Researchers Build A Wireless Room That Charges Phones From Anywhere Inside

Located at the University of Tokyo, a prototype room designed by a team of researchers wirelessly charges devices—including a lamp, a fan and smartphones—from anywhere inside. Despite its innovative technology, the room appears like any other 100-square-foot living space. Yet, nestled behind the floor, ceilings and walls of aluminum sheets are a series of capacitors which generate magnetic fields that reverberate around the room, charging …

Apple’s AirPods Pro Are a Big Leap Forward

Beyond obvious design changes, the new buds prove far superior than previous generations

In 2016, when the first generation Apple AirPods debuted, customers across the board—from the audiophile to the podcast-obsessed—expressed concerns: What if they don’t sound great? What if they fall out? How long will they last on a single charge? Since then Apple has sold more than 65 million AirPods (through June 2019) and customers, overall, love their ease, reliability and functionality. Not long after a …

IKEA’s Wireless Charging

With so many of our devices requiring daily charging, open outlets are becoming as rare as Polaroid film. Ikea is setting out to liberate us from our outlet obsession—while reducing powercord clutter—by embedding inductive charging into everyday furniture. The Swedish home design behemoth will soon offer lamps, tables and desks that have a small platform where users can wirelessly charge any of their devices that …