Samsung to introduce wireless charging to smartphones following 15 years of research

18 Feb 2015

Photo via global.samsungtomorrow.com

Consumer tech giant Samsung Electronics has suggested wireless smartphone charging may soon be a possibility.

A blog post written by engineer Seho Park reveals the company has long been hoping to introduce the technology, having established a team of researchers in 2000 to develop and drive the adoption of wireless technology standards.

“As they soon learned,” wrote Park, “several obstacles had to be overcome for wireless charging technology to succeed in the market, most notably the size and price of some of the most crucial components.”

Following a breakthrough in 2011, when Samsung unveiled its first commercial wireless charging pad for Droid Charge (SCH-i510) in the US, the firm has since reduced the size of wireless charging components and doubled charging speed.

Describing 2015 as a “landmark year for the growth of wireless charging deployment”, Park has hinted that the technology may be available for the forthcoming Galaxy S6 device.

“Samsung will accelerate to democratise this wireless charging technology with compelling smartphones. With our upcoming Galaxy smartphones, users will be able to enter a new wireless world like never before,” he wrote.

The S6 is due to be unveiled at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in March – the same time as one of its biggest rivals, HTC, reveals its own flagship device, expected to be the HTC One M9.

Following the release of a promotional invitation that featured a curved line, it has been speculated that the S6 might follow the the Galaxy Note Edge by another edge to both sides of the phone.

Dean Van Nguyen was a contributor to Silicon Republic

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