We’re one step closer to a unified standard of device charging.
Two of the three major groups involved in device charging technologies—the Alliance for Wireless Power, or A4WP, and the Power Matters Alliance, or PMA—have agreed to merge with the intent on creating a unified standard that would allow you to put your phone on a charging pad in order to recharge your battery, Cnet has reported.
See also: How Starbucks Could Take Wireless Charging Mainstream
The fact that there have existed three groups with incompatible charging standards has made something like a universal standard a difficult goal to reach. Currently, most devices with wireless charging power are compatible with the Wireless Power Consortium, or WPC. Meanwhile, the PMA is available at select Starbucks in the San Francisco area, while the A4WP is still working on a standard that hasn’t been put into effect yet.
Now that the A4WP and the PMA are combining forces, they could quickly overtake the WPC and be the ones to define and control the universal charging standard. A spokesperson for the groups said the merger will close by mid-2015, and result in a new name.
Photo of a Starbucks Powermat by Adriana Lee for ReadWrite
