Will Wireless Charging Take Off In 2017

2016 was certainly an eventful year. When it comes to smartphone tech, we have some thoughts for how this next year might pan out, and – while we’re not certain – we have a hunch that wireless charging might be this year’s big thing.

Why wireless charging? Sure, your Samsung Galaxy, iPhone, Pixel etc. is getting slimmer, more waterproof and faster, but one area that things haven’t really changed is how we charge our phones. Our lives are dominated by cables, and now that wireless charging technology exists, it’s only natural that phone manufacturers add it to their handsets.

It’s also a space that Apple, who many claim to be the industry leader in smartphone tech innovation, have not yet moved into, despite the fact that other manufacturers have either started to research, or have already implemented in past years to varying degrees of success.

So our question to you is: do you find the idea of wireless charging tantalizing? We think the answer is likely to be a big fat “yes”. Who likes wires?

The wireless landscape The rumour mill is currently going crazy with speculation around who’s going to be the one to take wireless charging to the next level. The primary rumour is that LG’s next flagship, the G6, will have a glass back – rather than metal – making it a better wireless transmitter and receiver, and that it will come with wireless charging capabilities.

Don’t forget: the Samsung Galaxy S6 could also charge over the airwaves, so the G6 wouldn’t be the first phone to do wireless charging. That said, it will probably have a longer range, faster charging time and work more frequently than it did back on the S6.

The big one, though, is Apple. Will Apple make the move to wireless charging? It would make sense. The iPhone 8 is supposedly made completely of glass, and we now also know that Energous who develop wireless charging tech, has signed a new deal with what they call “one of the largest consumer electronic companies in the world”. This has to be Apple, right?

Well, we’ll wait with baited breath for now, but if the rumours above are right, 2017 really could be the year that wireless charging goes mainstream.

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