Adoption will extend from smartphones to tablet and notebook PCs, and wearable devices.

Wireless charging is poised to take over the whole spectrum of portable electronics products and solutions - from 2W for the Internet of Things and connected wearable devices to 15W for notebook PCs.

One of the first markets for 10W receivers will be smartphones, which require a higher charging current due to their larger batteries. The increase in power levels seems to be a key trend in wireless charging, leading to new markets such as tablet computers and laptops. "TI's BQ51025 10W wireless power receiver chip is also aiming at industrial and medical applications," said Steve Goacher, business development manager of TI's analog wireless power group.

The greater the power for wireless chargers, the bigger the batteries will be, Goacher said. He added that wireless power is destined for a range of uses. "From a few watts for consumer electronics to kilowatts for cars and everything in-between, wireless charging will be a primary technology in the future," said Goacher. "The key requirements today are mostly convenience, but the other benefits are waterproofing devices and removing the need for connectors."

A number of major brands such as BMW, Toyota, Marriott, Starbucks and Verizon are involved in the rollout. "Lack of consumer awareness has been an ongoing challenge for wireless power, but as many major companies make announcements and share news, it will continue to make a positive impact for the whole industry."

Intel Corp. has unveiled its "No Wires" vision for a new level of wireless charging capability for portable electronics. The world's largest chipmaker is collaborating with Integrated Device Technology Inc. or IDT to accelerate the delivery of this nascent technology.

In 2018, 600 million mobile phones supporting wireless charging will ship, said Ryan Sanderson, principal analyst for wireless power at IHS Technology.

Intel, IDT for cable-free electronics

Members of the Alliance for Wireless Power Intel and IDT have joined hands to define, design and manufacture wireless charging solutions built around the A4WP magnetic resonance standard. They target to release products in 2015 for low- and high-power devices from wearable electronics to smartphones, and tablet and notebook PCs.

The wireless power ecosystem is broadly segmented between two competing standards: magnetic induction technology based on device-on-mat scheme and proximity-centric magnetic resonance technology.

IDT, which offers products supporting magnetic induction and resonance technologies, acknowledges wireless power faces challenges. "The implementation is currently at step 1 if there are going to be 10," said Arman Naghavi, vice president and general manager of IDT's analog and power division.

The maker provided the receiver for LG's model G3 smartphone. The IDTP9025A chip supports the Wireless Power Consortium's 1.1 standard and utilizes low-drop-out regulator-based architecture to minimize component count. Naghavi is confident wireless charging in mobile applications will take off once phones such as the G3 and wearable devices, including the Apple Watch, demonstrate its value proposition.

The wearables market is expected to grow to several hundred million units in the next five years, and will attract chipmakers such as IDT for its huge potential for wireless power products.

The company has introduced a 2W wireless power receiver and battery charger through a single-chip solution compliant with the WPC 1.1 specification. The IDTP9026 for wearable devices minimizes PCB area and BOM costs by eliminating the need for a number of passive components. Said to be the world's smallest, it measures 30sqmm or less than half the size of available counterparts. IDT complements the receiver with the IDTP9038 single-chip wireless power transmitter solution. The latter is Qi-compliant and supports a 5V input.

Contributed by Majeed Ahmad, author of Smartphone, Nokia's Smartphone Problem, Mobile Commerce 2.0, Essential 4G Guide and Age of Mobile Data: The Wireless Journey to All Data 4G Networks. Majeed has been writing for technology and trade media for more than 18 years.