Apple By Russell Holly Nov. 27, 2013 10:28 am
There’s a relatively small but vocal section of the iOS community that really wishes Apple would include some form of wireless charging in their design. That doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon, but the guys at iQi have finally found a solution that doesn’t add ridiculous bulk to your iPhone 5, 5S, 5C and iPod Touch (5G).
Wireless charging has been a part of the iOS rumor mill for the last two years, and every time it happens the Apple fans who are familiar with the technology from other platforms shout and cheer. There’s no shortage of people who would gladly shell out for a Qi charger that meant you could slide the iPhone onto a table and it would just start charging. There are cases that offer this functionality now, but they are all big and bulky, usually not worth it.
What sets iQi apart is how little space it takes up, how efficient it seems to be, and the notion that you can use whatever soft case you want. A ribbon cable-style Lightning adaptor is connected to a Qi coil, which is neatly tucked into whatever case you choose. As long as the casing isn’t dense enough to stop the connection, you can set the phone on whatever Qi charger you want and it will start charging.
Even more impressive, as GigaOm’s Kevin Tofel discovered, is that the accessory will beep at you if you are not in sync with the charging pad. This is a feature that most Qi enabled smartphones lack entirely, making it a fairly big deal to see it here.
The IndieGoGo campaign for iQi is well under way, with only a few days to go before their funding period ends. They have already reached their goal, so if you jump in now you’ll be one of the first to get a wireless charging solution for iPhone.
As far as Qi solutions for iOS go, this is easily the most elegant one so far, and probably the closest thing Apple users will get to an integrated solution anytime soon.
Now read: Next iPhone may have trackpad and a full-screen Touch ID display
More...
Wireless charging has been a part of the iOS rumor mill for the last two years, and every time it happens the Apple fans who are familiar with the technology from other platforms shout and cheer. There’s no shortage of people who would gladly shell out for a Qi charger that meant you could slide the iPhone onto a table and it would just start charging. There are cases that offer this functionality now, but they are all big and bulky, usually not worth it.
What sets iQi apart is how little space it takes up, how efficient it seems to be, and the notion that you can use whatever soft case you want. A ribbon cable-style Lightning adaptor is connected to a Qi coil, which is neatly tucked into whatever case you choose. As long as the casing isn’t dense enough to stop the connection, you can set the phone on whatever Qi charger you want and it will start charging.
Even more impressive, as GigaOm’s Kevin Tofel discovered, is that the accessory will beep at you if you are not in sync with the charging pad. This is a feature that most Qi enabled smartphones lack entirely, making it a fairly big deal to see it here.
The IndieGoGo campaign for iQi is well under way, with only a few days to go before their funding period ends. They have already reached their goal, so if you jump in now you’ll be one of the first to get a wireless charging solution for iPhone.
As far as Qi solutions for iOS go, this is easily the most elegant one so far, and probably the closest thing Apple users will get to an integrated solution anytime soon.
Now read: Next iPhone may have trackpad and a full-screen Touch ID display
More...
