This is according to Thorsten Heins, CEO of Powermat, the company behind one of the major wireless charging standards. He said the standard will come packaged in any future Samsung smartphones capable of wireless charging.
Samsung has made a big bet on wireless charging by integrating the functionality in its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy and Galaxy S6 S6 board, which were unveiled Sunday. Having such a high profile device using wireless charging could do much to raise awareness and demand for the function that has been quietly around for years.
Part of the problem is compatibility. The standard of Powermat, which was adopted by the Power Business Association, or PMA, does not play well with load buffer using a different standard called Qi Wireless Power Consortium. Samsung got around the issue by including both Qi and PMA standards.Heins said Samsung is committed to the PMA standard in future devices.The WPC is not so sure. John Perzow, vice president of market development for the group, said he suspects Samsung will integrate wireless charging in phones, but noted that he had no visibility on future Samsung products."They are committed to the function, but open to using any type is most effective," Perzow said.A Samsung spokesman declined to talk about future devices.Given the presence of Samsung in the market, its wireless charging support may signal the beginning of a larger trend."Samsung has provided the trigger point," Heins said in an interview at Mobile World Congress. "This is a courageous step."In the past, most of the smartphones used for charging without Qi wire, all Powermat invested in getting merchants such as Starbucks and venues such as Madison Square Garden to install charging pads. It has relatively less successful in obtaining LDCs in separate smartphones few selected models, so the Galaxy S6 marks a great victory for Powermat.