Mophie has launched a new range of accessories that work with MagSafe on Apple's iPhone 12, attaching not only chargers and batteries but things like vent mounts. In addition, Mophie also has an adapter to use the new Snap system with other, non-MagSafe phones, whether they be older iPhones or Android devices, as well as Snap+ accessories that include Qi wireless charging.
Overnight, a report concerning the upcoming iPad Pro and its potential wireless charging capabilities was published by the folks at Bloomberg. The report also suggested that Apple is looking to redesign the iPad mini for the first time in years, which is big news in itself as well. Lurking in that report is another interesting morsel, though, as it seems that AirPower may not be entirely dead.
Battery technology, especially for smartphones, hasn't evolved that much in the past years. That's why smartphone makers have, instead, tried to upgrade the part that they can have more direct control. Charging technology, in contrast to batteries, has grown by leaps and bounds and we're now looking at charging output at looks almost too dangerous to be true. But that's exactly what Xiaomi is showing off with its newest HyperCharge technology that can fill up your phone in just 8 or 15 minutes.
We take wireless charging for granted with many of the gadgets we use today, such as smartphones, among others. Four decades ago, electronics like calculators were relatively new inventions, and most people were just surprised to have them and never even considered the ability to charge the devices wirelessly. When new, old electronics typically relied on old-school batteries for power.
This week new Apple Beats earbuds appeared in imagery in the code for iOS 14.6 beta and tvOS 14.6. Images show three colors for this new set of earbuds, including black with white "b" logo, white with black, and red with white. The buds appeared near a case for the buds, likely showing how the buds will be stored and charged.
Wireless charging may be saving us from tripping over cables but they don't exactly keep our phones untethered completely. It's not really easy to use our phones while on their wireless charging docks and you often need to position the devices precisely on top of the hidden charging coils. The ideal wireless charging solution is, of course, one that is completely invisible and intangible, and Motorola's partnership with OTA power company GuRu could bring that to reality soon.
Xiaomi claims to have achieved where Apple failed, with a new multi-coil wireless fast charging pad capable of charging multiple devices simultaneously - just as Apple AirPower was meant to do. Apple's decision to pull the plug on its AirPower charging mat was a rare public admission of fallibility by the Cupertino firm, but that hasn't dimmed the desire among users for a smart charging pad that doesn't care whereabouts you place your phone.
Most companies try to keep a tight lid on new products before they launch but most of the time also fail at that. Rather than fight it, OnePlus seems to have instead embraced a new philosophy where it does most of the work for netizens instead and leaves breadcrumbs for them to nibble on while waiting. Indeed, OnePlus itself has done a lot of the teasing around the OnePlus 9 and even the OnePlus Watch and it doesn't seem to be done yet, even with less than a week before showtime.
The next major Sonos speaker (Sonos Roam) was revealed in a leak this week and a price likely set at around $169 USD. This speaker appears to be next in a line of Sonos speakers that expand beyond the confines of the home, complete with Bluetooth for wireless audio out in the wild. This device will likely be ready for release by the end of April 2021.
As convenient as wireless charging may be at times, their convenience ends the moment you lift the phone off its pad even by just a bit to use it. There have been multiple attempts in the past to solve that problem but now it seems that smartphone makers are making bold steps in that direction. Following Xiaomi and Motorola, OPPO is preparing to show off its own take on over-the-air or OTA wireless charging and it is interestingly using its rollable phone to do so.
Satechi is back with a new version of the USB wireless charger it launched for AirPods early last year. The new version, which Satechi calls the USB-C Watch AirPods Charger, features a 2-in-1 design that is used to charge both the Apple Watch and the AirPods, depending on which direction you plug it into your MacBook or iPad.
In just the span of two days, we've had two separate smartphone manufacturers show off different wireless charging systems that can charge phones over-the-air. First it was Xiaomi showing off its Mi Air Charge, and now it's Motorola, which is teasing a system that can charge phones from as far as 100cm away. Not only that, but we saw the wireless charger even charging multiple phones at the same time.