Zens announced a wireless charger with 16 overlapping charging coils, which it said gives owners of Qi-based devices “complete freedom of placement.” Users can position two Qi-based devices anywhere on a charging pad, it said, which would eliminate the need for precise coil-to-coil alignment necessary with traditional Qi chargers -- one of the caveats of Qi wireless charging. Placement freedom would cancel one of the competitive advantages wireless charging company Energous claimed (see 1905030023) over Qi with its WattUp contactless charging technology that has yet to reach the market in meaningful numbers. Photos show Zens charging pads holding two smartphones and a smartphone with AirPods. The Zens Liberty charger has a 2x15-watt output with Apple and Samsung Fast Charge support. A 2.4-Amp built-in USB port on the top of the unit charges an additional device; the company teased the reason for the top-mount placement, promising an additional announcement in coming weeks. Due in November, the charger is made of aluminum and comes with a 45-watt USB-C power adapter and separate power plugs for use in the EU, U.K. and U.S. The Kvadrat edition ($139) has a woolen upholstery base created by Danish designer Margrethe Odgaard; the $179 limited-edition glass model reveals the inner workings of the 16 coils, said the company.

More than 600 million smartphones and other devices with contact-based wireless charging shipped worldwide last year, but nearly 70 percent of consumers don’t own contact charging pads to leverage the technology, said a Tuesday report from wireless charging company Wi-Charge and Zogby Analytics. Half of U.S. consumers who do own Qi wireless chargers have concerns about the technology’s “sub-par reliability, speed and the need to leave their phone on the pad, which reduces true mobility,” said the company. A third said their mobile devices die “multiple times every week,” even when fully charged overnight. A quarter said they would pay a premium for devices that could charge themselves without user intervention through long-range wireless charging, and 25 percent with smart home devices would spend 10 percent more for a smart home device with long-range wireless power if that meant making the device more mobile and easier to maintain. Wi-Charge is developing an infrared wireless charger that will initially target smart home devices, Yuval Boger, chief marketing officer, told us in a pre-brief last week. Wireless charging is “more topical than ever” because of the extra burden 5G technology is expected to put on smartphone batteries, said Boger. Wi-Charge demoed its technology with Schlage at CES for smart locks and security cameras. On its progress with Schlage products since then, the marketer said, “we’ll report progress when they want,” noting the routine of working with a larger company. Wi-Charge expects to market a product in 2020, but it’s not “super-focused” on smartphones today, Boger said. Phone makers “are even larger companies: They know what’s inside 2022 phones today.”

With Apple’s AirPower wireless charging mat teased in front of enthusiastic followers two years ago -- and then pulled from product planning (see 1903290062) in the spring -- accessory maker mophie hopes to fill in with two wireless charging pads designed to work with different Apple products. Both charging pads “safely deliver” up to 7.5 watts power to any Qi-enabled iPhone or AirPods, said mophie. The chargers became available Friday at apple.com and will go on sale this week at select Apple stores and mophie.com, it said. The dual wireless charging pad ($79) has an extra USB-A port for simultaneously charging a third USB device. The 3-in-1 pad wirelessly charges an iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch from one central location, it said, with a dedicated cavity for AirPods and an integrated charging stand for Apple Watch that’s said to hold it at an “ideal angle” for "nightstand mode." Mophie also introduced a $24 USB-C car charger and a dual USB car charger ($29) with one USB-C 18-watt port and a USB-A 12-watt port.

Two days before the next Energous earnings call -- where it likely would have faced more investor questions about the Delight personal sound amplification product (PSAP) that hadn't materialized before its May earnings call -- Energous trumpeted the arrival of such a product Tuesday on Amazon for $349. The Delight Oasis-RC PSAP is the first hearable sold in the U.S. with Energous’ WattUp wireless charging technology. The product hadn't yet drawn any reviews when we checked Tuesday and shipping date was given as Aug. 14-22. Energous first said it planned to develop reference designs for embedded WattUp charging capabilities in SK Telesys' products for the Asian and global markets in 2014. In December, Energous CEO Steve Rizzone gave Q1 as the arrival time for the Delight PSAP, co-designed with the Korean communications equipment company (see 1812270001). Rizzone acknowledged then multiple delays for the product, maintaining the “customer funnel is robust” for CE products in “growing vertical markets.” In a statement Tuesday, Delight CEO Jae Ho Him said the U.S. is a key market for the Oasis. It wasn’t clear if Korea regulators had approved Energous’ RF-based charging technology, which received FCC certification for sale in the U.S., but an Energous spokesperson emailed that the Oasis-RC is shipping in the U.S. only at this time. Delight has not submitted the product for regulatory approval in Korea yet: "We expect the product will be available in other countries outside of just the U.S. in the future, however," she said. On Energous’ May Q1 earnings call, Rizzone said “the lack of a well-defined path to regulatory approval” in China, Japan and Korea had “a delaying effect on product launch decisions and timing that we did not anticipate.” Rizzone said having a product with WattUp technology launch on Amazon was “a significant step forward” in Energous’ wireless charging mission. Dooroo Lim, SK Telesys manager, called Oasis a “next generation product that we believe solves the major pain point hearing aid and PSAP users have historically experienced, which is frequent battery replacement.” The news release announcing Oasis-RC referred to the product having versions for the right and left ears. Only the right ear version was available Tuesday.

