Wireless charging used to be a hot topic in smartphone design, with Google, Sony, LG, Samsung, and even the likes of HP eager to put one standard or another into their devices. It's been cooling off over the last few years: Google, once the biggest proponent around, has unaccountably left wireless charging out of its latest flagships. Only LG and Samsung still seem genuinely interested in the feature. But the trade groups that represent it are still going strong. At Mobile World Congress, the AirFuel Alliance (formed by the merger of the PMA and AW4P groups) announced ten new members added over the last few months. Here they are:
- Huawei - mobile phones, tablets, and networking equipment
- Bose Corporation - speakers and other sound tech
- Motorola Solutions - industrial radios and networking. NOT Motorola Mobility, now owned by Lenovo, which was already a member
- GaN Systems - transistor supplier
- Gengee - digital sports equipment and wearables
- Handeholder Products, Inc - phone and tablet accessories
- Metaboards, Ltd - Oxford University scientific holding company
- Redpine Signals, Inc - ultra low-power Wi-Fi chipset supplier
- Shenzhen Hongizsheng Technology Co - B2B cable manufacturing
- Zonecharge WirelessPower Technology Co. - wireless charger hardware supplier
These members join swelling ranks that already include LG, Belkin, Canon, Duracell, Fujitsu, Marvell, Lenovo, MediaTek, Panasonic, Qualcomm, and Sony. The Airfuel Alliance and its members generally compete with the Wireless Power Consortium and its more popular Qi standard, though some companies are members of both trade groups. Some companies, like LG and Samsung, are actively supporting both Qi and PMA wireless charging in the same devices, like the Galaxy S and G series phones.
Source: AirFuel Alliance