Smartphone company Vivo has signed a partnership with Energous, a firm working to bring us wireless over-the-air device charging, ending the need to plug our gadgets into the wall or rest them on a pad to top-up the battery. Energous has been working on over-the-air wireless charging for some time, and we’ve been following its activity for quite awhile.
Chinese brand Vivo isn’t well known internationally, and primarily sells its hardware in Asia, but it has never been afraid to experiment with new technology, or show off exciting concept devices. Vivo was one of the first to implement an in-display fingerprint scanner, brought us the pop-up selfie camera, and often excites with its many photographic features.
The partnership is specifically made to explore creating smartphones with Energous’s WattUp wireless charging system, which provides true wireless charging, through the air, to compatible devices up to 15-feet away from the WattUp charging base station. The company has received two stages of FCC approval over the past 12 months, and envisages WattUp charging stations being installed in devices throughout your house, so devices constantly receive a stream of power.
Energous has also worked to make the technology operate with all compatible devices, and not restricted to charging up only brand-specific products. This neatly avoids the situation where your Samsung TV would only beam power to a Samsung smartphone, for example. It also says devices don’t need to be laid flat on a surface, or held in a certain way to be charged over-the-air, giving you the freedom to wander around as normal. It’s a very different, and very exciting next-generation wireless charging system which we can’t wait to see in everyday life.
However, while Vivo and Energous will work together, what will come of the partnership remains to be seen. The company statement is carefully worded, saying Vivo will “explore” using the Energous technology, but there is no mention of when we may see the results of such work, or an expected timeframe. Energous has been working on over-the-air wireless charging for several years, perfecting the technology and overcoming regulatory hurdles.
We’re excited about the potential, and confident Vivo is a strong partner that’s always keen to look at new tech as a way to stand out.
