In the future it will be easier to integrate wireless charging on all smartphone models: with this Xiaomi patent even on foldable ones.
Giuseppe Croce Journalist
Peppe Croce, journalist since 2008, deals with electronic devices and new technologies applied to the automotive world. He joined Libero Tecnologia in 2018.
Smartphone wireless charging is very convenient but has three major problems: it wastes a lot of energy (first) that is converted into heat (second) and it works well only if the charging coils of smartphone and charger are well aligned (third). To solve the first two problems there is still a lot of work to do, to solve the third there are already solutions.
Such as the magnets used by Apple on its MagSafe chargers and integrated into the iPhone 12, just to give an example of a solution already on the market. Xiaomi, on the other hand, is already thinking about the solution of the future and is doing so by looking at the smartphones of the future: the foldable ones. The problem with foldable smartphones is that they are composed of two bodies joined by a hinge and the user could lean the wrong one to the charger, thus failing to charge the device properly. Xiaomi's solution is simple but ingenious.
Xiaomi: the patent on wireless charging
The Chinese press has uncovered a patent applied for by Xiaomi back in 2020 that should solve this problem in a very simple way: put a charging coil for each part of the foldable smartphone.
Once the foldable smartphone is placed on the charger, a "handshake" procedure takes place: the two devices recognize each other and start talking to each other. In particular, it is established which of the two coils is in contact with the charger and only the one is activated.
The user does not have to do anything: he can lean the foldable smartphone in one direction or the other and get the same result: the wireless charging will be activated by the patented system.
Xiaomi's foldable smartphone
The Chinese manufacturer has already presented its first foldable smartphone: it is the Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold, with an 8-inch screen (once opened).
This is a phone equipped with a large battery (divided into two pieces, in the two bodies of the device) of 5,000 mAh and with wired charging of an impressive 67 Watts. The interesting thing is that Mi Mix Fold does not have wireless charging, only wired charging. In light of this patent, however, it can not be ruled out that Xiaomi is already working on a foldable with wireless charging.