phone. It’s the sort of thing inventors in the 50’s dreamed of.

In the charging world, the potential of 5G on batteries is largely unknown. But over air charging could revolutionize how we power our phones, and keep us on the grid 24/7.

WattUp differs from older wireless charging systems because it supports power at-contact, as well as at-a-distance, enabling a charging ecosystem that frees users from always having to actively charge or manage batteries.

WattUp Over Air Charger creators Energous

Can My Phone Accept Over Air Charging?

There is a Qi standard for wireless charging that ensure the safety of you and your phone, increasing efficiency and preventing potentially dangerous mishaps. This means that though there are technically two types of wireless charging (magnetic inductive and magnetic resonance) they work through the same principles and to the same standards.

If your phone is Qi-enabled and works with Qi chargers now, then the short answer is yes! The majority of phone makers have accepted Qi charging as an important factor in their designs, and the widespread use of both Android and iPhone wireless charger devices demonstrates the popularity of the tech. So even if you upgrade your phone in the next couple of years, you should be able to take advantage of True Wireless advances.

When Will Over Air Chargers be Available?

True Wireless over air charging might be available this year. But that’s a very tentative might.

Tech company Ossia, who have been working on this form of charging for the past few years, unveiled at CES 2019 that they are working with mobile phone accessory maker Spigen to create the first True Wireless charging case. The case would be able to charge from a base station in the room, receiving signals from a distance of up to 12 feet. Ossia claims that this means in a small room, such as your bedroom, you could charge your phone for as long as the transmitter was on. This case has recently been approved by the FCC.

Ossia aren’t the only developers in the market, however. If all goes to plan, different base station devices should be available on the market within the next couple of years. This would be a great leap forward for tech companies, with trends in True Wireless often governing the direction they decide to take with their products.

A full-size device charging at 15 feet away would appear on the roadmap for the end of 2020… “This has the potential to be as ubiquitous as Wi-Fi,”

Over-the-air wireless charging will come to smartphones, Jessica Dolcourt/Cnet

Qi Chargers – Is an Android or iPhone Wireless Charger Available Now

So over air charging isn’t going to be a thing until 2020. That’s cool, but it doesn’t help you right now.

What’s available at this moment is wireless charging via Qi chargers. Qi chargers (pronounced Chee) work via inductor coils in both the charger and your mobile. These coils have the ability to act as a transformer, albeit temporarily. The charger generates an electromagnetic current in the device’s coil, which is transferred to the battery to power your phone (or smartwatch and other Qi-enabled devices).

RAVPower have developed their own range of Qi chargers using precision designed HyperAir technology. A more effective way to charge, HyperAir Qi chargers have extensive temperature control components. This includes an intelligent chip that monitors and adjusts the charging temperature. An intelligent structure leads to 15% higher heat dissipation, keeping your phone and fingers safe and preserving your battery life.

What’s more, HyperAir technology is able to charge all phone types. Android and Apple require different wattage from Qi chargers; 7.5W Fast Wireless Charging for iPhone and 10W for Andriod, including Samsung. This means you only need one wireless charging pad for the whole family – or maybe two to stop squabbles over who gets to use it…

Conclusions

Qi chargers are by no means at their potential. There are some snags to do with overheating and other issues, as Apple found out when they tried to launch Airpower, before a Qi charger capable of charging all your devices is created. But Qi charging pads or Qi power banks are a great accessory to own; an Android or iPhone wireless charger will keep you powered whilst at work or on the move.

Check out RAVPower’s range of Qi chargers, including HyperAir technology – click here!