Wireless Charging Now Possible Through NFC

Qi charging is still likely to be the standard.

Tired of your Airpods or smartwatch dying while you’re out and about? That may be a thing of the past, thanks to a new Near Field Communication (NFC) standard that would allow wireless charging via NFC. This means down the road you might be able to use your iPhone or Samsung Galaxy to charge their corresponding headphones and similar devices.

“NFC wireless charging is truly transformative”, says Koichi Tagawa, chair, NFC Forum, “because it changes the way we design and interact with small, battery-powered devices as the elimination of plugs and cords enables the creation of smaller, hermetically-sealed devices.”

Want to know more about NFC? Our explainer is here for you.

There are a few caveats though — the charging won’t be super fast (max of 1W, whereas most smartphone chargers output 5W or more), and new devices would be needed for the technology to work. Newer phones may implement this technology, but ultimately it’s up to the NFC Forum, the worldwide authority in charge of these standards. This advance in technology further reinforces the fact that NFC in general has a ton of future potential.

Who knows what they’ll wring out of it next?

[h/t The Verge]