Wireless Charging is Getting More Unified as Powermat Joins WPC

Powermat, the creator of the PMA/Airfuel wireless charging standard, today announced it will be joining the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), therefore making Qi the new standard for wirelessly charging devices. Since Apple introduced Qi wireless charging in its new iPhones last year, it was clear PMA wouldn’t last long. Today, that fate has been met.

According to Powermat, it’ll be joining the WPC to help innovate the future of Qi wireless charging and further develop the technology.

“Qi has become the dominant wireless charging standard on the market and the recently launched Apple iPhone lineup is evidence of this success”, said Elad Dubzinski, Powermat CEO. “Powermat will share technology innovation to further unlock wireless charging potential, and will expedite the growth of the wireless charging infrastructure, bringing wireless charging to wherever users need it.”

And according to the WPC, today’s news is one more step towards a unified wireless charging experience for all devices.

“We are looking forward to Powermat joining WPC and contributing to ongoing advancement of the technology and experience”, said Menno Treffers, Chairman, WPC. “Powermat was one of the pioneers that recognized the value of wireless charging. By joining WPC, it further unifies the wireless charging ecosystem behind the Qi global standard, which will accelerate wireless charging adoption and make it more convenient for consumers to use wireless charging wherever they go. WPC will leverage Powermat’s expertise in technology innovation to support more use cases including higher power and expanded special freedom.”

Six years ago when wireless charging was just becoming a thing, there was reason to have multiple standards to test the waters and see what would stick. Back then, we had three standards: Qi, PMA, and what’s now known as Airfuel. The latter two joined forces in 2015, and today they both admit defeat to the clearly dominate Qi standard. Now, if a device has wireless charging on board, you should no doubt be able to use it with any wireless charger you find, whether it’s sitting in your home or integrated into a tablet at Starbucks.

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Author Max Buondonno Founder of Matridox. I also founded and am CEO of MBEDDED Media, a new kind of media company. Lover of anything and everything involving technology. I enjoy coffee, music, and writing. I'm also really getting into traveling and photography. Legendary Scoop himself.

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