Wireless chargers have been the talk of the town for quite some time now, but what people fail to see is that wireless charging is not really wireless. Yes, the phone is not being plugged to an adapter, but a charging stand is required to dock the phone. Add to that is the hassle of being unable to use the phone whilst charging, something that does not occur with wired charging. Apple’s Magsafe technology introduced with the iPhone 12 series tried to fix this issue, but that too requires a cable to attach to the back of the phone, so as to charge up the device. This is a rather elegant way of wireless charging, allowing the user to use their phone, but even this method comes with its own set of wires. Is there any real wireless charger then? Yes, and it comes from Xiaomi. Today, the company announced that it is working on Mi Air Charge, a fully wireless method of charging smartphones. This means one can finally charge their phones, with no strings attached (literally).
How Does This Work?
In a blog post by the company, it is explained that this tech is capable of delivering an output of 5W of power to a single device over a certain distance via a self-developed isolated charging pile. This pile has 5 phase interference antennas, which can be used to determine the location of your smartphone accurately. Once the position is determined, a phase control array transmits millimetre-wide waves through beamforming. The receiving device has a miniaturised antenna array with a built-in “beacon antenna” and “receiving antenna array.” The beacon antenna broadcasts the position information while the latter is a 14 antenna array that converts the millimetre-wave signal into electrical energy through the rectifier circuit.
Will This Be Available Soon?
Do note, however, that this is just a demo, and it is not clear as to when this will be available to the general consumer. That being said, there are also concerns regarding one’s health and the impact that this tech has on humans, which might be subject to scrutiny by regulatory authorities. Xiaomi is already a pioneer in the wireless charging technology. Just a couple of days ago, the company was rumoured to be working on two phones with 67W wireless charging support. The company already has the fastest wireless charging phone- the Mi 10 Ultra with 50W wireless charging. The new Mi Air Charge feels like a fresh whiff of air.
