How did you charge your phone last? A wired charger? If you're a tech enthusiast, perhaps even a wireless charging pad! Xiaomi’s “Air Charge” technology aims to change that with a seamless “truly wireless” charging experience from up to several meters away. But, there are some slight hiccups.

Announced on January 28th of this year, the marketing buzz makes it seem as if Xiaomi has created something that’s the first of its kind. But, in fact, other companies have tried to bring the same kind of technology to market for years now.

Even though Xiaomi is raking in billions each year, this announcement doesn’t prove anything will make it to market. It’s an unveiling of what they are developing rather than a release date or price. Here’s the whole story.

This technology isn’t brand new

Energous, Wi-Charge, and MotherBox have also tried to bring truly wireless charging to consumers. Despite attracting over $200 million in funding, none of these companies has yet released a wireless charging product. Now, not only is Xiaomi working on the technology, but Lenovo subsidiary Motorola has joined the race as well.

With Xiaomi’s revenue hovering around $30 billion and Motorola’s parent company Lenovo at around $50 billion, the little guys are in trouble. As these multi-billion dollar tech corporations rush to improve upon the concept of truly wireless charging, startups like Energous will have to prove themselves quickly or risk getting crushed.

What challenges will Xiaomi face?

Safety concerns are often the first question of truly wireless charging technology. The technology has previously worked with prototypes based on RF, ultrasound, and other ways to broadcast power. But, Xiaomi’s Air Charge box works with 144 antennas that transmit millimeter-wide waves aimed by “beamforming.”

We can’t be sure of the full effect that highly concentrated millimeter-waves will have on pacemakers and humans in general. It will be difficult to form a conclusion supportive or critical of the safety of this product until more information is available.

Putting health concerns aside, delivering an incredibly slow 5W charge by “beaming” it across the room is inefficient. While it’s difficult to estimate exactly how much energy is lost while delivering this low wattage to a phone, we can speculate that it’s far less efficient than traditional cable charging and, likely, less efficient than traditional wireless charging.

Above all, Xiaomi’s biggest challenge will be proving themselves against the emerging competition. The 17 patents held by Xiaomi for their Air Charge technology indicate extensive development. But, they are among many startups and other large corporations that are rapidly innovating behind the scenes. Their speed to release a promotional video suggests that they have made massive progress on the technology, but it doesn’t come close to crowning them as the leader in this upcoming innovation.

If Xiaomi was to be the first to come to market at scale with their “Air Charge,” we would be likely to see it exclusive to their own products. They have a large infrastructure at their disposal to integrate Air Charge technology. Smartwatches, smartphones, earbuds, routers, scooters, and more could all be connected to this new way of charging in the future.

Conclusion

Despite 5W charging speeds being laughable as 125W charging is announced, the idea of keeping your battery at 100% with no cables is exciting. Any progress towards a future free of being tethered to the wall, or constant charging, is a fresh breath of air.

Even with billions of dollars being poured into truly wireless charging over the next couple years, it will take a while until this technology is available to the masses. But, the excitement around Air Charge isn’t just about Xiaomi. It’s about revolutionizing the ways in which we power our smart devices. As Jeff Bezos said recently, “If you do it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn.” The future is now and we’re ready to yawn!

Shaurya Dwivedi:

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