In January, OnePlus joined the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), the regulator that handles the Qi wireless charging used by smartphones globally. It was taken as a hint that the company would finally bring wireless charging to its phones. Cut to April 2020, and OnePlus has now announced that it will launch the first Warp Charge 30 Wireless charger with the OnePlus 8 Series on April 14. According to the company, the charger has a peak output of up to 30W and can charge 50 per cent of the phone’s battery in half an hour.
‘When wireless charging first appeared, it was clear that the technology would elevate the OnePlus user experience. But after numerous tests, we found that it didn’t meet the same standards as Warp Charge. We decided to continue the development of our wireless charging technology before releasing a OnePlus wireless charging unit. We were on the clock and knew that you, our community, expected us to deliver an exceptional product,’ the company said in a blog post.
In order to deliver high-speed wireless charging, OnePlus has used an industry-first isolated charge pump with Warp wireless direct charging architecture. It claims that the charge pump not only ensures a 97 per cent charge efficiency but also minimises the amount of energy converted into heat. It deactivates charging when abnormal currents and voltages are detected, maintaining a stable charge.
Additionally, the Warp wireless direct charging architecture improves charging efficiency and maintains a high-power charge for longer. The technology utilises a customised chip to establish a realtime communication between the wireless charger and the phone, and assists in controlling the charger’s current and voltage. OnePlus’ Warp Charge 30 Wireless charger is also compatible with all Qi wireless chargers at 5W.
OnePlus is the latest entrant in the group of companies that offer wireless charging support on their phones. This is due to the fact that OnePlus CEO Pete Lau had repeatedly rejected the idea of introducing wireless charging by saying that the technology is too slow to be adopted by the company. Instead, he has always promoted the Warp Charge technology, a standard he wished to see in wireless charging technology.
