NFC Forum, which is an industry group that has been tasked to set global standards for near field communication technology, had recently announced that it was adopting a new Wireless Charging Specification (WLC). In layman’s term, its is a new standard that could enable smartphones to power smaller devices wirelessly through NFC.
From what we know, the WLC being adopted by NFC Forum uses a single antenna to carry both data communications and power transfer. Thus, it is only capable of providing power rated up to 1W with compatible devices. This may not sound like much but it is still enough for a quick power up for low powered IoT gadgets (Internet of Things). In other words, one would be able to charge smartwatches, wireless earbuds, and more through their smartphone.
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Arriving at the interesting implication of this news, Apple is a sponsor group of the NFC Forum. This could potentially mean that the ‘bilateral’ wireless charging support could arrive in future iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. The latter two use low wattage due to the small internal battery cells, so, the iPhone may be able to charge such peripheral accessories in the near future.
Unfortunately, this is still just a far out possibility. So far, none of the iPhone 12 leaks had pointed towards this feature while separate rumors had hinted at the technology. The Apple iPhone 12 series may feature bilateral wireless charging capabilities, but it will likely utilize the more commonly used Qi standards. This is currently used for existing iPhone chargers, AirPods, and AirPods Pro cases as well. So if Apple does decide to include this technology, it would have to revamp the internals and bring NFC technology to many of its existing product lineups.
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(Via)
