This story was originally published on Jan 29, 2021, at 11:16 a.m. and last updated on Jan 29, 2021.
UPDATE: 2021/01/29 2:10 P.M. GMT+8 BY NICOLE BATAC
Xiaomi released more information about the Mi Air Charge Technology through a blog post, so we’re here to share more details about how the tech will work.
The remote charging system will work with multiple devices charging at 5W simultaneously. You don’t have to worry about physical objects getting in the way, as Xiaomi claims these won’t reduce charging efficiency. The company didn’t give the exact distance, but it said it’d work within a radius of “several meters.”
Xiaomi describes the tech required from the charging station and the smartphone:
The core technology of Xiaomi's remote charging lies in space positioning and energy transmission. Xiaomi's self-developed isolated charging pile has five phase interference antennas built in, which can accurately detect the location of the smartphone. A phase control array composed of 144 antennas transmits millimeter-wide waves directly to the phone through beamforming.
On the smartphone side, Xiaomi has also developed a miniaturized antenna array with built-in "beacon antenna" and "receiving antenna array." Beacon antenna broadcasts position information with low power consumption. The receiving antenna array composed of 14 antennas converts the millimeter wave signal emitted by the charging pile into electric energy through the rectifier circuit, to turn the sci-fi charging experience into reality.
Xiaomi envisions this system to make “living rooms truly wireless.” It won’t just work with smartphones but with wearables and other smart home devices like speakers, desk lamps, and other small products.
The company told The Verge that we shouldn’t expect commercial products to come out with this technology this year. It also won’t give a timeframe for potential release. Xiaomi isn’t the first company to dabble in true wireless charging. But it has continuously worked on wireless charging engineering, and it owns a large hardware ecosystem that it can leverage. So, perhaps, we might be seeing this tech come to life.
ORIGINAL STORY:
This just-announced technology from Xiaomi literally gets rid of any cables or stands while you charge. The Chinese tech giant just posted on Twitter its new Mi Air Charge Technology.
Xiaomi describes it as remote charging as you don’t need cables or charging stands to top up your phone. It claims to charge multiple devices simultaneously while “gaming, walking around or even when something’s in the way.”
As some Twitter users have commented, this tech is what wireless charging is all about. Outside of the quick tweet, Xiaomi hasn’t released other details yet. But we’ll make sure to update you when we get more information.