Belkin working with company to ship wireless charger that actually charges wirelessly as soon as this year

Long-distance charging or true wireless charging could finally see the light of day in 2022 as Belkin is readying accessories that would make use of this technology. The company is said to have made a deal with Israeli startup Wi-Charge, which plans to change how this technology goes by beaming up to one watt of power wirelessly to devices across homes, offices, and more.

As reported by TechCrunch, Wi-Charge plans to make use of this wireless charging with “low-drawn situations where you would typically use an alcaline battery or a rechargeable battery.”

For this deal with Belkin, Wi-Charge CEO, Ori Mor, didn’t say what the company will launch, but says it’s a ”center-stage consumer product:”

“I can’t tell you exactly what Belkin is launching, which is a bummer, because it’s a center-stage consumer product. Belkin is super interesting because of several things: It is a consumer company that is super aggressive on the timeline, and they chose a perfect application,” explains Mor. “Belkin does aftermarket accessories to charge other devices, and they do powerline products, smart home products, etc. This allows us to give them an unfair advantage for [wireless power]. I think it’s time. Everyone is waiting for wireless power.”

The interesting part of Wi-Charge wireless charging technology is that it uses an IR beam that goes from a transmitter to a receiver, which is also safer:

“If you have to blanket the entire room with power, you get an environment that neither the users nor the regulators will approve,” says Mor. “We deliver a beam directly to the receiver; 100% of the power that leaves the transmitter reaches the receiver.”

Since Belkin is full of wireless chargers for iPhones, AirPods, and other products that support the Qi pattern, it will be nice to see what they have in store. Currently, Wi-Charge aims for smart locks, electric toothbrush, and devices that don’t need lots of power to charge.

One interesting approach, although completely different from what Belkin and Wi-Charge, is the Samsung Remote that charges with sunlight.

“Our lowest power delivery now is around 70 milliwatts, and it goes up to one watt. That means that we deliver 1,000 times more power than any competitor in the field,” explains Mor, arguing that the technology has a green-tech angle as well. “A single transmitter can save 5,000 batteries.”

You can read the full piece by TechCrunch here.

Are you excited about what Belkin could introduce? Imagine charging your iPhone with a charger that actually charges wirelessly. Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Related:

• Explainer: Why Apple didn’t put long-distance charging into an iPhone, and won’t for some time