IHS Technology: Five Wireless Power Predictions for 2016

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Wireless charging in the iPhone, tri-modal receivers and the one-millionth public charger unit shipment are all realistic expectations for the wireless charging market in 2016. With the wireless power industry setting strategies for 2016 and beyond, following are the key upcoming trends to support planning, according to IHS Inc., the leading global source of critical information and insight:

1. The iPhone 7 will launch with integrated wireless charging in September 2016

Specifications for new Apple products are notoriously difficult to predict, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for mobile phone manufacturers to ignore the adoption of wireless charging by competitors. “It is highly likely that the next iPhone will be equipped with this technology, although it won’t become clear until days before launch which standard (or even which proprietary technology) they might choose,” said David Green, research manager, power supplies & wireless power, IHS Technology.

2. Tri-modal receivers in mobile phones by the end of 2016

The commercial launch of Rezence-standard receivers in mobile phones and notebooks/netbooks is expected to occur in 2016.  “It will be interesting to see the choices made by mobile phone manufacturers in particular,” Green said. “While they could ignore the growing adoption of inductive solutions, both in handsets and in charging infrastructure, in favor of a Rezence-only solution, it is far more likely that mobile phone manufacturers will choose multi-mode receiver solutions, in the pursuit of interoperability and the best possible consumer experience.”

3. Customer satisfaction levels to drop in the annual IHS survey

In an IHS consumer survey conducted last year, less than 1 percent of consumers who had previously used wireless charging said they would not want it in their next device. From a customer retention point of view, that is a positive endorsement of the benefits to the technology. However, with an increase in the number of consumers using the technology this year, we can expect the headline satisfaction numbers to initially decrease.

“Satisfaction will remain very high but is expected to fall somewhat, as more people will no doubt have some negative experiences at first,” Green said. “As consumers better understand the technology and adoption increases in various applications, consumers will start making demands for power-charging capabilities they want in their next devices.”

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