What is Wireless Charging and how does it work in phones and other devices

A solution that started just for charging smartphones, can already be used with mouse, smart clocks and headphones. Learn how wireless charging systems work.

Although technically, charging wirelessly does not involve the connection of the device you want to charge to a cable or electrical outlet, you will, in fact, need to connect the base to a wall outlet. This solution, although used for several years, currently allows the loading of virtually all types of devices.

The basic concept relies on the use of a coil to generate a magnetic field that transmits electric current to another device, which is called ‘magnetic induction’. This is what causes us to call ‘induction loading’ to this type of resource.

Magnetic Magic

For a device to be compatible with existing wireless charging solutions, a base is required that has a copper coil inside that will, in turn, generate a magnetic field. This is picked up by another coil, that of the mobile device, which will convert it into electric current, thus carrying its battery.

The base can have several power levels depending on the charging speed of the receiving device: for example, the new Huawei P30 Pro reaches 15 W. This solution is so simple and practical that it has been used by several manufacturers, such as Ikea (in furniture accessories), through airports, fast food chains, and automobiles, where it is possible to charge the smartphone simply by placing it in the place intended for this purpose.

Qi, Powermat, and Rezence

As you would expect, in wireless uploads we also find various patterns that try, in their own way, to achieve the same end. The most common standard is Qi, which uses the aforementioned ‘magnetic induction’ for device loading, such as the Powermat pattern, although the latter is not compatible with the former.

This is also true for the devices we want to charge, since an iPhone X cannot be charged to a Powermat system, although there are devices compatible with both standards, such as Samsung Galaxy S9, S10, and Note 9 smartphones, for example.

The Rezence standard uses a different magnetic resonance system. Although it requires a Bluetooth communication between the device and the charger, it has the advantage of not requiring a specific position for charging as the Qi, as well as the presence of obstacles between the base device, such as a magazine. This standard can cause the charging of a device to be possible up to 45 mm from the base.

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