6 ms·
A number of years ago I worked with a colleague who had been one of the original electrical engineers at Splashpower [0] in the early 2000s. Splashpower was a C
by samwillis 4y ago
A number of years ago I worked with a colleague who had been one of the original electrical engineers at Splashpower [0] in the early 2000s. Splashpower was a Cambridge UK startup developing wireless inductive charging. Their aim was to create something similar to the multi device charging pad that Apple intended to launch but cancelled (the Splash Pad!), Apples was rumoured to be in development when I worked with them. He didn't think they would be able to achieve it (I think I remember him predicting high power draw and lots of heat, what is rumoured to have been the problem)
From memory (this is about 8-10 years ago) Splashpower found that miss alignment of the coils massively impacted the performance and as a result struggled to make the multiple devices charger pad work. The magnetic alignment of Apples MagSafe system, or the chargers on the old Palm phones, should aid in making them significantly more efficient.
Ultimately Splashpower went bust, the IP was brought by Fulton Innovation who, combing it with their own IP, then went on to create the Wireless Power Consortium [1] and the Qi charging standard.
It's interesting how it's going full circle and Qi2 is now incorporating magnetic alignment.
0: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splashpower https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splashpower
1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECoupled#history https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECoupled#history
- TheSpiceIsLife 4y ago> predicting high power draw and lots of heat, what is rumoured to have been the problem) Or, if you're an induction cooktop manufacturer, a feature. I'm highly amused that we've gone from large / heavy coil based transformer AC adaptors, affectionately known as wall-warts, to highly efficient tiny switch-mode electronics, just to jam a poorly wound and poorly aligned coil pair back in the circuit. My phone has 15 watt Qi charging, how novel. I'll stick to cables.
- KRAKRISMOTT 4y agoI don't understand why Apple won't make a charging mat that charge directly through the electrical contacts on MagSafe instead of relying on the induction method.
- TheSpiceIsLife 4y agoI work in metal fabrication, rarely took my last MacBook to work, but the micro fine metal follows me home and ultimately resulted in destruction of that laptop due to the magnets in the charge connector. Apple's phones are too fragile for my liking too, after having ruined a few in this environment. I liked using Apple's gear, but it's all too precious-jewelry like for me in this industry. If Apple did a rugged phone with a 13500 mAh battery like my current daily driver I'd switch right back.
- droopyEyelids 4y agoWhat phone do you use that is immune to metal filing dust? Seems like anything with a speaker would succumb, and its more of a problem with the case you chose than the device.
- thedrbrian 4y agoOr anything with a magnet in it like hard drives or fans. I think working in a metallic dust environment is the problem
- TheSpiceIsLife 4y agoDesktop PCs don't seem to have many issues in this environment, but they're stuck at our work stations, phones tend to get carried in to the dustier parts of the workshop.
- TheSpiceIsLife 4y agoUlefone Power Armor 13, one year in no issues. Occasional blow with low pressure high purity nitrogen out of a cryo tank we have at work for the laser cutter.
- crooked-v 4y agoMy guess would be that driving that much power through direct connectors would clash with their goal to make everything phone-related increasingly waterproof. With the purely induction-based method, you can, say, have connectors poolside (assuming you've got long and suitably grounded cables) with no concern from errant splashes.
- exabrial 4y agoI couldn't agree more, but my main use-case for wireless charging is my desktop cradle. I keep my phone sitting in it during the day and it maintains 100% charge until I leave for the day. I wouldn't try to do a deep charge from like 50% of something wirelessly... I've got better things to do!
- skybrian 4y agoKeeping the battery fully charged when you don't need to likely wears it out faster. 50% charged would be ideal for longevity, it seems.
- exabrial 4y agoLongevity? Pssh, these are Apple products! The hardware may last years, but Planned obsolescence is baked into the OS
- kaba0 4y agoYeah, the only platform with 8+ years support definitely has planned obsolescence.
- kaba0 4y agoIsn’t phone 100% less than the actual 100% of the battery and has been for a long time? And is it really worse than doing more discharge cycles?
- parker_mountain 4y ago> My phone has 15 watt Qi charging, how novel. Presumably an android phone (without magsafe)? My bedside charger is magsafe - it works very well and is one of those small things that works well and improves the experience. There's a lot of stuff in the apple experience like this, that android users seem to scoff at - and then they try it and get hooked. I'm really glad Google is building their own phones and trying to push them as first class devices - iOS and iPhones desperately need strong competition.
- kaladin-jasnah 4y agoThe problem is when you're and Android user like me—my only criterion is that the phone can have its bootloader unlocked and has good custom ROM support. This prevents e-waste in the long run (past custom ROM or official OS support) since I'd be able to always find some use for the phone—be it desktop Linux or whatever (for phones like the OnePlus 6, this is why the device is so incredibly compelling to me). Unfortunately iOS devices are totally uncompetitive in this important space.
- alwayslikethis 4y agoYeah. It's rather ironic that Google's phones have the best support for de-googling and comes close to it being a first-class experience. Samsung and Huawei iirc are the worse ones, which tries what it can to stop you from unlocking and cripple the phone if you do.
- kaladin-jasnah 4y agoAmerican Samsung phones don't even let you unlock the bootloader. My friends have had to import Exynos-based Samsung phones to the US to truly own the hardware we bought.
- parker_mountain 4y agoiOS devices generally receive os support for 5 years past their last retail shelf date (longer than when you bought the phone!). There's a lot to criticize apple w/r/t locked down devices, but their support lifespan is pretty good!
- 3pac 4y agoThe coils may not be perfectly aligned but they are still coupled efficiently by the near field.