Energous, a startup that many have speculated has been working with Apple on wireless charging solutions, has just signed a big deal with Apple chip supplier Dialog Semiconductor, Fast Company reports. According to a source, Dialog presently makes about three-quarters of its revenue supplying power management chips to Apple, suggesting that the new partnership could put Energous into a position to more effectively deal with Apple in bringing wireless charging to future iPhone models.
Energous has been working on a long-range wireless charging technology known as WattUP RF that would allow devices to recharge wirelessly at distances of up to 15 feet away from a charging transmitter — technology that certainly seems like the practical type of wireless charging solution that Apple would be interested in, as opposed to current implementations based on plug-in charging mats. The report goes on to suggest that WattUP RF technology could be incorporated into Macs to allow an iPhone to be charged when it’s simply sitting on the table within a few feet of a powered Mac.
All of this remains completely speculative at this point, however; rumors of Energous working with Apple are based entirely on a vague statement made by Energous last year that it had signed a development and licensing agreement with “one of the top consumer electronic companies in the world” to integrate its WattUp technology into that company’s “consumer devices.” Further, while Dialog does supply a lot of power management chips to Apple, the iPhone maker is far from Dialog’s only customer, and in addition to power management chips, Dialog also makes Bluetooth and audio chips for a multitude of other devices.
Naturally, neither Apple nor Energous CEO Steve Rizzone have commented on any relationship the two companies may have.
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