Motorola wants wireless over the air charging for its smartphones

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Motorola is the next company that wants wireless over the air charging for its smartphones

By Brandon Russell

Published May 12, 2021

Motorola has partnered with a company that could one day see the company release a device with over-the-air wireless charging.

Motorola could one day release a device that offers over-the-air wireless charging, allowing the product to draw power without a cable or charging pad. The new technology would provide users with medium-distance wireless charging using radio waves, so users can juice up while simply sitting near a charging hub.

The new feature could be made possible thanks to a new partnership between Motorola and GuRu Wireless, the latter of which offers safe and “customizable transmission of power over-the-air using proprietary millimeter-wave (mmWave) integrated circuits, modules and proprietary Smart RF Lensing technology.”

"At Motorola we are constantly working to bring innovations to the market that can improve our consumers' lives,” said Dan Dery, VP of Product at Motorola. “With this solution we will provide a glimpse of the freedom and flexibility that users can enjoy with a revolutionary over-the-air, wireless power technology. With GuRu, we imagine a new generation of wirelessly powered devices."

Imagine entering a room and your device instantly starts charging. You’ll no longer have to search for a plug or carry around accessories to keep your device from running out of battery. While charging pads are certainly convenient, truly wireless charging could completely change our relationship with the technology we carry. You’ll no longer need to worry about charging your device as long as you’re near a hub.

A number of companies have explored over-the-air wireless charging, but the technology is still in the nascent stage and has yet to catch on. As it becomes more practical and sophisticated, I’d love to see it break into the mainstream. Motorola and GuRu could help make that happen. Maybe this is the cynic in me, but I wonder how eager the industry as a whole is in over-the-air wireless charging, because it could completely change the accessories landscape.

Motorola didn’t reveal when its first smartphone with over-the-air wireless charging would be available, instead saying it imagines a “new generation of wirelessly powered devices.”