Oliver Haslam on February 1, 2021, 8:14 pm

Xiaomi Announces Mi Air Charge, Real Wireless Charging Across Rooms

It’s a technology that has been shown off at CES events for years and now it’s finally here – Xiaomi today announced Mi Air Charge and it promises true wireless charging at up to 5W.

That might not be fast, but considering your device will always be charging, it’s more than enough to get the job done.

Until now, wireless charging hasn’t actually been wireless. Instead, a wired charger allows you to place your phone or earbuds onto it and have them charge. The devices themselves don’t have wires, but the chargers themselves, do. But with Mi Air Charge, devices will charge so long as they are within range of a base station.

The whole thing is made possible by no fewer than 144 antennas that transmit millimeter-wide waves directly to a phone, Xiaomi says.

The core technology of Xiaomi’s remote charging lies in space positioning and energy transmission. Xiaomi’s self-developed isolated charging pile has five phase interference antennas built in, which can accurately detect the location of the smartphone. A phase control array composed of 144 antennas transmits millimeter-wide waves directly to the phone through beamforming.

Notably, we’re told that putting obstacles in the way of the connection doesn’t lesson the charging capabilities, something that we didn’t expect. There’s still no telling when this will ship to anyone though, and when it does, what will it cost? The company does say that it’s hoping to bring the same technology to smartwatches as well, which is something we’re absolutely here for.