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In-vehicle wireless charging set to surge

Regina Pazvakavambwa
By Regina Pazvakavambwa, ITWeb portals journalist.
Johannesburg, 06 Oct 2015
Wireless charging is poised to change the way consumers interact with their cars, says Juniper Research.
Wireless charging is poised to change the way consumers interact with their cars, says Juniper Research.

By 2020, 50 million vehicles will be offering built-in wireless device charging, compared with only 4 million this year.

This is according to Juniper Research's recent study, which notes wireless charging is poised to change the way consumers interact with their cars.

The report says the technology will enable a range of new in-vehicle services, such as on-board audio streaming, automatic cockpit drill customisation and context-specific notification filtering, made possible through the data exchange and constant power supply.

Also, this will allow automakers to provide software-based services merely through streaming notifications from phone to dashboard, rather than needing to keep on-board firmware and hardware updated, says Juniper Research.

With no established standard for wireless charging, manufacturers have been hesitant to adopt the technology for fear of buying into a system that will soon be obsolete, it says.

As a result, several manufacturers have begun to provide solutions that cater for two main specifications - Qi; and A4WP/PMA.

These de-facto solutions are helping to overcome compatibility problems, but as they require more complex components than those geared to a single specification, it will keep prices relatively high, says Juniper Research.

While several smartphone brands have already incorporated wireless charging capabilities into their phones, consumers, in the main, are still unaware of the feature, it adds.

Propelled by the rising availability of products and partial resolution of standards conflicts, the global market for wireless charging hardware used for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets will surge to rise by almost fortyfold during the next five years.

According to the report, this is set to change over the next few years, as more brands begin to promote the concept, with Samsung's promotion of the Galaxy S6 being the trailblazer.

However, in the short term, most phones will continue to be shipped with a wired charger as standard, it adds.

The technology will not take off if it remains a $30+ additional purchase, says James Moar, research analyst at Juniper Research. "This is why the automotive market is so important; if the technology is provided as standard in cars, consumers can appreciate the benefits without feeling like it's a risky or unnecessary additional purchase."

Wireless charging will ultimately be about more than the power and speed of charge", says Moar.

He points out the ability to pinpoint device location through data exchange enables all kinds of location-based activation functions around the home, the car and in the leisure industry, adding industry stakeholders must be ready to leverage this capacity.

World Wide Worx MD, Arthur Goldstuck, says wireless charging still seems as just another feature, heavily marketed by some manufacturers but not particularly sought after by consumers.

The main problem is that wireless charging is not yet much more convenient than using a plugged-in charger, says Goldstuck.

"It has to become not only seamless, but also a no-brainer for consumers. At that point it will become a standard feature of devices, and a market in its own right."

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