Report indicates consumer awareness of wireless charging has doubled in past year
WASHINGTON – According to a new report, although consumers are widely aware of wireless charging the technology has yet to really take off.
Consumer awareness of wireless charging has doubled in the last year from 36% to 76%, according to IHS, a Colorado-based market research firm. IHS tracked consumer awareness in regard to wireless charging across China, the United States and the United Kingdom between 2014 and 2015.
“A key factor behind this growth in awareness was the adoption of wireless charging by Samsung, Apple and other high-profile volume manufacturers, as well as rising recognition of the wireless charging infrastructure available in the public sector,” said IHS analyst Vicky Yussuff.
As awareness of the technology has increased so has demand.
“Shipments of wireless power receivers in mobile phone handsets alone are expected to exceed 120 million units in 2015, boosted by sales of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge,” the report noted. “In the wearable electronics market, shipments of wireless charging receivers are expected to rise to more than 20 million units in 2015; the Apple Watch is projected to take a dominant share of more than 70% of total revenue in wireless-charging-enabled wearable devices.”
Despite the high awareness of wireless charging technology, only 20% of consumers surveyed are using wireless products even as nine out of 10 who had used the technology reported being satisfied with it.
IHS noted three key areas in which the industry could work to improve the market penetration of wireless chargers: lower prices for wireless chargers; the ability to charge more than one device at any time on a single charger; and improvements in wireless charging speed.
The proven viability of wireless charging has prompted several firms to begin to integrate it into their product lines.
In April of this year, Swedish furniture maker Ikea announced it would begin selling home goods that had wireless charging capability, including tables, lamps and various other furnishings.
The company’s website notes, “With smartphones being such a natural part of our lives, we want the charging part to become a natural part of our homes. As a result, we’ve created a collection of wireless chargers that make charging a lot more available, yet a lot less obvious (goodbye, messy cables!).”