Energous received FCC certification for a gallium-nitride-based near-field wireless charging transmitter for fast-charging earbuds, smartwatches, headsets and smart glasses, it said Tuesday. The WattUp NF330 transmitter underwent “rigorous testing” by Underwriters Laboratory and was determined to be compliant with regulatory requirements for RF, RF safety and electromagnetic compatibility, the company said. The transmitter delivers five times more charging power and nearly doubles system efficiency compared with Energous’ CMOS-based transmitter, said CEO Stephen Rizzone.

Spansive is recalling about 850 Source wireless multi-phone wireless chargers due to a report of a metallic phone accessory overheating when placed on the charger, said the Consumer Product Safety Commission Friday. No injuries have been reported. Consumers should stop using the recalled chargers and return them to the company for a full refund. Spansive is contacting purchasers directly about the recall; the devices were sold exclusively online at www.spansive.com for about $200. The recall applies only to Source chargers sold May 23-24, identifiable by a green label on the unit bottom, it said. The chargers are capable of powering up to six phones simultaneously, four wirelessly and two more via USB ports, it said. The brand was previously known as Pi Charging.

Wireless charging company Aircharge rolled out technology at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, site of the Wimbledon Championships, it said Friday. The club approached Aircharge, seeking a “safe and convenient solution” to allow players competing in the 2019 tournament and their guests to keep devices powered and connected without having to carry cables or power banks, it said. Aircharge's Qi-based wireless charging points are integrated in furniture at select tables and counters located in the Millennium building and Competitor’s restaurant in the Aorangi Pavilion, it said. Aircharge’s battery-powered solution addresses the lack of direct access to mains power in the club venues, it said, with installed “battery pucks” providing eight full charging cycles on an average smartphone. QR code integration at point of charge allows users to receive additional services on their mobile phones, including Wi-Fi connectivity, menu ordering and access to tournament information.

A burn hazard is causing Imagine Nation Books/Collective Goods to recall about 64,000 wireless charging pads sold between March 2018 and March 2019 through toy, gift and electronics stores, including Sharper Image, said a Consumer Product Safety Commission notice Thursday. Importer Imagine Nation Books, which sourced the goods from Shenzhen Shouyu Technology in China, received 10 reports of the pads overheating and causing minor damage to the surface of furniture or bedding, said CPSC. No injuries have been reported, it said. Consumers should stop using the product and contact the importer for a full refund, it said.

Unit shipments of wireless-power receivers and transmitters for all applications and product segments grew 37 percent globally last year to 600 million units and will reach 2.1 billion in 2023, said IHS Markit. “Wireless power technology continues to evolve rapidly, with reach expanding beyond smartphones to wider applications and product segments.” Mobile phones were 71 percent of all wireless-power receivers shipped last year and are expected “to continue to drive this market over the next five years.” Smartphone OEMs are using wireless charging as a “market differentiator to promote flagship models,” but the feature is expected to “build” in more mid-priced devices, it said Wednesday.

AirPower, Apple’s teased multi-device wireless charging mat, has been scrapped, said multiple reports Friday. TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Matthew Panzarino tweeted a statement attributed to Dan Riccio, Apple senior vice president-hardware: “After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward.” The charging mat, first shown at the September 2017 iPhone 8 launch, had reached cult status as a product the company promised but didn't introduce as expected in spring 2018. As recently as Monday, Apple customers on Twitter were clamoring for the product amid Apple’s software launch of its news, video, gaming and credit card services. When Apple previewed AirPower 18 months ago (see 1709120054), Phil Schiller, senior vice president-worldwide marketing, said Apple believed it could make the wireless charging experience “even better” and “move the entire industry forward.” He said Apple hoped people would love it, “that it encourages others to create more advanced solutions based on technology like this.” Apple had planned to "incorporate these benefits into the future of the standards to make wireless charging better for everyone,” he said. The next month, the company bought a New Zealand-based wireless charging company, PowerbyProxi (see 1710250043). Apple didn’t comment Friday.