Skip to main content

This wireless charging receiver chip could end up in your next smartphone

Wireless charging is taking off, but it still requires you to place a device on a charging pad. Soon, however, wireless charging may be truly wireless — allowing you to charge a device while you carry it around your house thanks to base stations that would be located around the home.

Energous is one of the biggest names when it comes to developing a truly wireless future, and the company debuted its original WattUp wireless charging tech last year. Now, it’s working to make that tech even more accessible thanks to the launch of the new DA2223 receiver chip, which is designed for small electronic devices like smartphones.

Recommended Videos

The chip itself measures 1.7 x 1.4 x 0.5 mm, making it a fraction of the size of even a coin. The chip doesn’t work alone, but according to Energous, depending on the power level of the device it’s being used in, the chip can be coupled with a matching circuit from two standard discrete components and a small antenna — which will make for a complete wireless charging receiver. In other words, the components required for true wireless charging are more than small enough to fit inside a smartphone.

So when should we expect to see chips like this show up in smartphones? Well, that remains to be seen. Apple was rumored to be working with Energous for the launch of recent smartphones, but so far no iPhone has featured Energous tech. Not only that, but including a receiver inside a smartphone is only one part of the equation; users will also need to install charging stations around their home, and businesses might want to do the same.

Earlier this year, Energous announced its Wireless Charging 2.0 tech, which it said allowed for truly wireless charging in a 15-foot radius around the wireless charging station. Generally speaking, the closer you are to a charging station, the quicker a device will charge.

One thing that Energous does promise is interoperability between wireless charging devices, which means a wireless charger built by Samsung will work with an Apple device, and vice versa. In other words, Energous is aiming to create a new standard that it can sell to manufacturing partners.

Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…
Your OnePlus 13 case comes with something odd you shouldn’t throw away
The wireless charging insert that comes with the OnePlus 13's case.

If you buy an official case for your OnePlus 13, you’ll find something unexpected in the box. It’s a sliver of flexible plastic, shaped like something you hang on a hotel room door when you don’t want the maid to come in, and although your first instinct will be to throw it away with the rest of the packaging, don’t do it.

You may end up needing it.
What does it do?
The OnePlus 13 with Sandstone case and wireless charging insert Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Read more
MagSafe-like charging will come to Google and Samsung phones this year
A person holding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Google and Samsung phones will be receiving Qi2 wireless charging, the answer to Apple's MagSafe wireless charging, this year.

The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) said in a press release ahead of CES 2025 on Monday that the "acceleration" of native Qi2 wireless charging support will be rolling out to more Android phones throughout the year, including the Samsung Galaxy and Google's Pixel line of phones. Both flagship companies confirmed their intentions to program Qi2 into their respective devices.

Read more
Qi2 charging may come to the Galaxy S25, but not how we expected
A person holding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Native support for the Qi2 wireless charging standard is currently limited to only a few handsets on the market, none of which are produced by Samsung. However, this could change in the coming weeks with the anticipated arrival of the Galaxy S25 series — though perhaps not in the expected way.

According to a new report from Finnish-based Suomimobiili, the Galaxy S25 series handsets will support Qi2 wireless charging, but only with a new magnet case that Samsung is reportedly producing. This would mark the first time the company has created a case like this for its flagship phones.

Read more