Will you soon be charging your headphones via NFC?
The previously impossible should become possible: The latest NFC standard should allow small devices to be charged with one watt in the future.
In a recently published press release, the NFC Forum announced that it will soon be possible to charge devices via NFC. NFC stands for Near Field Communication and is built into almost all phones to connect quickly with other devices - such as Bluetooth speakers.
The new standard is called WLC, which more or less stands for Wireless Charging Specification - the correct name would be WCS, but this would probably have been too reminiscent of the abbreviation WC.
WLC can be used to charge devices with up to one watt of power. One watt doesn't sound like much, but for the small batteries of earbuds and smartwatches, it should still be enough to charge the devices reasonably quickly.
Until now, smartphone manufacturers had developed proprietary technologies for their smartphones to enable wireless charging.
What is compatible and how does it work
All devices equipped with an antenna are compatible, according to the forum. In addition to smartphones, the standard should therefore also work with other devices equipped with NFC, such as chargers, PCs, tablets or even gaming controllers. The Wii U gamepad, for example, has an NFC chip.
WLC should make it possible to manage both communication and charging with a single antenna in an NFC-enabled device. The specification uses the 13.56 MHz base frequency and utilises the NFC connection to control power transmission.
Koichi Tagawa, Chairman of the NFC Forum, shows the possibilities of the standard:
NFC wireless charging is truly transformative because it changes the way we design and interact with small, battery-powered devices as the elimination of plugs and cords enables the creation of smaller, hermetically-sealed devices.
NFC wireless charging is truly transformative, he says, as it changes the way we design and interact with small, battery-powered devices as the elimination of plugs and cords enables the creation of smaller, hermetically-sealed devices.
In addition, the WLC standard could also improve compatibility between devices from different manufacturers. Apple, Sony and Google are sponsors of the NFC Forum, Samsung is a main member and Huawei is an associate member.
Unfortunately, there is still no indication of when the technology will be rolled out. As the specification was only recently published, it will certainly not happen this year. <p
Testing devices and gadgets is my thing. Some experiments lead to interesting insights, others to demolished phones. I’m hooked on series and can’t imagine life without Netflix. In summer, you’ll find me soaking up the sun by the lake or at a music festival.