Xiaomi Announced Technology That Wirelessly Charges Many Devices Around Your House

While Apple struggled to complete its AirPower charging pad project, a Chinese company promises to deliver true wireless charging. Specifically, Xiaomi is the latest firm to promise a world with no charging cables. However, there’s no telling when an actual product will be launched.

The existing wireless charging tech is convenient as it lets you plop your device down on a pad to refill the battery juice without having to deal with a cable, like untwisting it and plugging. But it’s restrictive because you have to leave your device in one place until it’s fully charged. That’s why truly wireless is the ideal solution as long as the user is in the same room as the wireless power transmitter that will charge their devices even if they are still holding it in hand.

Though this sounds like science fiction, the technology for this concept exists. At CES 2016, Ossia showcased its Cota wireless charging system. This would help users charge their phones when they carry them around their company’s booth.

Xiaomi just announced Mi Air Charge Technology, a wireless charging eco-system of its own, which seems similar to Cota.

Instead of two aligned magnetic coils, Xiami’s wireless charging system uses a transmitter packed with antennas that precisely determine a device’s location and use beamforming to broadcast waves towards the device. In another device, there are antennas functioning as a receiver, converting the wireless signals into 5W power, equivalent to the power delivered by the iPhone’s charger.

The Chinese company promises that this system can charge multiple devices simultaneously. The charging distance is several meters, about the size of a typical room but the power transmission is not blocked by physical objects so you can place the transmitter out of sight.

However, Xiaomi did not reveal an exact timeline as to when it will launch a product using Mi Air Charge Technology.

>>> MacBooks Will Soon Be Able To Wirelessly Charge iPhones, Apple Patents Show