The mobile device arms race is formulaic and pretty boring when you get down to it.
New features and announcements are heavily marketed, but for the most part they fall into two categories: regular upgrades and new features.
Screens get bigger and the resolution is boosted, cameras take better pictures, and hardware is incrementally upgraded to support better apps and programs.
Then, occasionally, a feature like Touch ID is introduced, which opens up the possibility of better security and enables features like Apple Pay for expansion in mobile payments.
Apple has thrived on this business model, as we’re all very well aware.
Massive iPhone 6 and iPhone 6+ sales just pushed the company’s market cap higher than Switzerland’s GDP.
Yet one flaw just couldn’t be addressed for the flagship products that made this possible, and I have no doubt some of the best and brightest at Apple are losing sleep over it every time a new design is formed.
Behind the Scenes
A CNet.com test of the iPhone 6 using looped video, half-brightness, and in airplane mode lasted 10 hours and 38 minutes, versus 11 hours on the iPhone 5S.
That is with a battery upgrade too. The 6+ lasts longer, but that is only because the battery in it is bigger and could take up more room in the expanded case.
Apple is, like all other mobile device makers, getting pinched hard on this front. The batteries just can’t keep up the pace.
They are at the extreme limit of the battery designs that are economically feasible to put in their phones.
They know consumers aren’t going to stomach higher costs that aren’t tied directly to new features and across-the-board incremental improvements.
People will only fork over cash and sign new long-term contracts if they get something that looks, feels, and works better, period.
Plus they know that consumers just really don’t care about batteries until they don’t work.
Beating the competition with an extra couple hours of charge time isn’t going to drive another round of record-beating sales.
Sure, they could squeeze profit margins, but that is anathema to investors.
Across the board, improving batteries is pretty much a neutral or negative for the company’s bottom line, yet it is absolutely critical to the entire business model.
Nothing New in the Works
Rumors have been circulating online about how Apple plans to get ahead of this issue.
For example, talk of fuel cell research providing up to aweek of power for iPhones, MacBooks, and iPads, has been going on for years
However, there is no silver bullet.
Take the fuel cell tech Apple has been working on for quite some time with a company called Intelligent Energy, based in the UK.
So far, over years of work, it has produced the Upp portable charger.
This bulky charger is about twice as long as an iPhone, costs a bit over $225.00 and the user has to exchange cartridges and pay a bit over $9.00 for new ones.
Each cartridge can store about a week’s worth of phone use.
In essence, this is just a glorified version of the bulky battery recharge packs Apple already sells.
Needless to say, most people aren’t going to pay for this option. That is about twice what they’ll pay for the phone if they sign up for a two-year carrier contract.
Ultimately, we’ll all be dependent on the cost of new lithium ion battery designs to drop to see any real improvement.
That just refers to the batteries themselves, though. There is a pretty sneaky way around this entire issue, and its potential is just starting to attract attention.
A Novel Approach
With new tech hitting the market, the need to contain all of the power necessary to keep mobile devices up and running is going to be a thing of the past.
Wireless charging is already on the market. In its current commercial form, however, it is a bit of a gimmick.
The wireless charging pads you can find on the market and in Starbucks, amongst other places, still require an adapter to be plugged into the device. The device has to stay in place directly on the pad at all times.
The only thing wireless about this is a lack of wire going from the charger to the device. Functionally, all of the limitations we’re used to with standard chargers are unchanged.
The next generation of wireless chargers promises to charge multiple devices at distances of up to 15 feet. Further development will increase that distance.
As adoption of this tech spreads, there simply won’t be the same need to carry as much of a charge within the device itself.
It is perfect for consumers who want to consume more and more power through devices as well as device makers who face staggering limitations in the near future. Win-win.
These chargers will spread throughout offices, restaurants, houses, and cars. In the near future, our devices will only deplete a charge when we are nowhere near civilization.
Toyota is planning to offer wireless charging without a power mat in the 2016 Prius.
Haier, the company with the largest share of appliance sales worldwide, is developing ways to include the chargers into its products.
Plus, the technology is going to be exposed to Apple through Foxconn, which will be testing wireless charging in phone prototypes and other electronics this year.
There are a couple of companies involved in this new market, but one stands out above the rest.
It has 12 joint venture agreements, over 100 potential customers, and landed the potentially massive and exclusive agreements with Haier and Foxconn.
Plus, one of the most successful groups of investors in the world has thrown its full weight behind it.
Whether it is from us, in the news, or in ads, you’ll be hearing a lot more about this topic soon.
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