Wirelessly charge your mobile device atop IKEA furniture

If you’ve recently found that it’s just too much trouble to plug your mobile device into its charger, IKEA has some great news for you!

During last week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the Swedish furniture manufacturer announced that it is now putting Qi technology, a popular wireless power standard, into some of its products. Gone are the days of having to physically plug your phone or tablet into a charger; you can now simply place the devices on the surface of some select IKEA furniture pieces and power up effortlessly.

For those who may be unfamiliar with Qi (pronounced CHEE) technology, it is an interface standard developed by the Wireless Power Consortium for inductive electrical power transfer over distances of up to 1.6 inches. The technology, which is currently available in many restaurants, hotels, cafés, airports and other public locations, allows users to place their mobile device atop a power transmission pad that uses resonant inductive coupling to charge the device. Many devices on the market already support Qi charging, including the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone.

Marking the first instance in which a large retail chain is selling built-in wireless chargers direct to consumers, IKEA’s Home Smart line has big implications not only in the furniture industry, but in the wireless standards industry as well. Qi’s largest competitor in the charging standards space is Rezence, an interface standard developed by the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) that uses magnetic resonance for wireless electrical power transfer. This big announcement about its partnership with one of the world’s most recognized furniture brands is sure to give Qi a boost, and the timing is critical as users will undoubtedly push toward the adoption of one global standard.  

In addition to being functional, the wireless chargers also fit well with IKEA’s signature clean, sleek aesthetics. “People hate cable mess. They worry about not finding the charger and running out of power,” said Jeanette Skjelmose, an IKEA business manager for lighting and wireless charging.

But if you think there are zero wires involved, think again. Furniture pieces in the Home Smart line must be plugged into an electrical outlet in order to provide the power source that will transfer power to mobile devices.

The wireless charging furniture collection is expected to hit store floors in the U.S. by April 15. As soon as they do, the charging pads will be immediately able to power up Android and Windows phones. IKEA has indicated that it also has plans to sell cases for Apple and Samsung Galaxy phones that will also enable them to use the charging pads.

IKEA announced that these new wireless charging furniture pieces will sell for an average of $22 more than their non-wireless charging counterparts. For consumers who may be wondering if and how this technology might fit into their existing IKEA furniture pieces, the company has indicated that it will begin selling wireless charging kits to fit in existing IKEA furniture lines for approximately $34.

Via Mashable and Minneapolis Star Tribune