Apple Pushes For Wireless Charging With New Zealand Company Acquisition

Apple has acquired New Zealand firm PowerbyProxi that designs wireless power products for consumers and industry. The highly anticipated Apple iPhone X which is to be launched 3rd if November hasn’t failed to make headlines even before its launch, the most recent developments is its plan to include wireless charging in its latest iPhone 8 and iPhone X smartphones.

The suggestion of this being mere rumours was put off as  an Apple spokesman confirmed the acquisition, which was earlier reported in New Zealand media. Both companies declined to provide details of the purchase.

The technology of Wireless charging allows users to recharge their device by placing them on a pad or other surface rather than inserting them in a cradle or attaching a cable.

Although this feature has been anticipated by iPhone users in the lunch of recent iPhone versions, Apple has been slow to adopt the technology, lagging behind its biggest rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and other mobile phone companies that have offered wireless charging in some of their devices for several years.

Apple joined the industry body that develops the Qi wireless charging standard, the Wireless Power Consortium, in February. The iPhone 8 and X both support the standard.

Apple’s interest in PowerbyProxi may be driven by the “powerbyproxi other products, some of which can support transferring up to 150 watts through any non-metallic material, for wirelessly charging industrial machinery and medical equipment,” said Jake Saunders, Asia Pacific vice president of ABI Research.

He added that “This could allow Apple to offer much larger pads that could quickly charge multiple consumer devices, including laptops and even electric scooters,”.

Like other products wireless charging, charging a single device on one pad may not be that appealing, “but when you get into multiple device charging it starts to get attractive”, Saunders saud.

An announcement was recently made by Apple to release its own AirPower accessory which it said would simultaneously charge up to three devices, including new versions of the Apple Watch, iPhone and AirPod charging case. They came at wireless charging with a big bang–so to say.

The new Zealand based company, PowerbyProxi was founded in 2007 as a spin-out of the research University of Auckland. Samsung Ventures, global investment arm of Samsung Group, invested $4 million in the company in 2013 adopting its innovative tech in its latest iPhone versions. The founder of powerbyproxi and CEO, Fady Mishriki, said in a statement that “PowerbyProxi will continue its growth in Auckland and contribute to the great innovation in wireless charging coming out of New Zealand.