Ok, so wireless charging isn’t that confusing a concept. You take a device, slap it down on a pad, and it charges the battery. What IS confusing is having to deal with two different standards for wireless charging which aren’t cross compatible.
There are two different versions of chargers Qi and PMA, and each has carved out a niche of the market. It gets even more confusing with companies like Nokia. International Lumias support Qi, but AT&T is partnered with PMA, so their phones wont support Qi chargers anymore. It’s a tricky roadmap to navigate for consumers who want to know which accessories will work with their phones.
Broadcom has announced a new SoC which should eventually ease that confusion as it’ll work with both standards. It’s an exciting innovation. Having competing “standards” is a sure fire way to halt progress of a new technology. Anyone remember the Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD war for HD content? Of course you don’t we all moved over to Netflix.
Broadcom’s full pr below for all the technical details.
Broadcom Introduces Multi-Standard Wireless Charging SoC for Smartphones
Only Company to Offer Complete Wireless Charging Package
IRVINE, Calif., May 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ —
News Highlights:
- Compatible with all existing wireless charging standards (A4WP, PMA and WPC) for consumer ease-of-use
- Delivers end-to-end system with Broadcom’s Bluetooth® WICEDâ„¢ Smart family for wireless charging pads
- Leverages Broadcom® Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo connectivity leadership for mobile platforms
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today introduced a new multi-standard smartphone power management unit (PMU)  that drives RezenceTM technology into the mainstream while providing compatibility with existing deployed standards.  When combined with Broadcom’s WICEDâ„¢ (Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices) Smart family of SoCs and software for the charging pad, manufacturers can now build complete and broadly compatible end-to-end wireless charging solutions.  For more news, visit Broadcom’s Newsroom.
Broadcom’s high performance BCM59350 wireless charging PMU enables automatic selection between specifications from all three leading standards organizations including the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), Power Matters Alliance(PMA) and Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) for OEM flexibility.  A4WP uses resonant technology, called Rezence, that allows consumers to “drop and go,” placing multiple devices on a single charging surface without the trouble of accurate positioning or alignment.
“Available today, Broadcom’s new wireless charging technology enables device manufacturers to build multi-standard wireless power receivers, alleviating consumer confusion and driving the benefits of Rezence technology into the mainstream,” said Reinier van der Lee, Broadcom Product Director, Mobile Platforms.  “Broadcom delivers the complete package — interoperable wireless charging, leading mobile connectivity and WICEDâ„¢ Smart technology for charging pads, simplifying the development process and enabling a fully interoperable ecosystem to our customers.”
Rezence uses Bluetooth Smart technology as a reliable communication channel between the smartphone and charging surface, taking advantage of the wide deployment of Bluetooth in mobile devices and wearables.  Leveraging Broadcom’scombo connectivity leadership, mobile device manufacturers can easily add multi-standard wireless charging, simplifying development and accelerating time to market for a best-in-class smartphone platform design.
“Demand for wireless charging is set to explode over the next five years,” said Ryan Sanderson, IHS Technology Associate Director, Power Supply & Storage Components.  “IHS forecasts the number of devices shipped annually that are enabled to charge wirelessly to increase to over $50 million in 2014 and accelerate to $900 million in 2018.  This is projected to drive a combined market for wireless power receivers and transmitters worth $8.5 billion in 2018.”
Key Features:Â
- Efficient – up to 88 percent AC to DC efficiency
- High performance – supports up to 7.5W for faster charge time than standard USB and wall charger
- Boost mode – Broadcom enables charging performance with 50 percent less voltage
- Support for automatic selection between standards and single mode operation
- NFC coexistence – Broadcom’s wireless charging design ensures high-quality NFC performance
- Implementation flexibility – can be designed in a smartphone motherboard or battery cover
- Small PCB footprint – Broadcom’s design supports multiple standards in the same size as a single standard solution
- Low cost – Broadcom’s solution has a cost-effective bill of materials with no external active components, excluding WICEDâ„¢ Smart
Availability:
The Broadcom BCM59350 wireless charging smartphone PMU is now sampling with select customers.
For ongoing news, visit Broadcom’s Newsroom, read the B-Connected Blog, or visit Facebook or Twitter. And to stay connected, subscribe to Broadcom’s RSS Feed.
About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a FORTUNE 500® company, is a global leader and innovator in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom® products seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments. With the industry’s broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip solutions, Broadcom is changing the world by connecting everything®. For more information, go to www.broadcom.com.
Broadcom®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything®, the Connecting everything logo and WICED™ are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU.  Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.